The Portuguese Minister of Public Works, Alvaro Santos Pereira, is meeting with his Spanish counterpart, José Blanco, to discuss the cancelled AVE high-speed train link project between Lisbon and Madrid and to propose alternative rail link possibilities between the two countries.
Portugal precluded the construction of a high-speed link between Lisbon and Madrid due to the financial crisis facing the country. The project, which would cut the journey time between the two cities to 2 hours 45 minutes, had been proposed by the previous socialist government in Portugal and was planned for 2013.
The two ministers will discuss ‘more profitable alternatives’ during these times of financial crisis, such as rail freight as a means of boosting exports with the rest of Europe.