Of the 12 escalators in the station, five are new. The remaining seven will undergo major modernization by the first quarter of 2024. For now, the 100% is in operation, after a temporary repair has been completed.
All 12 escalators at the Baixa-Chiado Metro station have been in operation since Fridayas well as the wheelchair transport platform. All the elevators between the quays and the station concourse are also operational, the company said in a statement.
The news comes after a viral tweet and Instagram post, shared at the beginning of last week, which took SIC Notícias to make a live broadcast and a news item (at least) on the subject. The posts on social media reported two elderly people climbing, apparently tired, one of the flights of stairs at Baixa-Chiado station due to the unavailability of the escalators.
In a press release published on its website on Thursday, the Lisbon Metro planned to have all the mechanical stairs at Baixa-Chiado station operational "at the end of October"once a series of "renovation and improvement works" in seven of the 12 pieces of equipment. However, the work was completed early on Friday, as the company announced at the end of the day. Lisboa Para Pessoas was able to see the works at Baixa-Chiado station at the end of the week.
Temporary solution
It is, however an "temporary solution" up to the major modernization of these seven escalators, "which is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2024". According to Metro de Lisboa, five of the 12 mechanical stairs in Baixa-Chiado have already been replaced by new equipment. The public tender for the modernization of the seven flights that have now been temporarily patched up is underwayThe deadline for submitting bids is the last day of the month and provides for the modernization of three bids and the complete replacement of another four bids. The station's elevators are also due to be replaced and the tender for this work is scheduled to be launched in 2023.
So, in a nutshell:
- Baixa-Chiado station has 12 mechanical staircases that connect the outside of the station to the concourse, and four elevators that take you from the concourse to each of the four boarding piers. There is also a wheelchair platform at one of the station exits;
- of the 12 mechanical ladders, five have already been completely replaced;
- the remaining seven have now been repaired to make them operational, pending a major modernization. The public tender is underway and the process should be completed in the first quarter of 2024;
- in 2023, a tender will be launched for the modernization of the station's four elevators.
Justification for faults
According to the Lisbon Metro, the breakdowns in the escalators at Baixa-Chiado station are mainly due to the following reasons:
- wear and tear situations accumulated over time, which are not included in the scope of maintenance contracts and which require consulting the market in order to contract the repair (usually lengthy processes);
- station high customer traffic. In addition to overuse of the stationIt is estimated that 30 to 50% of use is due to people crossing from one part of the city to another (as these are accesses in an unpaid area) who are not Metro customers;
- a age of some of the equipmentThese are discontinued and present increased difficulties in acquiring repair parts;
- difficulties in meeting delivery deadlines of material for repair;
- acts of vandalism that cause an abnormal flow of faults.
Repairs will be monitored
The repairs completed on Friday will be closely monitored in the coming days, "in case readjustments and fine-tuning are necessary, taking into account the extent of the work carried out". Metro de Lisboa says that it has already invested around 5.12 million euros in improving accessibility and modernizing mechanical equipment. "Accessibility in general, and stairs and escalators in particular, are a priority for Metro de Lisboa. That's why the company has been adapting and modernizing its stations and equipment in order to comply with the principle of accessibility and mobility for all."
The Lisbon Metro network includes 117 elevators e 244 escalators and moving walks. "For Metro de Lisboa, repairing mechanical breakdowns has always been a priority, since we recognize the inconvenience that failures in this equipment cause to customers, problems that Metro is committed to solving"says the company.
Currently, of the 56 existing Metro stations, 43 have full accessibility (which guarantees access for people with reduced mobility), which corresponds to around 77% of all the stations on the network. By 2025, the Lisbon Metro wants to have 52 stations with full accessibility (this figure does not include the new stations that will open in the meantime as part of the network expansion projects and which will already be equipped with all the necessary equipment and means for full accessibility).
