It is called LIOS - Sustainable Intermodal Line and is a light rail project that will connect important areas between Alcântara and Cruz Quebrada, on one side, and between Santa Apolónia and Sacavém, on the other. Between Alcântara and Santa Apolónia, the connection is made by the current infrastructure that serves the articulated streetcar 15, operated by Carris.
The LIOS announcement was made in a joint statement issued by the Lisbon, Oeiras and Loures City Halls and the signing of a cooperation protocol between these municipalities, the Lisbon Metro and Carris for the development of LIOS. "The municipalities intend to ensure a fast and structuring heavy public transport connection between their respective riverside areas and the main interfaces in Lisbon, in order to improve the connectivity of their territories, and implement new collective transport corridors, based on the extension of streetcar line 15, currently operated by Carris"reads the press release.
It will be a long time before LIOS leaves the drawing board. The protocol signed is the first past and its objective is to study and plan the project's implementation, in its technical, environmental, financial, and operational aspects; only then should the contract for the line be launched, followed by its construction. In total, the estimated investment is 490 million eurosincluding infrastructure, equipment and workshops, and rolling stock.
The LIOS project includes an old promise to take streetcar 15 to Parque das Nações, but this time it will cross the limits of the municipality and stop only in Sacavém, passing through Gare do Oriente, Moscavide and Portela. The extension of streetcar 15 to Cruz Quebrada had also been planned - it will pass through Restelo, S. Francisco Xavier Hospital, Miraflores, Linda-a-Velha and Jamor. In 2019, the Lisbon City Council announced the purchase of 15 new streetcars, similar to those currently running on Carris' Line 15, precisely for the connection to Cruz Quebrada and Parque das Nações.
"The new line will have a length of about 24.4 km and will be connected with the riverside, streetcar and train lines of the Cascais Line and North Line, as well as the expansion of the Lisbon Metro's Red Line in Alcântara"The press release also mentions possible cyclopedestrian corridors: "The municipalities also believe that the feasibility of implementing, where possible, dedicated active mode, pedestrian and bicycle corridors, parallel to the structuring public transport corridors that may be implemented, should be explored."
"The development of this line is being articulated with the Government as part of a wider set of investments in transport infrastructure in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area (AML), which aim to increase the cohesion of the territory in the AML, and which will promote the improvement of accessibility conditions and, in particular, competitiveness, reliability and trust in the public transport system."
