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Lisbon Trams Part One:
Trams of Today

Siemens articulated tram, as operating in summer 2003.

Remodelado'#576 is seen at Pr. Comércio, 2002.

Compiled by John Laidlar

June 2009

Link to Part Two:
LISBON TRAMS
OF THE PAST

Lisbon Trams

The Lisbon Trams webpage has two parts.

Part One: Lisbon Trams of Today

Part Two: Lisbon Trams of the Past

Above: "A good reason to take the tram" is the slogan for Tagus beer displayed on this Siemens tram, pictured at Praça da Figueira in 2003.

Lisbon Trams of Today

Siemens articulated tram, no.505 at Belém, June, 2005.

Current Fleet

The diversity of Lisbon's tram fleet has declined markedly in recent years, with the withdrawal in the 1990s of various types, including the 1906 Brill bogie cars, and the abandonment of the use of trailers. (See Part Two of this page for details of the historic tram fleet). Nevertheless, there is still plenty to see, with the fleet now effectively limited to the ten new (1995+) Siemens articulated trams and a fleet of 45 four-wheelers, known as the 'remodelados'. However, in late 1999 some retired 700 class trams had to return to service on route 28, as the 'remodelados' were suffering from a spate of compressor failures. There is also a significant fleet of tourist trams and museum cars.

Operational Fleet All service trams are operated by Carris, (Companhia Carris de Ferro de Lisboa), founded in 1872. Some sense of variety is instilled by the wide use of advertising liveries which adorn the majority of vehicles. The articulated trams mostly bear all-over advertising which, in most cases, also covers the windows. Whilst passengers can see out through the advertising, awaiting passengers find it difficult to see whether the tram is crowded or not, or indeed where the doors are. But, by 2005, increasing numbers of the remodelados trams had been restored to the traditional yellow and white livery, without advertising on the exterior.

Fleet numbers 501-510 These comprise ten three-section trams built by Siemens and used exclusively on the coastal route #15 to Algés from Praça da Figueira. They entered public service in April, 1995. These trams are air-conditioned and hold 210 passengers, including those standing. Their overall length is 24.02 metres and they have 65 seats. They have two 105kw motors and can reach 70km/hr. All are single-ended, with four sets of 'plug-type' sliding doors and interior digital indicators indicating each tram-stop. The ten cars mostly bear all-over advertising liveries which change from time to time.

Above: Remodelados queue up in Praça do Comércio in summer 2005, awaiting an influx of tourists on an organised tour from a visiting cruise ship. Note the fitting of trolley poles as well as pantographs to each vehicle.

Fleet numbers 541-585 These are the new numbers for 45 remodelled trams drawn from 221-282 series and from 701-724, but also including 415 and 483. (See Part Two of the Lisbon Trams page for details). The remodelados were introduced in July 1995 but are actually all older Standard cars from the 1930s, rather than the more modern lightweight vehicles of the 736 series as the Standards were of stronger original construction and had not generally been worn-out by use on the more hilly routes. They have two Skoda motors and have been generally upgraded to give a smoother journey, whilst retaining traditional tourist appeal. They have only 20 seats but space for 38 standing. All are unidirectional and have both trolley poles (for the narrower streets) and pantographs fitted. Their size is 8.382m by 2.378m..

Tourist Trams:

Lisbon tourist tram (2002). .

These are red, white and gold-liveried trams, fitted with Providence lifeguards operate the tourist routes, the 'Circuito das Colinas' ('Hilly-route Circular') which passes through the steep and tortuous streets of the Alfama district from the Praça do Comércio, via Martim Moniz, to Estrela and back. Their interiors have been retro-converted to an approximation of early 20th-century fittings. One of these vehicles is seen in the accompanying photograph, in the Estrela turning loop. This journey can be duplicated by service vehicles on routes 28 and 25 for much less outlay but with the tourist trams you are guaranteed a seat and get a commentary. Service tram 28 is often very crowded. In 2002 the operating tourist trams were nos. 3 to 9, (ex 726, 723, 583, 585, 584. 546 and 570 respectively) but further trams have since been added and there is even a bogie tram (#10) in the "tourist" livery parked now in the Praça do Comércio as a booking office. Tourist trams no. 1 and 2 were formerly #435 and 437 respectively.

Museum Trams For details of the Carris museum fleet, housed at Santo Amaro, visit the Museum Page.

