Inspection of Lisbon lifts is still ongoing

AND. statements to journalists after presenting the solution for the future riser of Gloria, the president of Carris, Rui Lopo, said that the lifts of Bica and Lavra and the elevator of Santa Junta are still under “a rigorous technical evaluation, in great detail, of great care”, without predicting when they will be working again, advancing that in the elevator of Santa Justa “the evaluation is more advanced than in Lavra, but it will still take time”.

“ Security is not negotiable and therefore these things cannot have precipitations and must be seen with great care ", he said.

Following the derailment of the Glória elevator, which took place on September 3, 2025 and caused 16 deaths and 24 wounded, between Portuguese and foreigners of various nationalities, the Lisbon City Council suspended “immediately” the operation of the historical equipment of Carris to be inspected, namely the lifts of Bica and Lavra, the elevator of Santa Junta and the funicular of Grace, which reopened on April 30.

After about a year, the lifts of Bica and Lavra are still being evaluated, and “there are a set of technical circumstances that have to correspond to security issues,” said the president of Carris, Rui Lopo, in office since January, after the resignation of former manager Pedro de Brito Bogas following derailment.

Claiming that Lavra's ascender has the same operating system as Gloria's ascender, because “Gloria is Lavra's twin brother”, Carris' president stressed that “regardless, there is an Independent Technical Commission that is working” on Lavra's safety assessment.

“ It is still premature for us to be able to evaluate what actually has to happen” so that Lavra’s ascender can start working again, Rui Lopo explained, saying that “there is a macro framework, but it has to be analyzed very carefully with much responsibility”, stressing that “they are time-consuming processes”.

The operation of these historical Carris equipment depends on several factors, including the delay in the supply of safety equipment and subsystems, which “has a very long time”.

“ Therefore, to evaluate conditions, with great responsibility, to have the time necessary to, when it is restored, it is restored in safety conditions, hypertested and hyperverified ", argued, explaining that "the operation of these equipment is not so different from each other.

Referring to the fact that all of Carris’ historical equipment “is national heritage”, Rui Lopo said that “if all security conditions can be guaranteed, even in old equipment”, the municipal company has to guarantee all technical evaluation, which is being done by “various entities”, including the Independent Technical Commission and international technicians.

This technical evaluation will conclude whether the equipment can function as it is, or whether it is necessary to make changes or whether it needs a “completely new solution”, Carris said.

The Technical Commission Independent, created by deliberation of the House of Lisbon, chaired by Carlos Coins (PSD), after the accident with the Glória elevator, is composed of experts indicated by the Order of Engineers (OE), the National Laboratory of Civil Engineering (LNEC) and the Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), with representatives of municipal companies Carris (public transportation) and EMEL (parking and mobility).