Portugal signs concession and first financing tranche for new Lisbon-Porto high-speed rail line

Portugal has signed the concession contract and secured the first tranche of financing for the high-speed rail line connecting Lisbon and Porto, the country’s two largest cities. Infraestruturas de Portugal (IP) and Avan Norte – Gestão da Ferrovia de Alta Velocidade, a company established by the all-Portuguese consortium LusoLAV, signed a 30-year concession agreement covering the design, construction, and maintenance of the Porto–Oiã section. At the same ceremony, the European Investment Bank signed an €875 million financing agreement with Avan Norte — the first tranche of a total €3 billion package approved by the EIB in 2024 to support the project.

The first high-speed railway in Portugal

The Porto–Lisbon high-speed line is the first high-speed railway to be built in Portugal. Once complete, the 290 km double-track line will reduce journey time between the two cities from approximately three hours to one hour and fifteen minutes, with capacity for around 10 million passengers per year and up to 60 daily services. The project is structured as a three-phase programme delivered entirely through public-private partnerships.

EIB Group President Nadia Calviño described the project at the signing ceremony as “a real game changer,” adding that it will be “the first high-speed train that will be built in the country, and it is going to significantly improve the lives of people.” The EIB financing signed is the largest single contract awarded under InvestEU, the EU’s flagship investment programme targeting more than €372 billion in mobilised investment by 2027.

Porto–Oiã section: what the first concession covers

The Porto–Oiã section forms Phase 1 of the project and spans the 143 km between Porto-Campanhã station and the area of Soure in the Coimbra region, covering the first PPP zone between Porto and Oiã. The concession runs for 30 years and includes a five-year development period followed by 25 years of maintenance. The contract value is €1.66 billion at December 2023 prices, with an additional maximum €480 million earmarked for projects, expropriations, and construction supervision costs.

The section also includes 47 km of single-track connections to the conventional rail network, providing access to other cities in northern Portugal, along with modernisation and capacity expansion of railway access to Lisbon. The LusoLAV consortium is composed entirely of Portuguese construction firms: Mota-Engil, Teixeira Duarte, Casais, Alves Ribeiro, Conduril, and Gabriel Couto.

EIB financing: part of a €3 billion commitment

The €875 million signed in the first tranche forms part of a broader €3 billion EIB financing package approved in 2024. The project also secured €813 million from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF 2) in July 2024. Combined with the PPP structure, this means the majority of the construction funding draws on EU-level instruments rather than Portuguese sovereign debt — a structural feature the government has emphasised given ongoing fiscal constraints.

At the signing, IP and the EIB also signed an Implementing Agreement setting out coordination arrangements between the two institutions for the duration of the project. The EIB framed the project within EU climate and connectivity objectives, noting that the line forms part of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) Atlantic Corridor and is expected to contribute to shifting demand from road and air to lower-emission rail.

Environmental and freight case

IP projects that the high-speed line will reduce approximately five million tonnes of CO2 by 2050 by diverting passengers from road and short-haul air. The freight dimension is also significant: IP estimates that freight transport on the corridor could increase by more than eight million tonnes once high-speed services shift passenger demand off the existing Northern Line, freeing capacity for goods trains.

The line is part of the wider Atlantic Corridor, which also includes the Lisbon–Madrid axis. IP has separately confirmed that the section for the third Tagus River crossing — connecting the line south toward Barreiro and the new Luís de Camões airport — is in the final stages of development and will shortly be submitted for environmental impact assessment.

Phases two and three: what comes next

The project is structured as three PPPs running sequentially. The second PPP covers the Oiã–Soure section: a 61 km stretch including the upgrading of Coimbra station to high-speed standards, 22 km of connections to the Northern Line, and the construction of a new traction substation in Coimbra. The tender was launched in January 2026 with bids required by 25 May 2026. The maximum authorised cost is €1.603 billion, with total estimated payments to the future concessionaire reaching €4.765 billion over 30 years.

The third PPP covers the Soure–Carregado section and is scheduled for tender in the first half of 2026, with the environmental impact assessment process already completed. Phase 1 of the project — Porto to Oiã — is targeted for operational service in 2030. Phase 2 covering to Soure is targeted for 2032. The full line connecting to Lisbon is scheduled for completion after 2032.

The Portuguese government has also issued preventive measures designating the route corridor of Phase 2 as a zone of recognised national public interest, restricting land use changes or construction approvals that could compromise the railway alignment or increase costs. The measure applies across eight municipalities including Pombal, Leiria, Alcobaça, and Azambuja.

Significance for European rail integration

The Lisbon–Porto high-speed line sits within a broader set of TEN-T Atlantic Corridor improvements that the European Commission has identified as central to the EU’s sustainable transport strategy. IP has confirmed active coordination with Spanish counterparts on the Lisbon–Madrid axis, where the domestic Portuguese section must connect to the Iberian high-speed network at the border. The Tagus crossing study and coordination with the new Lisbon airport represent the southern bookend of the same investment cycle.

For logistics operators using the Iberian Peninsula, the capacity freed on the Northern Line conventional corridor by high-speed passenger diversion is the operationally relevant near-term outcome. That line currently handles both passenger and freight between Porto and Lisbon; shifting passengers to the new route creates headroom for rail freight capacity that has been constrained for years.

Frequently asked questions

What was signed at the Portugal high-speed rail concession ceremony?

Infraestruturas de Portugal (IP) and Avan Norte – Gestão da Ferrovia de Alta Velocidade signed a 30-year concession contract for the design, construction, and maintenance of the Porto–Oiã section of the Lisbon–Porto high-speed line. At the same ceremony, the EIB signed an €875 million financing agreement with Avan Norte, the first tranche of a total €3 billion EIB package approved in 2024. IP and the EIB also signed an Implementing Agreement to coordinate project delivery.

How long will the journey from Lisbon to Porto take on the high-speed line?

Once the full line is operational, journey time between Lisbon and Porto will fall from approximately three hours to one hour and fifteen minutes. The line will have capacity for around 10 million passengers per year and up to 60 daily services.

Who is the LusoLAV consortium building the Porto–Oiã section?

LusoLAV is an all-Portuguese construction consortium comprising Mota-Engil, Teixeira Duarte, Casais, Alves Ribeiro, Conduril, and Gabriel Couto. The consortium operates through Avan Norte – Gestão da Ferrovia de Alta Velocidade, which holds the 30-year concession contract for the Porto–Oiã section.

When will the Lisbon–Porto high-speed line be operational?

Phase 1 — the Porto to Oiã section — is targeted for operational service in 2030. Phase 2, extending to Soure, is targeted for 2032. The full line connecting to Lisbon is scheduled for completion after 2032. The three phases are being delivered sequentially through separate PPP concession contracts.

How is the project financed?

The project combines EU grant funding from the Connecting Europe Facility (€813 million secured in July 2024), EIB loans (€3 billion total package, first tranche of €875 million signed), and PPP concession structures where private consortia design, build, and maintain each section in exchange for availability payments from IP over 30 years. The structure minimises direct Portuguese sovereign debt exposure to the construction phase.

What is the significance of the EIB financing for the Lisbon–Porto line?

The €875 million EIB financing signed for the Porto–Oiã section is the largest single contract awarded under InvestEU, the EU’s flagship investment programme. It is part of a total €3 billion EIB commitment to the Lisbon–Porto high-speed corridor and reflects the project’s classification as a TEN-T priority project on the Atlantic Corridor, which qualifies it for the highest level of EU financing support available for transport infrastructure.