City to city
Lisbon to Madrid by train
Santa Apolónia → Madrid-Puerta de Atocha
- Fastest
- ≈ 17h 16m
- Typical
- ≈ 19h 07m
- Direct trains
- No
- Fewest changes
- 3
- Operators
- CP - Comboios de Portugal, RENFE OPERADORA, Renfe Cercanias
Trains link Lisbon (Santa Apolónia) and Madrid (Madrid-Puerta de Atocha) in about 17h 16m at best, with at least 3 changes along the way.
How long does the train from Lisbon to Madrid take?
The fastest trains cover Lisbon to Madrid in about 17h 16m; a typical journey takes around 19h 07m.
Is there a direct train from Lisbon to Madrid?
Usually not; expect at least 3 changes on this journey.
Is the train or a flight faster from Lisbon to Madrid?
A typical flight works out roughly 15h 15m quicker door to door (about 4h 10m against 19h 25m by train, once airport time is counted) — but the train emits about 3× less CO₂e, even on conservative official emission factors.
- Train, door to door
- ≈ 19h 25m
- Flight, door to door
- ≈ 4h 10m (est.)
- CO₂e per passenger
- ~21 kg train · ~68 kg plane
Flight time and emissions are transparent estimates, not airline schedules — method, factors and all 109 compared pairs on Train vs plane in Europe.
Legendary routes through Lisbon or Madrid
- AVE Madrid → Barcelona
- AVE Madrid → Seville
- Alfa Pendular Lisbon → Braga
- AVE Madrid → Valencia
More trains from Lisbon
- Lisbon → Coimbra ≈ 1h 53m · direct
- Lisbon → Porto ≈ 3h 01m · direct
- Lisbon → Faro ≈ 3h 31m
More train routes in Spain · Portugal.
Journey figures are typical values sampled from public European schedule data; exact times vary by day. Always check the operator when booking.