Lisbon, Mar. 2, 2026 (Lusa) - The Graça funicular in Lisbon, which has been closed since the Glória funicular accident last year, will reopen “in April” after a technical inspection confirmed that the equipment is in good structural and operational condition, Carris said on Monday.
As for the resumption of operation of the Bica and Lavra funiculars, the independent technical commission for the evaluation of the reopening of funiculars and lifts in the city of Lisbon “is continuing with the study, testing, and evaluation” of the equipment, “with a view to its timely reopening,” the municipal company Carris said in a statement sent to the Lusa news agency.
Following the derailment of the Glória funicular on 3 September, which caused 16 deaths and more than 20 injuries among Portuguese and foreign nationals of various nationalities, Lisbon City Council “immediately” suspended the operation of the Bica and Lavra funiculars and the Graça funicular so that the equipment could be inspected.
Six months after the accident, the independent technical commission concluded its technical opinion on the Graça funicular railway and “the report confirms the good structural and operational condition of the equipment,” Carris said.
The Graça funicular railway was inaugurated about two years ago, on March 12, 2024, 15 years after construction began, and the initial budget slipped to €7 million. Covering the route between Mouraria and Graça, the funicular has a single track, with only two stops at the beginning of each journey, a capacity to carry a maximum of 14 people per trip, and a trip time of about a minute and a half.
It was initially planned to be managed by Carris, but at the inauguration, it was announced that EMEL - Empresa Municipal de Mobilidade e Estacionamento de Lisboa (Lisbon Municipal Mobility and Parking Company) would take over its management. However, in January 2025, the Lisbon City Council approved the transfer of the management of the Graça funicular from EMEL to Carris, both municipal companies.
“Although the administrative process of transferring the management of the equipment is still ongoing,” Carris has announced that it is already implementing “three actions” identified as necessary in the report by the independent technical commission to ensure that the Graça funicular reopens as soon as possible, namely additional equipment testing, updating of self-protection measures, and review of operator training.
"Following detailed and independent work to assess whether the Graça funicular met the conditions to return to normal operation, we are pleased to note that the report is unequivocal and concludes that the funicular was designed, built, and can be operated in line with the highest safety standards," said Carris board chairman Rui Lopo, appointed three months ago after the resignation of Pedro de Brito Bogas.
Quoted in a statement, Rui Lopo said that Carris has already informed the Lisbon City Council that it is taking the actions identified in the report so that the funicular can resume operation and, “once final authorisation has been granted by the Institute for Mobility and Transport (IMT), the conditions will be in place for the Graça funicular to resume full operation in April.”
The independent technical commission, created by a decision of the Lisbon City Council after the accident with the Glória funicular, is composed of experts appointed by the Order of Engineers (OE), the National Civil Engineering Laboratory (LNEC), and the Higher Technical Institute (IST), as well as representatives from Carris and EMEL.
In this regard, the Lisbon City Council has defined it as an “absolute priority”, saying that all historic funiculars and lifts in the city would only resume operation with reinforced safety standards, fully aligned with national and European best practices.”
According to Carris, the steps taken by the independent technical commission included studying all the technical documentation for the Graça funicular project and contract, on-site inspections and specific tests, meetings with specialized entities, comparison with practices of other equivalent systems, including a technical meeting with those responsible for the funiculars in Catalonia, as well as assessing compliance with European Union regulations and other applicable technical and legal frameworks.
SSM/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
