Portugal and Spain mull using high-speed rail link for cargo

LISBON, May 4 (AFP) - Portugal and Spain are looking into using a high speed rail link being built between their two capitals to carry cargo as well as passengers, Portuguese Public Works and Transport Minister Mario Lino said Wednesday.

"This will not affect what is important which is that the transportation of cargo and people be carried out at high speed and take just two hours and 45 minutes," he told reporters following talks with his visiting Spanish counterpart Magdalena Alvarez.

It currently takes more than 10 hours to travel by train between Lisbon and Madrid.

Portugal and Spain agreed at a summit in 2003 to build four high-speed rail links at a cost of 7.5 billion euros (9.7 billion dollars) by 2018.

The first link is to be completed in 2009 and link Oporto, in the industrialized north of Portugal, with Vigo in northern Spain.

The link between Lisbon and Madrid, scheduled to open in 2010 and which would also connect with high-speed rail connections in France and beyond, is expected to carry more than five million passengers each year.

Another line is to connect the central Portuguese coastal town of Aveiro with the Spanish university city of Salamanca, a main corridor for freight, by 2015.

The last of the four lines would link Faro, the capital of Portugal's southernmost Algarve tourist province, to the southern Spanish city of Seville by 2018.

The rail track between Madrid and Lisbon is to allow trains to travel at speeds of up to 350 kilometres an hour (217 miles an hour), while the other tracks would permit speeds of up to 200 kilometres an hour.

Portugal on the move!!!!

Portuguese map (http://www.publico.clix.pt/fichas/transportes/tgv/index.htm)

that map is a litlle bit outdated ^^

the high speed line between madrid and Zaragoza is on service. the track to barcelona is being built as well as the track seville-malaga. the line madrid-valencia ius being built too

Which map?
I cannot see it!
:redx:
:redx:

I don't see a map either...

Click on the Portuguese Map link!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Portugal govt estimates Lisbon's 2 high speed rail links to cost 7.2 bln eur
7 December 2005

LISBON (AFX) - The construction of high speed rail links connecting Lisbon with Madrid and with Porto, due to be operational by 2013, is estimated to cost around 7.2 bln eur, the Portuguese press reported, citing a government study.

The construction of the Lisbon-Madrid link is expected to cost the Portuguese side 2.2 bln eur, while the Lisbon-Porto line is expected to cost almost 5 bln eur, the daily Publico reported.

According to the study, the high-speed rail link between Portugal's two main cities, with a journey time of less than an hour and a half, is expected to attract almost 6 mln passengers per year, while the Lisbon-Madrid link is expected to have 5 mln passengers per year.

The Publico newspaper questioned whether the investment will be profitable, comparing it to the cost of a new international airport near Lisbon scheduled for 2017, which is estimated at 3 bln eur.

The Portuguese prime minister is expected to confirm the two rail projects today, with construction work due to start in 2008 and to be completed by 2013.

Yes!!!!

Portuguese high speed train project to create 100,000 jobs - Lino
13 December 2005

LISBON (AFX) - The government's proposed 7.7 bln eur development of two TGV high-speed rail lines in Portugal will create 100,000 jobs from 2010 to 2012, the peak years of the construction phase, Mario Lino, the public works, transport and communications minister, said at the launch of the project.

He wants 60 pct of the work to be contracted to domestic companies, for the rail, telecoms and ICT specialities and for the train interiors, Lusa newsagency reported.

Lino said he believes the increase in orders in the relevant sectors will lead to growth in the economy.

The fact that Portugal is experiencing economic difficulties does not justify suspension of the high speed train project, he said.

The government is prioritising the lines between Lisbon and Porto and between Lisbon and Madrid, because they offer better economic returns.

Construction of the Lisbon-Porto line will require investment of 4.7 bln eur and the Lisbon-Madrid link 3 bln, while rail components will cost another 600 mln and rolling stock 480 mln, according to Lino's projections.

The government estimates that the project will generate operating cash flow covering 38 pct of the investment and the EU will contribute 22 pct, leaving the government to find the remaining 40 pct, Lusa reported.

Diario Economico cited Lino as saying private companies are likely to fund 30-30 pct of the project.

The proposals are 'positive for most players' in the Portuguese construction sector and could also benefit Spanish companies, Bruno Almeida da Silva and Ana Horno of Banco BPI said in a note to clients.

'In our view, construction companies should benefit the most, with Mota Engil and Teixeira Duarte being the obvious winners and Cimpor and Semapa indirectly benefitting due to the expected uplift in cement consumption,' they said, adding that motorway operator Brisa 'could also have a role in the project'.

The high speed train is likely to directly compete with air connections between Porto and Lisbon, with air traffic estimated to be slashed by 40 pct, Da Silva and Horno said.

Between Lisbon and Madrid, the rail line is likely to absorb 'around 30 pct of the air traffic,' the BPI analysts said.

:applause:

To complete the story, it had been planned on the Spanish side for quite some time. There was more ambivalence on the project on the Portuguese side.

Great project, is that so unusual for a highspeed rail service to carry cargo?

I believe so. ^^

Seems like a really good idea!

Why not use the old Lisbon-Madrid line for freight?

:?

^^ yeh, what´s the hurry with cargo...

:yes:

All in all though, this is fantastic news, for both Spain and Portugal. Even if there is freight, as long as the journey time is less than 3 hours as promised, it is still a very fast speed on average, about 200 km/h, and will be fast enough to compete with more dirty cars and airplanes.

:D