After making the Green Line circular (shortening the current Yellow Line), expanding the Red Line and creating the Violet Line with a light solution, the Lisbon Metro expansion project includes taking the Yellow Line from Telheiras to Benfica. The LIOS is also in the plans.
The Green Line will be a circular line, with construction expected to be completed by mid-2024. There will be two new stations - Estrela and Santos - that will close the ring between Rato and Cais do Sodré; in Campo Grande, two new viaducts will connect the current Green and Yellow lines, with the latter terminating at Telheiras. However, the plan is that in the near future the Yellow Line will reach Benfica.
The extension of the Yellow Line from Telheiras to Benfica it's not newbut appeared clearly for the first time in an exhibition that the Lisbon Metro promoted in Praça do Comércio to sign its 75th anniversary. In this expansion of the Yellow Line, at least two new stations are planned: S. Franciscoin St. Francis of Assisi Square, at the end of Avenida das Nações Unidas; and BenficaIt is planned to be located at the back of Benfica Road, next to the Baldaya Palace. On the way, the line will cross the current Benfica station Military College/LightIt is connected to the Blue Line and the bus terminal.
On the map above, you can also see the route of the expansion of the Red Line from São Sebastião to AlcântaraThis work must be completed by the end of 2026 or risk losing EU funding. One can also observe the Violet LineThis will bring a light rail solution to the municipalities of Loures and Odivelas, interfacing with the Yellow Line in Odivelas, and will also have to be completed by the end of 2026 (both projects are funded by the PRR - Recovery and Resilience Plan).
We can also note the LIOS, which will also consist of a surface metro solution and will be divided in two - the Western LIOS, which will connect Lisbon (Alcântara) to Oeiras; and the Eastern LIOS, which will connect the capital (Santa Apolónia) to Loures (Sacavém). Like the extension of the Yellow Line to Benfica, the LIOS does not yet have a deadline or financing. However, the route of the LIOS is already at an advanced stage of definition; the feasibility of the project is being studied and the preliminary study and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) will follow. Of the extension of the Yellow Line, only a sketch exists.
However, desire to extend the Metro from Telheiras is expressed in a popular petition that counts, at the date of this article, with more than 3,600 signatures and that was put into circulation by Metro Telheiras Carnide Movement. The petition has the support of several parish councils, namely the councils of Carnide, Lumiar, and Santa Clara, in the municipality of Lisbon, and also the council of Encosta do Sol, in Odivelas.
The proposal of this civic movement is different from what the Lisbon Metro has in the plans: instead of taking the future Yellow Line from Telheiras to Benfica, this citizens group proposes its extension to Carnide so that "the undeniable lack of public transportation experienced in Telheiras, Parque dos Príncipes, Quinta dos Inglesinhos, Horta Nova and Bairro Padre Cruz were definitely overcome". - write the petitioners in an email to Lisboa Para Pessoas.
"Along this axis of the city are located not only several educational facilities (among which are the Kindergarten of Telheiras, the Elementary School 1 of Telheiras, the Elementary School of São Vicente de Telheiras, the High School Vergílio Ferreira, the Military College, the Externato da Luz, the Kindergarten of Horta Nova, the Prista Monteiro Elementary School and also the campus of the European University) as well as numerous companies, many of which are based at the Technological Pole of Lisbon (LISPOLIS), as well as at the campus of the Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation (IAPMEI)".justify.
The Lisbon Metro's proposal is to place a station near some of these equipments - the station S. Francisco will serve the Bairro da Horta Nova, Quinta dos Inglesinhos, LISPOLIS and also, to some extent, the Bairro Padre Cruz. On the other hand, as noted by Time Out Lisboathe future station Benfica will be far from the railway station of that parish, where an important transport interface could be born. In response to that magazine, Metro de Lisboa said that "it's still premature" announce the "exact tracing" of this Yellow Line extensionadding that the location of the planned stations "is the result of a broad and demanding consideration for the adoption of a balanced solution, based on technical studies and consultation with various specialty entities of recognized merit and competence"..
Meanwhile, the construction of the Circular Line will, as of January 1, 2024, be ensured "exclusively from national resources"European funding under the operational program POSEUR ends at the end of this year but the work will not be completed on time. Who said this was Helena Azevedo, manager of POSEUR, recently in the Assembly of the Republic, in the subcommittee dedicated to European funds.
It was the first time that a public official admitted that the slippage in the construction schedule of the Line that will create a circular ring in the city of Lisbon will cause the country to lose the European money foreseen for the work. Recently, the executive led by António Costa also admitted delays in the Violet Line and an increase in cost, revealing that it will go through the State Budget to ensure the surplus.
