TWO capital cities in Europe will soon be linked by a direct train service for the first time in over a decade.

The route will make it easier to travel between the holiday hotspots without having to board a plane.

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A new sleeper service is set to run between Lisbon and Madrid.

The news comes after prime ministers in both countries endorsed plans to improve cross-border rail connections.

Spanish MP Júlia Boada Tweeted the following last November: “Recovering the night train that connects Lisbon with Madrid is vital to facilitate public transport mobility between the countries of the Iberian Peninsula.”

A train service, which was operated by Renfe, used to link the two capitals until the route was scrapped in 2020.

Since the route was cancelled, passengers travelling by rail between the two countries have needed to change trains to make the journey, which can take up to nine hours to complete – longer than both the bus and car.

The new route will be the only direct rail link between Lisbon and Madrid, and will be operated by Spanish state-owned rail company Renfe.

The route is slated to be fully operational by 2034 – marking 14 years since the two countries were connected by a direct rail service.

A new high-speed train line is currently being developed by Portugal

Other parts of the route, including a stretch from Madrid to Extremadura, will be operational as early as 2030.

Before the new route can open to the public upgrades to the rail infrastructure need to be addressed, including electrical voltages and signalling systems.

Holiday Deals in Madrid and Lisbon

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Renfe also needs to invest €15million (£12.8million) to adapt part of its stock to suit the railway infrastructure in Portugal.

Portugal is also developing a new high-speed train line, parts of which are slated to open later this year, with journeys set to run in 2025.

The line will run from Elvas to Evora, and it will cut the journey time between Lisbon and Badajoz in West Spain by 90 minutes, meaning journeys will take less than two hours.

According to news website Portugal, the new high-speed railway project is estimated cost somewhere between €3.9billion (£3.3billion) to €4.1billion (£2.5billion).

Construction on the new route is already underway, according to several local Portuguese newspapers.

Recovering the night train that connects Lisbon with Madrid is vital

In addition to upgrading its rail infrastructure, Portugal is set to open a huge multi-million pound airport in Lisbon.

There are new plans to build a new international airport in the municipality of Alcochete, across the River Tagus from the Portuguese capital.

Prime Minister Luis Montenegro announced the plans on Tuesday after decades of discussion over where the travel hub should be located.

The new airport will be built at the site of a military airfield in Alcochete, about 25 miles east of Lisbon, and should the ready by 2034.

It looks like 2034 will be a big year for Portugal with both the new airport and direct rail service slated to open.

Other new routes

There are plenty of other sleeper services opening up across Europe, including a 15-hour service connecting Brussels to Prague.

Operated by European Sleeper, the new route has been designed with sustainable travel in mind.

It will stop at Antwerp, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Berlin and Dresden before arriving in Prague.

Another route could connect Amsterdam to Barcelona by 2025.

This means Brits would be able to travel by train to the Spanish hotspot, with Eurostar services to Amsterdam.

European Sleeper previously said in a statement: “The Amsterdam-Barcelona night train will strongly improve Europe’s quality of north-south rail connections.”

Meanwhile, a new train route has relaunched in Europe – and it connects three countries along the way.

The train line, which connects Italy to Croatia via Slovenia, closed more than 30 years ago but recently relaunched with eight stops along the way.

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