Entroncamento, Portugal, Dec. 19, 2025 (Lusa) - The government has approved the second phase of the tender for the Porto-Lisbon high-speed line, between Oiã and Soure, maintaining the value of the public-private partnership and authorising the tender for railway signalling.

At a press conference in Entroncamento (Santarém district), the Minister for Infrastructure, Miguel Pinto Luz, stated that the decision, approved on Wednesday by the cabinet, allows the second Public-Private Partnership (PPP2) to go ahead, after the first tender was unsuccessful, without increasing the overall cost of the project.

According to the minister, "the route has been optimised, with a reduction of around 11 kilometres in the length initially planned to Soure" and technical adjustments that require the coordination of synergies between the different phases of the high-speed line.

The cabinet also authorised the launch of the tender for signalling and telecommunications systems, including the implementation of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) and GSM-R, which will cover not only phases PPP1 and PPP2, but also the Northern Line.

The government also extended the preventive measures to safeguard the railway corridors, ensuring that the protection of the land necessary for the execution of the work and the continuity of the project in the following phases would be ensured.

Miguel Pinto Luz stressed that Coimbra station will remain in Coimbra-B, ruling out changes to the initial project. He highlighted the broad political consensus on high-speed rail, which is considered a strategic infrastructure for the coming decades.

The PPP2 will be around 60 kilometres long, including viaducts, connections to the conventional network, a tunnel and work on the Northern Line, to connect Porto and Lisbon in around an hour and 15 minutes.

SCR/ADB // ADB.

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