Current Routes

Lisbon's tram network map has seen large cuts over the last 25 years. Today (2005) it has five remaining services, which are all operated by the Carris company. There has been a longstanding hope that a sixth route, the number 24, would be reopened, albeit in a shortened form from Cais do Sodré to Campolide. However, there is little immediate prospect of this development. The five surviving routes are, therefore:

12: This is the shortest route on the system and is a circular route from Praça da Figueira via Martim Moniz to the hilly Alfama district. This includes one of the steepest sections in the city, at S.Tomé. Formerly route 12 operated an even shorter route, wholly within the Alfama. Services operate approximately four times an hour though at times only one car is used and timings can be erratic.

15: Rua da Alfândega, just east of the Praça do Comércio in central Lisbon, to Algés (Jardim), which is a distance of about 10km. The terminus moved from P. Figueira to Alfândega in 2009. At Algés, there is a major bus station and a train station on the line to Estoril and Cascais, the latter accessible via a subway from the bus station. Shortly beyond the bus station, the tram terminates at a turning loop in Algés Jardim (Algés Garden), which is a short walk from the interesting aquarium at Dafundo. Formerly the route extended to the west via Dafundo to Cruz Quebrada, with a branch beyond to the national football stadium (Jamor). The15 route runs from the city largely parallel to the river Tagus estuary in a westerly direction and is the only service operated by the new Siemens articulated trams which have capacity for 210 passengers. It has a useful interchange with the rail services on the Cascais Line, with city buses and with river ferries at Cais do Sodré.

As well as the Siemens articulated trams, route 15 is supplemented by services operated by smaller "remodelados" trams. In 2002, this route was being half-heartedly marketed as the Linha dos Museus (Museums' Line) as it runs reasonably close to 18 museums between the Aquarium at Dafundo (Algés) and the Museu das Comunicações, near Cais do Sodré. Some short-workings to Belém operate (using the Remodelados trams) and turn in a loop just short of the Jerónimos monastery and these were formerly designated as route 15A.

All other routes are operated by the smaller "remodelados" trams.

18: In 2009 the starting point for this route was moved to P Figueira from Rua da Alfândega. The service runs westward to the Ajuda cemetery, near to the royal palace of Ajuda. Services run approximately every 15 minutes Services 18 and 15 pass close to the main tram depot of Carris at Santo Amaro, where the Museu da Carris (transport museum) is also situated. On Saturday afternoons and Sundays the 18 route has at times been cut back to run solely between Calvário and Ajuda. In December 1999 Carris appeared to be on the verge of closing this tram route altogether but it still survives and services were once again running the full length of the route to Ajuda by summer, 2000.

24: It was hoped that part of line 24 from Carmo to Campolide would reopen in early 2006 but in 2009 this now seems to have been wildly optimistic.

Right: A 25 service at Corpo Santo, July 2003.

25: This route runs Rua da Alfândega, via Estrela basilica, to the Prazeres cemetery in western Lisbon. A 10-15 minute frequency of service is operated. In the evenings the service is replaced by bus service 74. This is an interesting route via the hilly Buenos Aires district, past numeorus embassies, an area which is otherwise off the tourist track. On Saturday afternoons and on Sundays the tram route only operates between Estrela and Alfândega and is replaced by a minibus service.

28: Martim Moniz to Prazeres. This is the classic tram route of Lisbon with extensive hilly and narrow streets in the Alfama district. There is also a steep, twisting section as the route leaves Lisbon centre towards Prazeres, up the Calçada de S. Francisco. Services operate about every seven minutes, though short-workings to Estrela are included in these timings. Eastbound trams for the Alfama are invariably crowded by the time they reach the Rua da Conceição in central Lisbon, so it can be wise to board in the opposite direction (towards Estrela and Prazeres) and return to the Alfama from that end of the route. Prazeres cemetery itself is itself an interesting spot and has good views across the Alcântara valley which include the Tagus bridge, the docks and Alcântara-Terra station of Portuguese Railways. Heading out of central Lisbon to wards Prazeres, there is an impressively steep curve at the west end of the Rua da Conceição as the line leaves the city centre, heading west. The Estrela Park, which is 3/4 of the way to Prazeres is a pleasant spot, opposite the basilica, to break the journey.

Use of Trams

Stops

Tram stops are rectangular, the older ones being white and carrying the word 'Paragem' ('Stop'), whilst the newer ones are yellow and bear the route number. Sometimes this is prefixed by the letter E, (e.g. E15 = 'Eléctrico', i.e. tram, 15).

