Ascensor da Glória
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 | This topic may be affected by the following current event: 2025 Ascensor da Glória derailment. Information in this topic may change rapidly as the event progresses. Initial news reports may be unreliable. The last updates to this topic may not reflect the most current information. (September 2025) |
| Glória Funicular Tram | |
|---|---|
Ascensor da Glória | |
.jpg) A tram car on the upper section | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Status | Suspended |
| Type | Funicular |
| Location | Lisbon, Portugal |
| Address | Calçada da Glória |
| Town or city | Lisbon |
| Country | Portugal |
| Coordinates | 38°42′58″N 9°8′34″W / 38.71611°N 9.14278°W |
| Opened | 24 October 1885 |
| Owner | Portuguese Republic |
| Management | Carris |
| Technical details | |
| Material | Steel |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Raoul Mesnier du Ponsard |
| Type | Non-movable |
| Criteria | National Monument |
| Designated | 19 February 2002 |
| Reference no. | IPA.00003986 |
The Glória Funicular (Portuguese: Ascensor da Glória, popularly also known as Elevador da Glória) is a funicular tram railway line in the civil parish of Santo António, in Lisbon, Portugal, operated by Carris. It connects the Pombaline downtown (at the Restauradores Square) with the Bairro Alto (São Pedro de Alcântara Garden).
It opened in 1885, and electric-powered services were introduced in 1915. Two new, identical, vehicles were constructed by German engineering company Maschinenfabrik Esslingen[1][2] in 1957. Each can carry 42 people plus the conductor. The system was classified as a National Monument in 1997.
On 3 September 2025, sixteen people died when one of the trams derailed.
Operation
[edit]
The tram system is situated in an urban area, and extends from a lower station on Avenida da Liberdade to the second station at Rua de São Pedro de Alcântara, passing through a built-up area of 19th century buildings, including the Palácio Foz and Misericórdia.[3] At its mid-way point, the line crosses a bridge above railway tracks entering Rossio station.
The line slopes 17.7% (1 in 5.65), and conforms to the core principle defining a true funicular, with two cars permanently attached to opposite ends of a buried haulage cable, which is looped over a pulley at the upper end of the track. Unusually, traction is provided by electric motors on the two cars, which are themselves powered through a pair of overhead wires, through two pantographs in parallel.[citation needed]
The vehicles, running on metre-gauge tracks that are interleaved on the lower section, move only at the same time; as one ascends the other descends, each car acting as a counterweight to the other, the weight of the descending car helping to pull the other one up.[4]
The trams are inclined with respect to the slope of the road so that the bodies are level, with seats oriented longitudinally.[3]
The 275-metre (902 ft) journey takes approximately three minutes.[5] Each car can carry 42 people plus the conductor.[citation needed]
History
[edit]
In 1875, a concession was granted to Nova Companhia dos Ascensores Mecânicos de Lisboa to construct a tram along the Calçada da Glória.[3] The concession's chief engineer was Raoul Mesnier du Ponsard. Construction began in 1882.[3]
The completed lift was inaugurated on 24 October 1885, initially powered by a water balance system, then replaced with a steam-powered mechanism by 1886.[3] The track included two cars with exterior wheels,[clarification needed] and a central cable that was held by protective shoes. The interior was divided into two floors, with two benches on the lower facing the interior and two on the upper back-to-back.[3]
In 1912, Nova Companhia dos Ascensores Mecânicos de Lisboa (NCAML) signed a contract with the Municipal Council of Lisbon that allowed them to electrify the lines.[3] These repairs and installations occurred between 1914 and 1915, before returning to operation.[3]
In 1926, the Nova Companhia dos Ascensores Mecânicos de Lisboa was dissolved, and the funicular became a property of the Companhia Carris.[3] As part of the change, in 1927, a shelter was inaugurated for passengers, which was constructed along the Praça dos Restauradores, which was contested. It was demolished in 1934.[3]
.jpg)
On 1 August 1995, Carris presented a proposal to classify the line as a heritage site, to which the IPPAR consultative council proposed the classification of the tram as a National Monument on 11 March 1997.[3] A dispatch on 9 April 1997 ordered the approval by the Minister of Culture. The DRLisboa proposed the expansion of the classification to a building on Travessa do Fala-Só and rectification of the law, which was approved on 7 January 2003 by IPPAR.[3]
Derailments
[edit]The Ascensor da Glória has experienced occasional derailments, including two major incidents in the 21st century.
On 7 May 2018, a car derailed due to insufficient wheel maintenance. No injuries were reported.[6]
.jpg)
On 3 September 2025, a car ran away and then derailed after the failure of a steel cable, and brake malfunction. The vehicle struck a building near Praça dos Restauradores at around 18:05 local time, killing sixteen people and injuring twenty-one, five of them seriously.[7][5]
Witnesses described the upper car descending out of control before toppling.[5] People inside the carriage and on the street became trapped and crushed against the sidewalk and a building by the momentum and sheer weight of the undercarriage assembly, which turned and toppled over, catching most passengers beneath it.[8]
The Mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas, declared a three-day-long mourning period. He was also adamant that any tourists directly affected would see the value of their Municipal Tourism Tax for the day reimbursed in full.[9] Foreigners of multiple nationalities were among those injured.[10]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Khalip, Andrei (2025-09-04). "Key facts about Lisbon's historic Gloria cable railway". Reuters. Retrieved 2025-09-05.
The two identical cars, numbered 1 and 2, were built by the German company Maschinenfabrik Esslingen.
- ^ Sarkar, Alisha Rahaman (2025-09-04). "What is Lisbon's funicular cable and how does it work?". The Independent. Retrieved 2025-09-05.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Vale, Teresa; Ferreira, Maria; Matias, Cecília (1999), SIPA (ed.), Ascensor da Glória (IPA.00003986/PT031106150376) (in Portuguese), Lisbon, Portugal: SIPA –Sistema de Informação para o Património Arquitectónico, archived from the original on 17 February 2016, retrieved 11 February 2016
- ^ "Ficha Técnica: Ascensor da Glória" [Technical File: Glória Funicular] (in Portuguese). Carris de Ferro de Lisboa. Retrieved 4 September 2025.
- ^ a b c "Lisbon in shock after funicular crash leaves at least 17 dead". BBC. 3 September 2025. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
- ^ Cipriano, Carlos (2018-05-17). "O elevador da Glória descarrilou e ninguém disse nada". Público (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2025-09-03.
- ^ "What to know about the streetcar derailment in Lisbon". AP News. 2025-09-04. Retrieved 2025-09-04.
- ^ "Três pessoas morreram e várias ficaram feridas após descarrilamento do Elevador da Glória, em Lisboa". CNN Portugal (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2025-09-03.
- ^ "Sobe para 16 número de mortos após bondinho descarrilar em Lisboa". Retrieved 2025-09-04.
- ^ "Sobe para 16 número de mortos após bondinho descarrilar em Lisboa". Retrieved 2025-09-04.
Further reading
[edit]- O Occidente [The West] (in Portuguese). Vol. VIII. 1885.
- Capitão, Maria Amélia Motta (1974). Subsídios para a História dos Transportes Terrestres em Lisboa no Século XIX [Support for the History of Land Transport in Lisbon in the 19th Century] (in Portuguese). Lisbon, Portugal.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Larange, José (1993). O Ascensor da Glória. Lisboa [The Gloria Funicular. Lisbon] (in Portuguese) (Série II, Ano III ed.). CCFL.
- Larange, José (1993). O Ascensor da Glória. Lisboa [The Gloria Funicular. Lisbon] (in Portuguese). O Livro da Carris.