Last week the Environmental Impact Study from the Environment Ministry gave the go-ahead for the first part of the new high speed railway line between Lisbon and Porto, a distance of 30 kilometres, at an estimated cost of €3,8 million. One of two possible alternatives has received environmental approval. This would entail the line passing through Loures and Vila Franca de Xira and remaining north of the river Tejo, a point which has come under some criticism. According to RAVE, the company responsible for the project, “due to the type of populations and urban occupation of the territory to be crossed, around 60 per cent of the route will involve tunnels and viaducts, with 10,3 kilometres of tunnels and 7,7 kilometres of viaduct.”

Opposition parties, PSD and CDS, questioned the routing of the line north of the Tejo, claiming it would be much more costly, to which RAVE replied that the approved route actually represented an overall saving, in terms of revenue, maintenance, etc., of around €360 million. In a statement on its website, RAVE goes on to say that the difference of 40 kilometres between the north and south bank options was particularly relevant when the number of passengers was taken into consideration.

According to SIC, one of the country’s most respected specialists in transport, university professor Fernando Nunes da Silva, contradicts RAVE’s claim about the extra 40 kilometres, saying that the study conducted by the National Civil Engineering Laboratory (LNEC) regarding the third bridge over the Tejo river was manipulated. After contacting LNEC, SIC was told that a reply would be forthcoming this week.

A study carried out by the Confederation of Portuguese Industry concluded that the third Tejo crossing should not link Lisbon to Barreiro but rather Lisbon and Montijo, avoiding the additional 40 kilometres to which RAVE referred. According to the Minister of Public Works, Mário Lino, the subject is now closed.