[4][5][6] These new links will connect with the current railway system in Leiria, Coimbra, Aveiro and Braga (besides the already mentioned cities), diminishing travel times overall in the country.

[7] Since the late 1990s Comboios de Portugal (CP) has run the Alfa Pendular service, connecting Portugal's mainland from the north border to the Algarve at a speed of up to 220 kilometres per hour (140 mph) (in specific sections), which reduced the travel time between Porto and Lisbon by approximately 30 minutes.

In addition to these high-speed trains, CP InterCity "corail" coaches have been upgraded to 200 kilometres per hour (120 mph) running.

The Northern Line was modernised to allow trains to run at 220 km/h between Lisbon-Alverca, Vila Franca de Xira–Santarém, Pombal–Alfarelos and Mealhada–Espinho, and to allow full use of the tilting to achieve speeds between 140–180 km/h in the remaining intermediate sections.

The new bypass will cut 10 min from the journey times of trains traveling south from Lisbon towards the Algarve.

[9] Trains run hourly between Lisbon and Porto, most being Alfa Pendular (3 stops at Coimbra, Aveiro and Vila Nova de Gaia); other Alfa Pendular and some InterCity (which loco hauled 200 km/h trains with 5/14 cars) call at 6 to 9 intermediate stops.

In 2005 the Portuguese government had approved the construction of three high-speed lines: On December 12, 2009, the Portuguese Ministry of Public Work, Transport and Communications announced the ELOS consortium was awarded a 40-year contract to build, finance and maintain the first 165 km section of the high speed line from Poceirão to the Spanish border, Caia.

The PPP contract was formally signed on 8 May 2010 and included construction of a broad-gauge freight track between Evora and Caia.

[14] In October 2022 the Portuguese government announced that construction on a new high speed line from Lisbon to Porto would start in 2024.

The last phase between Carregado and Lisbon will be completed at a later date after 2030 and bring a smaller travel time reduction of 4 minutes.