Lisbon, June 26, 2026 (Lusa) - Only two people involved in the Gloria funicular accident in the Portuguese capital, Lisbon, have had their compensation claims fully settled, with compensation still outstanding for 38 injured people and the families of those who died, the Left Bloc Party/Lisbon announced on Friday following a meeting with Carris.
“It has become clear that only two people have had their compensation claims fully settled, with compensation still outstanding for 38 injured people and the families of those who died. This delay in responding to the victims is deeply distressing, given that 10 months have now passed since the most serious accident in the city’s recent history,” the Left Bloc (BE) said in a statement, following a meeting with Lisbon public transport operator Carris management (responsible for the Glória) and opposition councillors, which took place today at the city hall, organised by the PSD/CDS-PP/IL leadership.
According to the BE, which was represented at the meeting by Ricardo Moreira, it “became clear that, with one exception, all the audits into the Glória tragedy only went ahead under the new management and as late as the second quarter”, which “contradicts” the statements made by the mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas, “who has consistently spoken of several audits being carried out”.
The BE considered it “extremely serious” that the supervisory body and the company “had not investigated who, on what date and in what capacity provided incorrect information” to the inspectors from the Office for the Prevention and Investigation of Aircraft and Railway Accidents (GPIAAF), and demanded that this matter also be audited.
The BE councillors also stated that they had received “with astonishment” the information that the contract with the maintenance company MNTC – Serviços Técnicos de Engenharia, which was deemed to be abnormally low in price, had not been subject to any audit process.
“The BE demanded swift answers regarding in-house management of lift and escalator maintenance, as well as regarding the development of a plan to reopen the facilities as soon as possible,” he emphasised.
On Wednesday, Lisbon's vice-mayor revealed, at a public meeting, that the process of compensating the victims of the Glória funicular accident is still ongoing, with some compensation already paid and other amounts “under negotiation”, without giving further details, describing the delay as “normal”.
“Compensation claims are being dealt with; some payments have already been made, whilst others are still – as is normal – under negotiation, because some citizens are asking for payments – which I won’t specify – on a very different scale. This happens in all such situations, anywhere in the world,” stated Gonçalo Reis (PSD), after being questioned by the PS councillors.
The incident in question is the derailment of the Glória funicular on 3 September 2025, which left 16 people dead and more than 20 injured, including Portuguese nationals and foreigners of various nationalities.
Some 10 months after the accident, PS councillor Pedro Anastácio questioned the PSD/CDS-PP/IL ruling council coalition, led by Social Democrat Carlos Moedas, asking “how many victims have actually already been compensated or [with whom] has an agreement already been reached?”.
In response, the deputy mayor accused the PS of “continuing to exploit this tragedy for political gain” and assured that the local authority is complying with its obligation to award compensation, as well as with the audit process, which currently involves an internal audit by Carris and an external audit commissioned to CATIM – the Centre for Technological Support to the Metalworking Industry.
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