Lisbon Tramway 2007

Tramscape Tramway Photographs

Lisbon, Portugal : 21st - 24th April, 2007


What we see now is the last remains of a 900-mm system which once covered the Portuguese capital in a dense network. Running up steep hills and through narrow streets, most of the tramway retains a very old-fashioned look. Two-axle trams dating from the 1930s have been refurbished for continued service, with all but the Alges line being unsuitable for modern articulated trams and the operator's finances not allowing for complete renewal of the fleet.	The traditional trams' performance has been found to be unsurpassed on the steep gradients found in Lisbon, such as above on Calcada do Combro. Line 28 links the main tourist areas and the "heritage" feel to the line adds to the tourist attraction, including to the famous Alfama area via the Cathedral. A number of trams have been refurbished to provide special round trips for tourists and distinguished by their red livery.	In 1995, when the political mood temporarily swung behind trams, 10 new articulated cars were bought from Siemens/CAF. These were an add-on to the Valencia production run as Carris could otherwise not afford new stock. They run on line 15 to Belem, a busy route to the tourist area featuring the Mosteiro Jeronimos (in background, above) which is the only line featuring some modern light-rail alignments, which are shared by numerous buses and taxis.

With a track length of 25 km in 2007, Lisbon's unusual 900-mm gauge tramway is only a shadow of what it was 50 years ago. It reached its greatest extent in the 1950s at 160 km, and in the 1960s it was regarded as fact that trams would disappear completely from the Portuguese capital's streets. By 1974, the track length was 97 km, with the outer parts of the network, such as to Benfica, Camide, Lumiar and Areeiro, axed from the system even before the city's metro reached these outlying areas. By 1995 only 72 km were in operation and despite the decision to modernise 45 two-axle trams and order 10 new articulated trams (the first since the late 1930s and the first from an outside supplier since the 1920s) for the Alges route, further cuts were made. Route 24, a "circular" route running around the north of the city centre was "suspended" and has yet to be reinstated.

Looking around the city, there are remnants of track and overhead remaining in situ as if trams could be reintroduced at any time - but on closer inspection, junctions have been lifted and tarmac poured at strategic points. The one remaining part of route 24, running from Camoes in the city centre out to Campolinde remains a possibility for reactivation. Everything remains in place, including the connection with the existing tracks at Camoes, although the onward link to Cais do Sodre has been disconnected. Whether trams ever run on this line again is an open question.

Why has this decline taken place at a time when other cities are preserving and developing their tramway systems? First and foremost, the operator, Carris a city-owned enterprise, is desperately short of money. It claims reduced revenues since it was required to accept a joint-ticketing scheme for journeys including both Carris services and those of the independent Metro. Farebox recovery for tram services is around 30% and Carris' objectives are for it to run its business along commercial lines. Farebox recovery on its buses is calculated to be much higher and Carris has concentrated its capital investment in its bus fleet, which is now very modern, with an average age of six years. Economics would dictate that a modern, low-maintenance bus fleet, with air-conditioned vehicles and new low-exhaust engines would serve the city better than maintaining a fleet of trams, which are now over 70 years old, although fitted with new trucks and electrical equipment in the 1990s.

A clear example of how the bus dominates is on the busy corridor along the north bank of the river Tagus to the popular tourist area of Belem and to the communities beyond. Unlike most of hilly Lisbon, trams run on completely flat land and, in part, streets are wide, being partly on reclaimed riverside land. In 1995, ten new articulated trams were delivered by Siemens (6 with bodies by CAF in Spain and 4 built locally by Sorefame) in an attempt to transform line 15 into a "light rail" line incorporating modern tramway practice. On the wide Avenues from Cais do Sodre through Santos to Alcantara, a semi-reserved alignment was created, and areas marked off for tram use between Alcantara and Belem. New tram stops were built allowing level access to the 70% low-floor trams. The outer part of the 15.5 km long line, from Alges at the city boundary to Cruz Quebrada was to be upgraded to light rail standards and a large park and ride facility built at the terminus. What do we see on this line now ? The Siemens trams provide an excellent service - but there are not enough cars to cope with the timetable. Refurbished two-axle ("Remodelados") trams provide the majority of runs. These cars, whilst excellent museum pieces are totally unsuitable for a modern light rail line. Capacity is extremely limited and for most of the day there is crush loading aboard. Entry is by one narrow door at the front, exit by one door at the back - and each door is reached only by a set of steep steps from platform level. The tram reservation is shared by taxis (and at times by encroaching private cars), but mainly by buses which run parallel to the trams to Belem and onwards to outlying communities. Buses outnumber trams by a considerable margin and even the tram line was cut back from Cruz Quebrada to Alges as the track upgrading was proving too costly. The branch from Alcantara to Ajuda remains but its future remains insecure.

The remainder of the network is now limited to the central area of Lisbon and outer areas are increasingly served by the high-quality metro which has been progressively expanded since its opening in 1959. Line 28 is the backbone of the system, linking Prazeres in the west with Martim Muniz on the northern edge of the city centre, via Estrela, Camoes, the central area at Rua de Conceicao, the city's cathedral, the popular Alfama tourist area. A number of short workings use loops at Graca, Camoes and Estrela providing a rather complicated service made more irregular at the outer ends of the line by the chronic traffic delays experienced at many places on the route. The service irregularity and low passenger capacity of the trams leads to chronic overcrowding, but the line remains popular both with tourists and the residents along the line, in a city where large numbers of people still live in the cramped surroundings of the central area.

If it were not for the tourists, line 28 (the associated line 25 which provides an alternative route from Prazeres and Estrela to the city centre via Bica, and the one-way circular line 12 in the Alfama area) would probably close. A tram ride up the steep hills and through the narrow streets (where one can almost reach out of each side of the tram and touch the roadside houses at many points) is a "must" for the tourist. Carris itself runs special tourist circular trips with refurbished cars with upholstered interior and traditional "lifeguards" fitted. These cars, in their distinctive red livery, are not available for users with regular service tickets. The trips are only available at a premium price - the price Carris deems it necessary to retain the the tramway as a tourist attraction.

What the future holds for the Lisbon tramway is unclear. The trams cope manfully with the steep hills and narrow streets and perhaps better so than buses would - but at a cost. The tourist potential of line 28 is clear, but Carris is not capitalising on all the revenue possible on this line due to the joint ticketing system now in force. Revenues in general are declining as more Portuguese become "motorised" and passenger numbers fall putting more pressure on Carris to eliminate uneconomic operations. Earlier route "suspensions" became de facto closures. Attempts to create a light rail line in the Belem corridor have been half-hearted.

Whilst it is a matter of holding on to what there is in the city itself, there are positive signs on the south bank of the Tagus, where large sprawling suburbs have developed, with a combined population to rival that of the city itself. This area is cut off from Lisbon except for a number of ferries crossing the Tagus, the massive 25th April Bridge which reaches the north bank at Alcantara and the even longer Vasco Da Gama bridge upstream of the city. These routes into the city centre are now severely congested. A rail alignment was ingeniously added to the 25th April bridge and the first cross-river rail line opened in 1999. The communites in the so-called "Margem Sul do Tejo" such as Cacilhas, Almada and Seixal have grown up relatively unplanned and are suffering their own internal traffic chaos. Modern light rail has been chosen as the mode to bring some order to this chaos.

The MST (Metro Ligeiro da Margem Sul do Tejo) is a public-private turnkey project, with Siemens the lead private sector partner in the various companies established to build, operate and maintain the system. Siemens' Combino trams will, from May 2007, run on an initial 13 km-long, three-branch network linking Universidada and Corroios with Cacilhas, the riverside community which is the main departure point for ferries to Lisbon. The success of this system will have an important effect on the future of light rail in the Lisbon area in general. Plans are well developed for extensions to the MST deeper into the south bank suburbs. Legislators and operators are also keeping a close eye on progress as modern light rail could be specified for new lines on the north bank, in the outer suburbs where road infrastructure is poor and a high quality line to link the various radial metro lines would significantly help to reduce the growing traffic congestion as Lisbon expands and its population "motorises".

In years to come, Lisbon could be an interesting mix of a "real" working museum tramway and the best practice in modern light rail.

Photographs by Gordon Stewart

Return to Series List