Portugal Tenders €504m High-Speed Trains for Porto–Lisbon Line

Portugal’s long-planned Porto–Lisbon high-speed railway has taken a decisive step forward with a new €504 million international tender for high-speed trains, aiming to cut journey times between the country’s two largest cities to around 1 hour and 15 minutes while significantly upgrading passenger comfort.

Major Train Tender Marks New Phase in High-Speed Project

Portugal’s state rail operator Comboios de Portugal has launched an international tender for the supply and maintenance of a new fleet of high-speed trains dedicated to the Porto–Lisbon corridor. Publicly available information indicates a base contract value of €504 million, covering 12 trainsets with an option for additional units.

The contract is scheduled to be signed in the first quarter of 2027, with the first trains expected to be delivered in 2031. The timing is designed to align with the staged construction of the new high-speed infrastructure between Porto and Lisbon, which is being delivered through a series of public-private partnerships and signalling contracts.

Government documentation and company statements describe the procurement as a key milestone in a broader high-speed strategy that also includes links from Porto to the Spanish border at Valença and from Lisbon towards the Spanish frontier at Caia. The Porto–Lisbon line is positioned as the backbone of this new network, concentrating the largest flows of intercity passengers in the country.

The new tender follows earlier steps such as the signing in July 2025 of the concession for the Porto–Oiã section and subsequent decisions in early 2026 allowing further tenders for the Oiã–Soure section and for signalling and telecommunications systems along the future high-speed route.

Speed, Comfort and Capacity at the Heart of the Offer

Technical outlines released with the tender show that the new trains are being specified to operate at high speeds consistent with European high-speed standards, serving a maximum commercial speed in line with the 250-kilometre-per-hour infrastructure now under development. The objective is to bring end-to-end journey times on the Porto–Lisbon route down to around 1 hour and 15 minutes, compared with current times that are typically close to three hours on the fastest conventional services.

Each trainset is expected to offer more than 500 seats, substantially increasing capacity on Portugal’s busiest intercity corridor. The design brief highlights a strong focus on passenger experience, including quiet and air-conditioned interiors, modern seating layouts and a mix of standard and higher-comfort classes suitable for both business and leisure travellers.

Publicly released specifications indicate that the trains must be fully accessible for passengers with reduced mobility, with step-free boarding solutions, adapted toilets and dedicated spaces for wheelchairs. Provision for bicycles, onboard infotainment systems, Wi-Fi connectivity, USB-C charging points and video surveillance is also included, pointing to a product that aims to compete directly with both private car use and domestic air travel.

The high-speed fleet will also need to be compatible with the European Rail Traffic Management System and related signalling technologies that Infraestruturas de Portugal plans to deploy along the new line and on key sections of the conventional network, enabling seamless operations and enhanced safety.

Transforming the Porto–Lisbon Corridor

The Porto–Lisbon high-speed line is being developed in three main infrastructure phases, beginning with the northern Porto–Soure section, which has been prioritised due to heavy congestion on the existing conventional line. Official investment plans describe a staged opening that will progressively reduce journey times as each section enters service.

Once the first high-speed segments are completed, direct services are expected to bypass some of the slowest stretches of the current route, offering faster connections between Porto, Aveiro, Coimbra, Leiria and the Lisbon metropolitan area. Over time, planners expect the new line to support a dense pattern of services, including express trains running non-stop between the two metropolitan hubs and others calling at key intermediate cities.

National planning documents frame the corridor as a central element in the country’s wider mobility and territorial cohesion strategy. By significantly shortening travel times, the high-speed link is expected to expand labour markets, support regional universities and business clusters, and encourage more balanced population and investment patterns between north and south.

The project is being closely coordinated with other major infrastructure initiatives, including work on a new Lisbon airport and improved rail access to key ports and logistics platforms, reinforcing the role of the rail network in both passenger and freight movements across the country.

European-Backed Investment with Climate Ambitions

Portugal’s high-speed plans are being supported by substantial European financing and cohesion-policy instruments. The European Investment Bank has already approved multi-billion-euro financing envelopes for the Porto–Lisbon line, and earlier tenders for infrastructure works have been able to draw from the European Union’s Connecting Europe Facility and recovery funds.

Budgetary and planning documents describe the new high-speed railway as one of the largest infrastructure investments undertaken in Portugal in recent decades, alongside the planned airport developments. The Porto–Lisbon line in particular is presented as a flagship project for the country’s decarbonisation strategy, aiming to shift a significant share of domestic travel away from private cars and short-haul flights.

By offering high-frequency, high-capacity electric trains on a dedicated corridor, policymakers expect to achieve a substantial reduction in transport-related greenhouse gas emissions while improving the resilience of the national transport system. The project is also designed to integrate with cross-border links, notably routes to Vigo and to Spain’s high-speed network, which could eventually enable faster connections from Portugal to other parts of Europe.

The new €504 million rolling-stock tender comes against this backdrop of long-term investment and climate ambition, signalling that the high-speed vision now extends beyond infrastructure to the quality of the trains and services that will run on the line.

Next Steps and Market Interest

The tender launched by Comboios de Portugal is open to international rolling-stock manufacturers, and rail industry coverage suggests that strong interest is expected from major European suppliers with experience in high-speed fleets. The process will involve technical and financial evaluation phases, with the winning bidder to be selected ahead of the envisaged contract signing in 2027.

Key criteria are likely to include acquisition and lifecycle costs, energy efficiency, maintenance performance, delivery schedules and the ability to meet stringent interoperability and safety requirements. The long-term maintenance component of the contract underscores the importance placed on reliability and availability once the line becomes operational.

As infrastructure works advance on the Porto–Lisbon high-speed route and related signalling projects, the rolling-stock tender is seen by analysts as a visible signal to markets and passengers that the project is moving from planning to implementation. With the promise of unmatched speed and upgraded comfort, the new trains are set to redefine what intercity travel between Portugal’s two main cities looks like in the next decade.