Train journey of the month: Lisbon to Vigo via Porto, over dunes, rivers and the Atlantic

It shouldn't be that difficult to reach Portugal by train. About 15 years ago, I traveled from Berlin to Lisbon with just one train change in Paris. But despite great improvements in the Spanish and Portuguese national networks, cross-border services between the two countries have been woefully neglected. There have been no direct international passenger trains to or from Lisbon since before the pandemic.

A notable international train departure from the Portuguese capital l last year was a unique special train called Connecting Europe Express (CEE). As part of the celebrations around the European Year of Rail, the CEE left the Portuguese capital with great fanfare on September 2, 2021 for a winding journey through 26 countries, passing through Rome, Athens, Warsaw and Stockholm to finally reach Paris five weeks later. It was a journey designed to show how railways unite Europe. However, the slow progress of the EEC from Portugal to Spain on a route not otherwise used for passenger trains has really highlighted just how poor some cross-border connections are.

Until early 2020 there was a direct train every evening from Lisbon to Madrid . One could also travel in overnight comfort with the Sud Express from Lisbon to Hendaye in France, from where there was a good connection with a high-speed train to Paris. These services have unfortunately been discontinued.

With the ferries gone, anyone traveling from Lisbon to Spain (or vice versa) must now travel by day, opting for one of two routes, none direct and each relying on relatively minor cross-border crossings. The first option departs east of Lisbon and, after changing trains at Entroncamento, follows a route through the Guadiana Valley, slipping into Spanish territory between Elvas and Badajoz. It's slow but full of character, a wonderfully leisurely ride through the Iberian borderlands. "model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement" class="dcr-10khgmf">