Ascensor da Glória
| Glória Funicular Tram | |
|---|---|
| Ascensor da Glória | |
_4.jpg) A tram car on the upper section | |
 | |
| Operation | |
| Locale | Calçada da Glória, Lisbon, Portugal |
| Open | 24 October 1885 |
| Status | Suspended |
| Owner | Portuguese Republic |
| Operator | Carris |
| Engineer | Raoul Mesnier du Ponsard |
| Infrastructure | |
| Type | Funicular |
| Track gauge | 900 mm |
| Propulsion system | Electric |
| Electrification | Overhead, 600 V DC |
| 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 hybrid funicular-tram 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). Along with the Elevador do Lavra and the Elevador da Bica it is one of three such funiculars in Lisbon.
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] Each can carry 42 people plus the conductor. The system was classified as a National Monument in 2002.
On 3 September 2025, one of the cars derailed and collided with a building, resulting in 16 deaths. The service was subsequently suspended.
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 over a tunnel for the railway tracks entering Rossio station.
The line slopes 17.7% (1 in 5.65), and conforms to the core principle of a true funicular, with two cars, numbered 1 & 2, permanently attached to opposite ends of a buried haulage cable, which is looped over a pulley at the upper end of the track. As one ascends the other descends, each acting as a counterweight to the other, the weight of the descending vehicle helping to pull the other one up.[4] Unusually, though in common with the Ascensor do Lavra, traction is provided by electric motors on the vehicles, powered from a pair of trolleybus-style overhead wires at 600 V DC,[5] through two pantographs in parallel.[citation needed]
The yellow and white vehicles have sloping steel chassis, to keep their interiors horizontal. They have steel bodies and glass windows,[citation needed] with a long wooden bench down each interior side.[3]
They run on 900 mm tracks[6]: Fig. 2 that are interleaved on the lower section.[4] The 275-metre (902 ft) journey takes approximately three minutes.[7]
-
Night-time view of a graffitied tram, on one of the lower section's interleaved tracks -
The interleaved tracks separate just below the passing point -
Brakeman's position -
Interior of a car, showing the horizontal floor level with longitudinal seats
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History
[edit]
In 1875, a concession was granted to Nova Companhia dos Ascensores Mecânicos de Lisboa (NCAML) to construct a tram along the Calçada da Glória. The concession's chief engineer was Raoul Mesnier du Ponsard. Construction began in 1882.[3]
The completed lift was inaugurated on 24 October 1885. There were two cars, each of which was divided into two floors, with two benches on the lower interior floor facing inwards and two on the upper exterior floor back-to-back.[3]
The funicular was initially powered by a water balance system, but only for one year until in 1886 it was replaced by a system having the cable wound around a steam-powered pulley in a powerhouse located on a side street off of Calçada da Glória. The cable lifted and lowered the cars from the top of the trackway.[8]: 56–70
During the water- and steam-powered period, the funicular ran on a Riggenbach-type rack rail system for braking safety. Car designs and photos[8]: Figs. 13, 34, 37, 38 show one lateral rack rail and a pair of standard rails used in combination for the track. One or both of the axles on each car had a pinion fixed to one side of the wheel and brake shoes on discs between the wheels. The pinion slotted into the rack to prevent wheel slippage. Tests by Mesnier du Ponsard and the city government's engineers in 1885 showed that the system was sufficient to control cars without the support of the cable.[9]
In 1912, NCAML signed a contract with the Municipal Council of Lisbon that allowed them to electrify the lines. These repairs and installations occurred between 1914 and 1915, before returning to operation.[3] The rack and pinion system was removed at this time.[8]: 50
From this time onward, electric motors power each axle.[6]: 1 The now-passive funicular cable counterbalances the load between the cars and the motors only require sufficient force to raise and lower the cars through wheel friction on the rails. Braking is done by a vertical vise pneumatically pressing on the top and bottom of the metal channel carrying the underground cable between the rails. There is also an auxiliary manual brake that presses a shoe against each wheel.[6]: 1
In 1926, NCAML was dissolved and the funicular became a property of the Companhia Carris. 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]
On 1 August 1995, Carris presented a proposal to classify the line as a heritage site, to which the IPPAR[a] consultative council proposed the classification of the tram as a National Monument on 11 March 1997. A dispatch on 9 April 1997 recommended the approval by the Minister of Culture and monument status was conferred in 2002. The DRLisboa[b] proposed the expansion of the classification to the former steam powerhouse 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.[10]
On 3 September 2025, a car ran away and then derailed before hitting a building during the evening rush hour, killing 16 people, including the brakeman, and injuring 21.[11][7] People of multiple nationalities were among those killed and injured.[12] [13]
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ Instituto Português do Património Arquitetónico, former institute now part of Direção-Geral do Património Cultural.
- ^ Direção Regional de Lisboa, IPPAR’s Lisbon regional directorate.
References
[edit]- ^ Khalip, Andrei (4 September 2025). "Key facts about Lisbon's historic Gloria cable railway". Reuters. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
The two identical cars, numbered 1 and 2, were built by the German company Maschinenfabrik Esslingen.
- ^ Sarkar, Alisha Rahaman (4 September 2025). "What is Lisbon's funicular cable and how does it work?". The Independent. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g 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
- ^ a b "Ficha Técnica: Ascensor da Glória" [Technical File: Glória Funicular] (in Portuguese). Carris de Ferro de Lisboa. Retrieved 4 September 2025. [dead link]
- ^ "Wie konnte es zum Seilbahn-Unglück in Lissabon kommen?" [How could the cable car accident in Lisbon happen?]. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). 4 September 2025. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
Die Stromversorgung (600 Volt Gleichstrom) übernimmt seither eine Oberleitung. Die in Reihe geschalteten elektrischen Fahrmotoren der beiden Wagen übertrugen ihre Kraft auf die Radsätze. Damit hatte die Standseilbahn nun einen Adhäsionsantrieb … Seilzug verbundene Straßenbahn gelten. Das technische Prinzip wurde beibehalten, als in den Zwanzigerjahren die heutigen Wagen der Bahn … Seit dem Jahr 2002 steht die Bahn unter Denkmalschutz.
- ^ a b c GPIAAF file F_Inv20250903 (PDF) (Report). Gabinete de Prevenção e Investigação de Acidentes com Aeronaves e de Acidents Ferroviários (GPIAAF). 6 September 2026. Retrieved 10 September 2025.
- ^ a b "Lisbon in shock after funicular crash leaves at least 17 dead". BBC. 3 September 2025. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
- ^ a b c João Manuel Hipólito Firmino da Costa (2008). Um caso de património local: A tomada de Lisboa pelos ascensores (PDF) (Thesis) (in Portuguese). Lisboa: Universidade Aberta. 197pp+annexes. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
- ^ António Paes Sande e Castro (1954). "A Vida Atribulada de uma Companhia Lisboeta de Viação" (PDF). Olisipo (in Portuguese) (65): 13–26.
- ^ Cipriano, Carlos (17 May 2018). "O elevador da Glória descarrilou e ninguém disse nada". Público (in Portuguese). Retrieved 3 September 2025.
- ^ "What to know about the streetcar derailment in Lisbon". AP News. 4 September 2025. Retrieved 4 September 2025.
- ^ "Sobe para 16 número de mortos após bondinho descarrilar em Lisboa". Retrieved 4 September 2025.
- ^ Lima, Valentina Marcelino. "Elevador da Glória. Relatório aponta que sistema de emergência cortou a energia, mas não foi suficiente". Diário de Notícias.
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.