Latest news and stories about metro expansion in infrastructure in Lisboa, Portugal for expats and residents.
Lisbon plans to launch a new rapid surface metro line by 2029 connecting Santa Apolónia to Parque das Nações, aiming to alleviate the city's chronic traffic congestion and public transport inefficiencies.
Lisbon's public transport operators, including Metropolitano de Lisboa and Transtejo, have announced significant service expansions and infrastructure upgrades, such as earlier metro hours and new ferry routes, to improve regional mobility.
Metro transit authorities have acquired a new eight-million-dollar rail grinder to replace aging equipment that has been in operation since 1976, aiming to improve track maintenance and safety.
The Lisbon Metro Green line will suspend service between Rossio and Cais do Sodré from May 2 to May 5 due to expansion works, with full operations resuming on May 6.
The issue concerns the execution of the Lisbon General Drainage Plan works.
At issue are works for the Lisbon General Drainage Plan, initially scheduled for the beginning of the year but since postponed. Moedas highlights the “historic project,” which is still being coordinated with the Metro operator.
Since July 2025, the Lisbon City Council has announced three times the start of the delicate structural reinforcement intervention at the metro station, which will require its closure for eight months. However, there are no new dates.
The Lisbon Metro is marking European Mobility Week, from 16 to 22 September, with a programme focused on sustainable mobility, including guided tours of the future Circular Line construction sites. The initiative aims to promote sustainable transport and showcase the network's expansion projects. Tours are scheduled for 20 September, starting at the Estrela site and covering the future Estrela and Santos stations, ending at Cais do Sodré. Additionally, the company is launching a campaign highlighting how the metro integrates with other transport modes across different generations to reduce reliance on private vehicles. Meanwhile, Lisbon's metro and airport passenger numbers have declined, contrasting with growth in Porto.
The tours will be accompanied by Metro professionals.
The assistance number will provide information on elevator availability and alternative routes. In February, there were 38 elevators and 40 escalators out of service at Metro stations.
The station platform, in the direction of Santa Apolónia, will reopen on Thursday. Works on the platform in the direction of Reboleira will follow from September 3rd to 28th. The station will remain open with phased restrictions.
Lisbon Metro announces that the next phase of work will focus on the platform with Reboleira as the final stop.
Reopening is scheduled for 06:30
The Cais do Sodré station of the Lisbon Metro reopens on Thursday, August 27, following a 19-day closure for railway signaling works related to the future Circular Line, the company announced this Wednesday. In a statement, the Lisbon Metro notes that the reopening is scheduled for 6:30 am.
To allow for the necessary work for the station's reopening, the section between Martim Moniz and Cais do Sodré will be closed this Wednesday at 23:00.
In recent days, passengers on the Blue Line of the Lisbon Metro faced several service interruptions without clear explanations. The Metro operator reported 7 incidents totalling 96 minutes of disruption, with 41 minutes attributed to train and signalling faults. A new CBTC signalling system, part of a 114.5 million euro investment launched in 2020, is currently in advanced technical trials. The system aims to improve safety, frequency, and reliability by automatically monitoring train positions and speeds, though no date for full implementation has been provided.
On Friday, the Aeroporto, Oriente, Olivais, Bela Vista, Alameda, and São Sebastião stations on the red line, and Alameda, Areeiro, Campo Grande, and Telheiras on the green line, will remain open until 04:00.
Some stations will remain open until 04:00 on Friday and until 03:00 over the weekend
In February, a record for broken equipment was set: there were 40 escalators and 38 lifts out of service at stations in the capital. Maintenance procedures have changed, and improvements are starting to be noticed.
Many passengers have to change their routines until the end of the month due to the temporary closure of the Cais do Sodré metro station in Lisbon, one of the city's main transport hubs. It is another step in the construction of the controversial circular line.
Carris states that it has the capacity to handle the foreseeable increase in passengers during the eighteen days in August, a high-traffic month, when the Lisbon Metro station will be closed for construction work.
Even with the temporary closure of the metro at Cais do Sodré starting this Saturday, buses and trams will not have reinforced schedules. Carris considers the existing service sufficient for the duration of the construction work.
Socialists want to know how the approximately 10 million euros in additional costs are broken down and criticise the lack of consultation with the affected municipalities.
If the Circular Line is implemented, it will create 'a major problem for the population of the northern area' of the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, according to the mayor. The mayor promises to contest the decision.
There are ties that bind, but this one became a source of discord. For nearly a decade, the future operation of the Lisbon Metro has divided governments, parties, municipalities, and users. The debate pitted the Circular Line, chosen by Socialist Party governments, against the Loop Line, which was defended as a way to preserve direct connections between the northern axis and the city centre. The author, who previously opposed the Circular Line, argues that while the project's delays and cost overruns—now reaching 379 million euros—are the responsibility of previous governments, an immediate conversion to the loop is currently unfeasible due to further costs and risks to EU funding. The current government is prioritising the opening of the circular line to test its efficiency in practice, leaving the possibility of a future transition to the loop open if the circular model fails to meet passenger needs.
The Ministry of Infrastructure confirms the choice for closed-circuit operation of the Circular Line. “The loop scenario, although proven technically feasible, exceeds the investment already executed.”
The Lisbon Metro Blue Line will operate on a reduced schedule during August weekends, closing at midnight on Fridays and opening at 07:30 on Saturdays and Sundays, the transport operator announced this Thursday. In a statement, the company justified the temporary schedule adjustment with the need to carry out technical tests for the new...
