Porto, Portugal, Jan. 21, 2026 (Lusa) - The Pink Metro Line in the Portuguese city of Porto, which will connect São Bento to Casa da Música, will be operational by March 2027, despite the fact that the project will be completed this year, announced the company's president, Emídio Gomes.
"Regulatory safety and certification requirements, (...) and all mandatory safety tests mean that, although the line will be ready before the end of the year, it will only be available for commercial use and by passengers by the end of the first quarter of 2027," revealed Emídio Gomes.
The president of the transport company was speaking to journalists at the end of a working meeting with the Porto city council executive, which took place on Tuesday afternoon at the city hall, and described the delay as "not great news".
The Pink Line of the Porto Metro was originally scheduled to start operating in 2024, but its deadline has been repeatedly postponed.
"We expect that the line will be available for passenger use by March 2027, which means that it will have been under construction for six years," he added.
Emídio Gomes acknowledged that "there were circumstances that justify part of what happened", giving as an example "the very serious and unforeseeable construction problems on the section between the Boavista roundabout [Praça de Mouzinho de Albuquerque] and Praça da Galiza".
Between the final cost of the project - "just over €300 million" - and the additional work, the total final cost of this project will amount to €420 million.
This concerns a line that runs entirely underground between São Bento and Casa da Música in Porto, including the intermediate stations of Hospital Santo António and Galiza, as well as a branch line connecting to the main line, which, after several delays, was scheduled to be ready in the first quarter of this year.
On behalf of the Socialist Party, Councillor Manuel Pizarro praised the return of "open, transparent and rigorous dialogue" between the local authority and the Porto Metro and revealed that the transport company has committed to launching "as soon as possible" a tender for the construction of a lift connecting the future Praça da Galiza station to the Northern Maternity and Children's Centre.
The sole councillor from the far-right Chega Party, Miguel Corte-Real, who requested this meeting to discuss the metrobus project, said he was "confident" in the deadlines given by the Metro management for the Pink Line to start operating.
"We have to give the management the benefit of the doubt. I'm not happy with what they told us, but I'm happy that they told us something and that they made a commitment," he said.
The local authority mayor, Pedro Duarte, welcomed the "completely different relationship" between the new Porto city council and the new Metro management, but assured that he will be "very vigilant" as "the city will not tolerate any more delays".
On 9 January, Emídio Gomes undertook to resolve all surface impediments relating to the construction of this line to São João by 24 June.
AFG/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
