The new Lisbon Metropolitan Circular Line, which will connect Rato to Cais do Sodré, should only be opened in the first quarter of 2027, accumulating a delay of more than three years in relation to the plan initially drawn up for this infrastructure.
The confirmation was made by the company’s management, which emphasizes that the goal is to guarantee not only the physical completion of the work, but also its entry into full operation. According to the news agency, the intention is for the inauguration to take place with the line operational and integrated into the network.
A calendar that changed again
Initially scheduled for the second half of 2025, the opening of this new connection was successively postponed, reflecting technical, administrative and financial difficulties that accumulated throughout the process.
According to the same source, the overall delay has already reached three years and three months, which represents a significant deviation from the original schedule and raises doubts about the execution of large urban mobility projects.
Tensions and obstacles in the work
Part of the problems identified is related to the relationship between the public company and the contractors responsible for carrying out the various lots of work, in a context of prolonged negotiations.
The news agency writes that one of the sections, despite being completed in September 2024, had not yet been closed from a financial point of view, a situation that generated “crisis and ill will” between the parties involved.
What will change on the network
The Circular Line includes two new stations, Estrela and Santos, in addition to the redevelopment of the Cais do Sodré station, creating a new configuration in the center of Lisbon. The same source adds that this expansion will allow the Yellow and Green lines to be connected, forming a continuous ring that should facilitate circulation and reduce waiting times between correspondence.
The project lost the financing initially foreseen through the Recovery and Resilience Plan, forcing the company to look for alternative solutions to guarantee the continuity of the work. The same source mentions that contacts are underway with several entities, including the European Investment Bank, in an attempt to guarantee the necessary resources to complete the project.
The expansion of the Red Line also faces significant delays, estimated at around two years and nine months, which shows broader difficulties in modernizing the network. According to the same source, the consignment of this work has not yet been formalized, although there is the intention to move forward with the project as soon as the necessary conditions are met.
The Lisbon Metro administration reaffirms its commitment to complying with the new calendar, highlighting the ongoing dialogue with contractors and the need to stabilize the process. According to Lusa, the person responsible guaranteed that the goal is defined and that the line should be inaugurated in the first quarter of 2027, already ready to go into operation.
Also read:
