PORTUGAL: National infrastructure manager IP has commissioned a cost-benefit analysis and an interoperability study to assess the gauge choice for the future Porto – Lisboa high speed line, for which procurement has started.
IP says the studies will be used to support a request to the European Commission to build the line to the Iberian gauge of 1 668 mm, rather than the 1 435 mm standard gauge set out in European regulations.
IP points out that the EU member states can build new lines which will form part of the TEN-T core or ‘extended core’ networks which do not use standard gauge. However, this can only be done by applying for a temporary exception. This must be supported by the results of a socio-economic cost-benefit analysis regarding the viability of the variation, as well as an assessment of the impact on pan-European interoperability.
To date, the design work for the Porto – Lisboa high speed line has assumed use of the Iberian gauge because there will be numerous connections to and from the existing north-south main line. Trains will use these connecting chords to serve intermediate stations including Aveiro, Coimbra and Leiria. The new line is also to be built in several phases, which could necessitate the launch of services over only part of the route initially.
The studies commissioned by IP and being carried out by Consultores em Transportes Inovação e Sistemas must be completed by July 16 2026. The infrastructure manager has allocated a budget of €89 000 for the work. Under current plans, the first section of new line between Porto and Soure is due for completion in 2030.
A longer-term aim is to connect the new line with a proposed high speed link between Porto and Vigo in Spain, creating a corridor along most of the Iberian western seaboard.
