Carris will add the modern Funicular da Graça to its historic portfolio of elevators and elevators: Bica, Glória, Lavra and Santa Justa. The work is being done by EMEL and should be completed in August, a few months late.
Between 1893 and 1904, there was in Lisbon the Elevador da Graça. It ran between Rua da Palma, near Martim Moniz, and Largo da Graça; a trip cost 60 réis to go up and 40 to go down (today it would correspond to less than a cent). It has been deactivated with the construction of the then new streetcar line between Baixa and Graça, where routes such as the 28E and 12E run today. Now, 120 years later, Graça will have an elevator again. More modern, the Funicular da Graça is almost ready and will be operated by Carris.
The Funicular da Graça will reinforce Carris' fleet of elevators and elevators, inherited by the company in 1913, when it acquired the company. NCAML - New Company of Mechanical Lifts of Lisbon. Carris currently operates the Bica, Glória and Lavra elevators and the Santa Justa elevator - these have become tourist attractions but still play an important role in connecting the upper and lower parts of the city. These elevators and elevators can be used with the Navegante pass or zapping balance, forming part of the city's public transport network.
The construction of the Funicular da Graça is in charge of EMEL and started in summer 2021The project is scheduled for completion by the end of 2022 and commissioning by the beginning of 2023. But the work has been delayed and will only be ready this year; last July, EMEL announced be "in the process of completing the work" and now, speaking to Público newspaper, points out the completion of the work for the "end of August". EMEL recognized "a delay of a few months"justifying it with the pandemic period and the war in Ukraine, "circumstances that caused constraints and impacted supply chains, with particular emphasis on the construction sector".
Although it is being built by EMEL, the Funicular da Graça will be operated by Carris, LPP knows. But neither EMEL nor Carris appear to be available to confirm this information at this time, reiterating in separate written replies that the operation will be defined by Lisbon City Council on completion of the work. However, in a first version of the EMEL's Plan of Activities and Budget (PAO) 2023-2026The report, which was presented at a town hall meeting and to which LPP had access, read, "once the installation of the equipment is completed, fully in charge of EMEL, the Funicular will be transferred to Carris, a company with great experience in the operation and exploitation of infrastructures of these characteristics".. In essence, it is another chapter in the close collaboration between two companies of the Municipality of Lisbon, focused on improving mobility in the city ". However, in the final, published version of this documentreferences to Carris have been removed.
For EMEL, projects such as the Funicular da Graça allow the company to use parking revenues to improve urban life in the city of Lisbon. This presence of EMEL in the improvement of the public space and mobility of the city "helps to blur the idea, consolidated in the imagination of many Lisboners, of a repressive, even punishing EMEL, built up over the years, when the company focused exclusively on parking planning", the activity plan reads. "This charge did provide an immediate service, that of parking management, which until then had been left to chance and essentially on a first-come, first-served basis, but in addition, with the conditions of profitability that the company achieved in the activity, it generated the means to leverage new projects of greater impact, but also more expensive."
As part of Carris, the Funicular da Graça may become the future 50E or 55E, according to the current numbering of the carrier's elevators and elevators. Also according to Carris' existing offer, a trip (up and down) on the funicular may cost between 3.80 and 5.30 euros, but it will be included in the Navegante passes and with the "Funicular da Graça". zapping each journey will cost ¤1.47. However, this is all still speculation, so we can only begin to get a collective idea of what this equipment might look like; bear in mind that the operation could be very different.
What is certain is that Funicular da Graça, painted in Carris yellow, will run between Rua dos Lagares and Miradouro Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen (former Miradouro da Graça), and will facilitate the daily commuting of the many residents and visitors to this reference area.. It will allow the transportation of 15 people at a time, who during the trip will be able to enjoy the view thanks to a panoramic window.
It is recalled that the construction of this elevator between Mouraria and Graça had already started in 2016, but archaeological excavations interrupted the work, forcing the adaptation of the original project. The works now underway are costing 5.3 million euros. It is recalled that the Funicular da Graça is one of the last projects of the General Plan for Smooth and Assisted Accessibility to the Castle HillThis project was launched by the Lisbon City Council in 2009 and includes, so far, the Castelo Elevator (2013), the elevator between Rua Norberto de Araújo and the Miradouro de Santa Luzia (2015), the Escadinhas da Saúde (2018) and the Escadinhas da Saúde (2018). Sé elevator (2021). All these projects were carried out by EMEL.
Updated at 11:50 on 10/08/2023: added statements from Carris.
Updated at 22:40 on 10/08/2023: added more context and some corrections on EMEL's Activity Plan and Budget.
