Porto, Portugal, Feb. 18, 2026 (Lusa) - The mayor of Portugal's second city, Porto, and the leader of the northwestern Spanish region of Galicia on Wednesday demanded that the high-speed railway in the regions be completed by 2032, stressing that the Lisbon-Madrid connection cannot prevent the Atlantic Axis from being a priority.
"We have a commitment from the Government that this line will be completed, as far as Portugal is concerned, by 2032. that is the timetable we are working with and will continue to work with, and we have no reason to believe that this line will not be completed by 2032," said the Mayor of Porto, Pedro Duarte, today after a meeting at Casa do Roseiral with the Galician leader, Alfonso Rueda.
The president of the Galician Regional Government, in addition to expressing his satisfaction with the continuation of the commitment, stressed that it is now up to the Spanish central government to fulfil "the part that corresponds to the Ministry of Development, which is to implement high-speed rail on the section that remains to be completed up to the Portuguese border" from Vigo, about 60 kilometres.
For Alfonso Rueda, the goal is to "arrive at the same time and ensure that supposed delays in Portugal cannot be used as an argument for not acting in Spain," recalling that on the northern side of the border, the investment "is much less than the effort that Portugal has to make."
When asked if they were not concerned that the Lisbon - Madrid connection might take priority over the Atlantic Axis railway, Pedro Duarte stressed that "the timetable approved by the Portuguese Government and announced is very clear", with Porto-Lisbon and Porto-Vigo in 2032 and Lisbon-Madrid in 2034 - "and the lines are not competitive from the point of view of their implementation".
"I would like to make this very clear: for Porto, even the Porto-Lisbon connection is no more important than the Porto-Vigo connection," said Pedro Duarte, adding that "it is at least as important as the connection in Lisbon" or even "more important than the connection between Lisbon and Madrid, because it can open up other different and more relevant horizons".
For Pedro Duarte, "regardless of what happens on other lines, other sections, other construction processes, it is very important that the Porto-Vigo line is not compromised or undermined", and Alfonso Rueda agreed with this idea, considering that Lisbon-Madrid "cannot prevent" a line that is "a commitment of the Portuguese Government" and aims to “connect” the country through the high-speed line, something from which "Galicia will logically benefit".
Asked about the fact that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the Porto-Vigo link has not yet been published, something that was already scheduled for the end of 2025, Alfonso Rueda considered that "the process in Portugal is much more advanced than in Spain, being much more costly and probably more complex".
Putting "political pressure" on the Spanish central government led by Pedro Sánchez (PSOE), the Galician leader (PP) wants Madrid to avoid "falling into the temptation of using possible delays in Portugal to continue doing nothing".
As for the current Porto-Vigo rail connection, operated by Celta on the Minho Line, Alfonso Rueda pointed out that the rolling stock currently in use "is material that is practically no longer used on any other railway in Spain".
"This has to improve. And demanding high speed does not mean that we stop complaining about this," he stressed, adding that the service is provided on a "line that is not acceptable after a quarter of the 21st century has already passed", ensuring that any possible improvement in Celta is not confused "with any lesser desire to move towards high speed".
The high-speed Porto-Lisbon connection, with possible stops in Gaia, Aveiro, Coimbra and Leiria, should be fully operational in 2032, as should Porto-Vigo, with stations at Porto airport, Braga, Ponte de Lima and Valença.
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