“This is outdated, however we had an independent technical committee that produced conclusions, conclusions that are under public discussion and then, of course, at the first opportunity we will make a decision, but depending on the work that the independent technical committee produced”, replied Pedro Nuno Santos when asked whether he will resume the decision he made as minister regarding that infrastructure.

António Costa's successor in the leadership of the PS party highlighted that one of the his “big goals” for the country “is to achieve”, pointing to the investment in the railway as one of the paths to follow.

“This attitude towards governance, which is to do, to achieve, is one of our great hallmarks, the country cannot be systematically dragging its feet, it has to move forward and we have this ability to move the country forward, and the railway is one of those signs,” he said.

However, the former Minister of Infrastructure admitted that “everything is not going well on the railway, there is still a long way to go” and that the country is “very far away” from having the railway it desires.

For Pedro Nuno Santos, the railway is an example of the PS's work in the Government. “The railway is a means of transport of the future, it is not of the past, as many thought, for years the railway was disinvested, lines were closed, no material was purchased and the railway has made a huge comeback” he stated.