Lisbon’s Beloved Funiculars Get a National Safety Overhaul

The national government has quietly redrawn Portugal’s transport‐safety map. In a bid to close a regulatory loophole, officials have instructed the Mobility and Transport Authority (IMT) to assume full oversight of historic cable systems such as Lisbon’s Elevador da Glória, ending years of divided responsibility between City Hall and several heritage bodies. The decision, confirmed in internal papers seen by Público, comes after auditors warned that no single agency could be held accountable for the daily certification of these century-old machines.

Urgency behind the new order

Lisbon residents may take the squeaky yellow cars up Restauradores hill for granted, but a recent government review found that heritage transport fell outside the standard safety grid applied to buses, metros and rail. Inspectors discovered that maintenance logs, driver training records and emergency plans were being kept "to best effort" standards rather than under a legally binding code. The Transport and Infrastructure Ministry therefore issued a mandate on 14 October instructing the IMT to plug the gap and draft a uniform rulebook "within six months".

A century-old icon caught between agencies

The Elevador da Glória opened in 1885, long before Portugal had a modern regulator. Over time, licensing powers shifted from private concessionaires to Lisboa E-NOVA, then to Carris, and finally—at least on paper—to Lisbon City Hall. Each hand-over blurred accountability. While City Hall oversees urban planning, only the IMT possesses the technical staff needed for rolling‐stock stress tests, cable inspections and driver accreditation. By formalising IMT’s lead role, the government hopes to give tourists and locals the same level of assurance they already expect on the metro’s Red Line or on Alfa Pendular trains.

What changes for operators and commuters

Under the new directive, Carris must submit quarterly maintenance reports directly to the IMT, which in turn will schedule unannounced spot checks. Drivers will transition to an IMT‐validated licence rather than the current municipal badge. For passengers, the most visible difference could be weekend closures while safety retrofits—financed in part by €6 M from the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR)—are carried out. Authorities stress that ticket prices will stay frozen “for the foreseeable future.”

Oversight beyond Lisbon’s hills

Although sparked by Lisbon’s funiculars, the order covers every inclined‐plane system in Portugal. That includes Porto’s Guindais Funicular, the Santa Justa Elevator, the cable cars over Vila Nova de Gaia’s wine cellars, and the new tourist lift planned for Funchal. Regional governments must now sign cooperation protocols with the IMT or face delays in EU‐funded modernisation projects. In practice, the agency will replicate the audit model it already applies to the Douro Line and to Portugal’s TVDE ride-sharing fleets.

Timetable for the new rulebook

According to an internal calendar, a draft decree is due by January, followed by a 30-day public consultation. The IMT then plans to publish definitive technical standards—covering brake redundancy, evacuation procedures and digital monitoring—before Easter. Heritage advocates welcome the move, noting that stricter oversight does not preclude authenticity. “You can keep the varnished teak interiors and still install real-time sensor networks,” says Sofia Leitão of the Lisbon Historical Transport Association. Until the new code takes force, day-to-day operations will continue under temporary protocols issued this week, ensuring that the Glória, Bica and Lavra lines keep climbing Lisbon’s hills—now with clearer lines of accountability.