Works start on the first 71 km of the Porto-Lisbon high-speed line in Aveiro district
Construction started on Monday, 12 October 2026, on the first 71 km section between Porto's Campanhã station and Oiã, where the government says the Porto-Lisbon trip will take about 1 hour 15 minutes. The Vila Nova de Gaia station location remains disputed.
Works start on the first 71 km
Construction of the first section of the high-speed line began on Monday, 12 October 2026, at a ceremony in Oiã, in the Aveiro district, where the section ends. The section runs 71 kilometres from Porto's Campanhã station to Oiã (Oliveira do Bairro) and is built for trains running up to 300 km/h. It includes 8 km of tunnels, 19 km of bridges and viaducts, and a new road-rail bridge over the Douro that will also carry cars. The investment is about 2 billion euros, carried out by a consortium of seven construction firms. The government says that once the full line operates, the trip between Porto and Lisbon will take about 1 hour 15 minutes.
- Total new line
- 71 km
- Tunnels
- 8 km
- Bridges and viaducts
- 19 km
Timeline and the rest of the line
Miguel Pinto Luz set 2030 as the deadline for completing this first section and 2032 for finishing the Lisbon, Porto and Vigo links. The second section, from Oiã to Soure, was described by JN as in its final phase and nearly ready to be awarded, while SIC reported that it has not yet been awarded. The tender for the third section, from Soure to Carregado, has not yet been launched, and JN reports the minister said it would be launched shortly. The line is meant to connect to Madrid through the new Lisbon airport, and SAPO reports a target of about three hours between Lisbon and Madrid by 2034. SIC also reports that the construction requires the expropriation of more than a thousand land plots.
- Works start on the first section between Porto (Campanhã) and Oiã
- Target for completing the first section
- Target for completing the Lisbon, Porto and Vigo links
- Target for a Lisbon-Madrid trip of about three hours
The Vila Nova de Gaia station dispute
The location of the Vila Nova de Gaia station is still contested. The planned Santo Ovídio station would sit 60 metres deep, and the consortium's Vilar do Paraíso alternative was rejected in the environmental impact assessment. Mayor Luís Filipe Menezes wants the alternatives in Mafamude and Vilar do Paraíso analysed, and in a statement warned of a "enorme gravidade potencial dos impactos" over at least five years of mobility constraints. He also cited about 200 trucks a day moving earth, a risk of serious losses for local shops, and difficult access to the Gaia hospital via Rua Conceição Fernandes. Pinto Luz said he would listen to the mayor and has a meeting scheduled with him, but he did not signal any change to the decision.
This is a closed project, it is a project that underwent an environmental impact assessment.
Carlos Mota Santos, who spoke for the Avan consortium, said the builders are committed to executing the licensed execution project.
Warnings about delay and the airport
Pinto Luz said the lack of decisions on the new Lisbon airport and on high-speed rail had astronomical costs for the Portuguese. He said Lisbon's airport is bursting at the seams and that rail users and businesses that rely on the line are the ones suffering. He warned that if deadlines slip, the high-speed line would be left lame, and he tied the Madrid link to the new airport, saying he cannot have a new airport without high-speed rail.
With indecision nothing gets built at all.
The minister added that the Linha do Norte will be less congested once the new line is built and can carry more freight.
