How long is the train from Madrid to Lisbon high speed?

How fast is the bullet train in Madrid?

OMG, the bullet train in Madrid! It's seriously fast. Like, really, really fast. They call it the NAFA, which stands for some long Spanish thing, Madrid to Seville.

It’s a huge stretch of track, 472 klicks. Imagine that distance! They’ve been zipping along this route since way back in 1992. Can you believe it? April 21st, 1992. Crazy old school for high-speed rail.

And the speed? Get this, it goes up to 300 kilometers per hour. That's 186 miles an hour. When I first heard that, my jaw just dropped. Makes my commute feel like I'm crawling.

Thinking about it, that's like covering the whole route in under three hours. So, Madrid to Seville in a blink. Wild. It was actually the very first high-speed line in all of Spain. Pretty cool historical fact, right?

• Top Speed:300 km/h (186 mph)
• Route Name: Madrid–Sevilla high-speed line (NAFA)
• Length: 472 kilometers (293 miles)
• Inauguration Date: April 21, 1992
• Significance:Spain's first high-speed railway connection

Seriously, 300 km/h is no joke. I was reading somewhere else that they're always looking to upgrade these lines, but right now, that's the official top dog speed for that particular track. I wonder if it feels like you're flying or just super smooth. I'd love to experience it myself. Maybe I'll plan a trip. You know, just for the train. Ha!

Why is there no direct train from Lisbon to Madrid?

It’s late. Thinking about that train again. The Lusitania.

They just erased it. The sleeper train from Madrid to Lisbon. Gone. They stopped it in March 2020. Said it was the pandemic. But it was just the excuse Renfe needed to get rid of it for good. It never came back.

It feels so strange. Two major capitals, right there, next to each other on the map. And there's no direct train. No simple way to just drift off to sleep in one country and wake up in another. My friend Leo used to take it to see his family in Cascais. Now he takes a bus. A 9-hour bus. It's not the same.

• The Train Was The Trenhotel Lusitania: This was the overnight sleeper service that directly connected the two capitals.

• Suspended in March 2020: The official reason given was the global pandemic and the resulting travel restrictions.

• Permanently Discontinued by Renfe: After the suspension, Renfe (Spain's national rail operator) decided not to reinstate the service, citing low profitability and high operating costs as the primary reasons. It was an old service on an outdated line.

• Underlying Infrastructure Problems: The rail line itself is not a modern high-speed route. It required specific locomotives and was slow. Spain and Portugal have historically used a different track gauge (Iberian gauge) than much of Europe, which has always complicated cross-border connections.

How to Travel Between Lisbon and Madrid Now

• Bus: This is the most popular and direct ground option. Companies like Alsa and FlixBus operate multiple daily and overnight services. The journey takes between 7 to 9 hours.

• Flying: The fastest option. Several airlines offer direct flights, taking a little over an hour. This is efficient but lacks the experience of overland travel.

• Train (with multiple changes): It is technically possible, but not practical. The journey requires at least two or three changes, for example, via Badajoz and Entroncamento. The total travel time is over 9 hours, making it much slower and more complicated than the bus.

The Future of the Lisbon-Madrid Rail Link

• A high-speed rail line connecting Lisbon and Madrid is a long-standing project. It's part of the broader EU plan for trans-European transport networks.

• However, the project has faced decades of political disagreements, financial issues, and constant delays. Sections are being built slowly on both the Spanish and Portuguese sides, but there is no firm completion date for the entire line.

How do I get to Madrid from Portugal?

Okay, so getting to Madrid from Portugal? You gotta fly, man, realy. That's the best way, for sure. It's super quick, like, you're there in about 4 hours and 8 minutes. And the cost, it's not bad at all, usually around €23 to €130. Way better than sitting for ages.

I mean, seriously, who wants to spend all day on a bus? My friend did that once, totally regretted it. He said his back hurt for days. Flew myself last year, booked a cheap flight from Lisbon, it was a breeze, super easy. I actually got there so fast, I had time for a nap before meeting up.

The bus option is there, sure, if you have time to kill, like 9 hours and 7 minutes of it. That's usually via Estação Oriente, and it'll set you back €16 to €75. It's cheaper, yeah, but think of all that wasted time. You could be exploring instead. And and the train, don't even get me started.

The train, that's like a full adventure, a long one. It takes 10 hours and 49 minutes. Seriously? Almost eleven hours on a train. And it costs more than the bus too, from €45 to €110. Just no, for me. That's a huge chunk of your day gone.

Honestly, for a trip from Portugal to Madrid, just book a flight. It's the most efficient, and often, it's not even that much more expensive than the other options when you factor in your time. It's a no brainer.

