Lisbon Metro to Make Major Moves Despite Harmful Losses

Severely reduced revenue and only 50% of passengers isn't stopping Lisbon's metro.

Due to the pandemic, the Lisbon Metro has seen a decrease of 50% in the number of passengers using the system, as acknowledged by the chairman of the board of directors of Metropolitano de Lisboa, Vítor Domingues dos Santos, at the Portugal Railway Summit held online.

According to Observador, Domingues dos Santos said, “The situation was not so serious due to...state support, otherwise [the losses] would be around 59 million euros.” Domingues dos Santos did not reveal the exact figure of the losses.

The Metro is betting on future investments to revive its revenue, like the expansion of the metro’s circular and red lines and the acquisition of more rolling stock — new railway vehicles.

The two-kilometer expansion of the circular line to the neighborhoods of Santos and Estrela is currently underway, but Domingues dos Santos noted that the Metro system must still renovate the Cais do Sodré station and modify existing viaducts in Campo Grande. This is all set to require another 210 million euros (172 million euros from the Environmental Fund and 83 million euros from the POSEUR cohesion fund). 

There is also a plan to expand the red line between São Sebastião and Alcântara. With that project, along with and two others, the Metropolitano de Lisboa will invest 114 million euros to purchase 42 new coaches with 14 trains to add to its existing 70-train network, writes Observador. Additionally, some 16 of the network's 40 stations will also be expanding metro access with new elevators and stairs, as they have already done at Colégio Militar. The Metropolitano de Lisboa is only waiting for the go-ahead from the Tribunal de Contas before they can begin putting the plan into effect.

But the Metropolitano de Lisboa isn’t stopping there, according to Vítor Domingues dos Santos. There are plans in the works to create a new four-kilometer metro line that will cover the western area of Lisbon. This project has been estimated to cost 300 million euros and has yet to be approved. The line, if given the green light, would link Amoreiras, Campo de Ourique, Infante Santo, and Alcântara, and is slated to be completed before 2030.

Domingues dos Santos says, “The Amoreiras station would be… close to the hotel D. Pedro and Amoreiras Shopping, and the Campo de Ourique station next to Jardim da Parada, in the center of the neighborhood.” The placement for the stop in Alcântara is still yet to be determined as it should link up with the CP -Alcântara Mar and Alcântara Terra lines.