“We hope that one day we will have a [railway] connection that will allow us to unite the Atlantic and Mediterranean corridors, linking the Algarve to Andalusia. It would be a dream for all of us and one day we will get there”, he said.

The project "is strategic for Andalusia and the Algarve", with the need to start its economic feasibility study, to take advantage of European funds, the Andalusian regional minister for Development, Infrastructure and Spatial Planning, Marifran Carazo told Lusa agency.

According to the regional official, both the Andalusian Government and the Portuguese government “have already shown interest” in the continuation of the high-speed railway between Madrid-Seville to Faro, passing through Huelva, “but so far the Spanish Government has not commented”.

The regional minister stated that it is necessary, first, to study the economic feasibility of the investment to be carried out and then “work quickly to convince Europe of its importance”.

When questioned about rail connections between the two countries, Costa referred to the future Southern International Corridor, recalling that Portugal is “developing the connection between Lisbon and the border” with Spain, either “for passengers” or “for goods”.

This will be “a very important link between the Port of Sines and the border” of Caia, Elvas, which “puts Extremadura in the middle of a strategic position, with access to the Mediterranean ports of Spain, but also to the Atlantic ports of Portugal and , in particular, to the Port of Sines”, he said.