EU funding has been allocated to enhance rail links between Portugal and Spain. The European Regional Development Fund earmarked $290 million toward the completion of the 111-mile section of high-speed line between the Spanish cities of Plasencia, Caceres and Badajoz.
The expansion, part of a more than $1.5 billion package of European Green Deal projects, will form a section of the 445-mile Madrid-Lisbon route, part of the Atlantic Corridor that connects Portugal, Spain, France and Germany.
Trains are expected to start running between Madrid and Lisbon using a mix of new and upgraded lines by 2023.
Plans for a new high-speed service between Plasencia and Madrid, potentially serving Toledo, are still to be finalized; trains will initially use the existing line.
On the Portuguese side, work is already underway to build a mix of new and upgraded alignment between the port city of Sines and Badajoz.
The Atlantic Corridor will be eventually be electrified throughout.