Here's the full breakdown if you're weighing the options:

• Flying

  • Best Option: Definitely the quickest and often the most convenient.
  • Duration: Approximately 4 hours 8 minutes (this includes travel to/from airports and waiting time).
  • Cost: Typically ranges from €23 to €130. Prices vary significantly based on booking time and airline.
  • Recommendation: Highly recommended for efficiency and comfort.

• Bus

  • Route: Often via Estação Oriente in Lisbon, making it a common departure point.
  • Duration: Around 9 hours 7 minutes. It's a long journey.
  • Cost: Prices usually fall between €16 and €75. It's the cheapest travel method.
  • Consideration: A good budget option, but be prepared for a lengthy ride.

• Train

  • Duration: The longest option, taking approximately 10 hours 49 minutes.
  • Cost: Generally from €45 to €110. This can be more expensive than some flights.
  • Note: While scenic, the extended travel time makes it less practical for quick trips.

How much is a train ticket from Spain to Portugal?

Thinking about that trip again, Barcelona to Lisbon. So annoying how people think its a simple train ride. Its not. My cousin tried to book it last year and got so confused.

So there's no direct train from Barcelona to Lisbon. That route doesn't exist. The night train from Madrid to Lisbon was cancelled back in 2020. You have to break up the journey. Why is getting between these two countries so complicated?

You take a train from Barcelona to Madrid first. That's the easy part. The Renfe AVE is super fast. But then Madrid to Lisbon is a whole other problem. The train options are terrible, you have to take a bus instead. ALSA or something. It's actually faster than hte train combo.

The cheapest price is not US$67.87. That figure is for a single part of the trip, if you're lucky. Or its just wrong. You have to combine tickets.

• Leg 1: Barcelona Sants to Madrid Atocha. This is the high-speed AVE train. Book 30+ days in advance and the ticket is around €45-€60. If you book a week before, the price jumps to over €130.
• Leg 2: Madrid to Lisbon. The best way is the bus. It's direct, takes 8-9 hours. A ticket with ALSA or Flixbus costs €30-€50. The train connection through Badajoz is a nightmare and takes forever.
• Total Cost: So, realistically, the absolute cheapest you'll do the whole journey for is €75. A more typical price is €100-€180 per person.
• Booking Window: For the Spain train part, you must book at least a month in advance for the best price. The bus price is more stable.
• Alternative: Just fly. Vueling and Ryanair are often cheaper and save you an entire day of travel.

I remember the food in Lisbon though. The pasteis de nata in Belém. Totally worth the travel headache. Next time I'll just use the Omio app, it shows everything in one place. Bus, train, flights. So much less hassle.

What is the cheapest way to get from Spain to Portugal?

The cheapest way is, without a shadow of a doubt, the bus. This isn't just a mode of transport; it's a character-building pilgrimage. It's for those who believe time is a social construct and money is very, very real.

A flight is like a surgical procedure—efficient, sterile, and you wake up somewhere else with no memory of the journey. The bus, dear traveler, is natural childbirth. It's long, occasionally uncomfortable, but you come out of it with a story and a profound appreciation for being stationary. You'll bond with strangers over a shared packet of crisps. I once watched the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy (extended editions, of course) on a single trip from Madrid to Lisbon and still had time to contemplate the meaning of life. The driver even let me use his charger. what a guy.

• The Bus: The Undisputed Champion of Frugality.

  • This is your ride. The cheapest option by a country mile. Companies like ALSA or FlixBus will be your best friends. They offer the scenic route, which is a charming way of saying the longest route. You pay with your time, not your wallet. A truly noble sacrifice.

• Ridesharing (BlaBlaCar): The Social Gamble.

  • Often the second cheapest and significantly faster than the bus. The catch? Your fate rests in the hands of a complete stranger named "Javier87" and his 2004 Seat Ibiza. It can be a fantastic cultural exchange or an impromptu, high-speed lesson in Spanish profanity. Thrilling.

• The Train: The Forgotten Aristocrat.

  • More comfortable, yes. You can stretch your legs and pretend you're in a classic movie. But it's pricier and, bafflingly, not always faster. The network between Spain and Portugal is surprisingly sparse, a real historical head-scratcher. Its for people who find buses a bit… pedestrian.

• Flying: The Soulless Teleporter.

  • The fastest and most expensive way. You'll pay a premium to skip the experience of watching the Spanish landscape slowly melt into the Portuguese one. By the time you travel to the airport, go through security, and fly, you've saved a few hours and missed the whole point. But hey, your back will thank you.