Getting On and Off

All trams are one-person operated. In the remodelados, the driver checks passes and issues tickets, whilst the Siemens articulated vehicles have coin operated ticket machines and also validating machines for pre-bought tickets.

The remodelados should be entered at the front and exited by the rear doors. The articulated trams may be entered or left by any of the four sets of automatic doors. On the articulated trams, the name of each stop is displayed and announced as the tram approaches it and route maps are posted above the doors.

Tickets

L to R: A 3$00 ticket (1971); a 1991 ticket; a 1$50 ticket (1971).

Although there is an array of tickets and passes available to users of public transport in Lisbon, for the visitor, things were simplified by the Sete Colinas (7 Hills) proximity pass. (The title is an allusion to the belief that Lisbon is built on 7 hills, like Rome). This replaced the Tourist Pass (bilhete turístico) which could be acquired for either a four or seven-day period. The Sete Colinas pass itself is now supplanted by the Viva card, which costs half a Euro and is then charged up for a selected number of days to allow unfettered transport on all of the Carris and Metro network.

But whereas in summer 2005, five days travel cost 12.10 Euros in top of the half-Euro for the card itself, in 2009 you can opnly top up the Viva card by a daily 3.70 euros unit, making it very expendsive for a week's travel i.e. 7 x 3.70 = 25.90 euros. Another downside of the system is that you cannot freely inter-use the seemingly idemntical Viva cards used for the Transtejo ferries, the Almada metro system and the Fertagus railway so you can easily end up with a pocket full of Viva passes. identical in appearance but valid only on one system or the other.

All vehicles and Metro turnstiles have card readers. The card need only be held over the sensor to register and, indeed, can even be left in a plastic wallet when doing this. The card can be purchased at any Metro station (from machines) and at Carris kiosks. (NB Much more widley publicised to tourists is the Lisboa/Lisbon card, which is much more expensive as its main benefit is to give discount admission to tourist attractions - see below).

Carris tickets bought from bus or tram drivers are charged at the 'Tarifa de bordo' ('On-board tariff') and are relatively expensive per journey. All tickets should be cancelled on boarding trams and buses, using the on-board machines. On the articulated trams, tickets can be bought with coinsfrom on-board machines, as the driver does not sell tickets or check passes. As well as the Viva card the Sete Colinas pass still exists in some circumstances but whether you have a Viva or sete Colinas card, it should be "shown" to the automatic readers on all services.

For more about tickets and fares, see the Carris page

An alternative for tourists who wish to Lisbon's museums is the Lisbon Card, which gives unlimited use of Carris services (except the Aerobus, tourist bus and tram-tour route, as well as free use of the Metro and of the Cascais railway line from C. Sodré to Belém. In addition it provides free entry to 26 Lisbon museums and monuments. Amongst the museums covered are the Maritime Museum, Coach Museum and Air Museum. The Card may be purchased in City Tourist Offices and other outlets.

Buying a ticket on the tourist trams is very, very expensive - 18 euros in 2009. As route 28 largely mirrors the tourist tram routes, a Viva card is a much better bet.

Depots

Above: Santo Amaro depot in July, 2000
The sole tram depot is at Santo Amaro, between central Lisbon and Belém. Visitors to the Carris museum get a free tram ride within the depot complex as part of the admission price. The Bolaria café across the road affords a good vantage point for watching tram movements at Santo Amaro. This depot has been in existence since before the electric trams arrived in 1901.

Formerly other tram depots existed in Lisbon. One of these was the Arco de Cego depot, built in 1902 on a 29,176sq.m. site acquired in 1882, but this closed in the 1990s. By then it had lost 9,000sq.metres of land to the national mint. Arco do Cego then acquired a new lease of life as Lisbon's main long-distance coach station but this is now decommissioned and the site is being converted into a leisure facility (2005). For details, see the Lisbon Suburban Bus and Coach page.

A third depot closed in 1981 at Amoreiras and is now the site of a modernistic shopping centre. Carris bus depots have opened at Pontinha (1975), Musgueira (1981) and Miraflores (1983).

Part 2 of the Lisbon Trams Page covers:

Lisbon Trams of the Past
Including:
Historic Fleet Details
Tram Trailers and Works Cars
Carris Museum of Transport

Reading Matter: references to books and images relating to Lisbon trams Links to other related sites