Trains will not run between Algés and Cais do Sodré on the last weekend of February and the first weekend of March. There will be replacement buses.
As part of the ongoing modernization of the Cascais Line and the expansion of the Lisbon Metro network, the CP trains will only run between Cascais and Algés stations for two consecutive weekends: February 24 and 25 and March 2 and 3.. Circulation on the Cascais Line will therefore be suspended in the municipality of Lisbon, where the alternative may be streetcar 15, the Carris riverside routes or the replacement buses of Carris Metropolitana, which will be running at CP's service throughout the day.
In detail
So that you don't get lost, take note of the essentials:
- suspension of train traffic on the Cascais Line between Algés and Cais do Sodré stations for two weekends: February 24 and 25 / March 2 and 3. On both weekends, the suspension will begin on Friday at 11pm and end on Monday at 2am;
- the Cascais line will be operating normally between Cascais and Algés.
Alternatives
- there will be a replacement service with Carris Metropolitana buses on two weekends between Algés and Cais do Sodré. This service will operate throughout the interruption of the Cascais Line with stops at the closed train stations (Cais do Sodré, Santos, Alcântara-Mar and Belém) and at the Algés bus terminal.
- at the same time, there will be a direct road service between Algés and Cais do Sodré, with no intermediate stops. These buses will run on Saturday and Sunday between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m., departing from Cais do Sodré, on Rua da Cintura ao Porto de Lisboa (river side), after the river station, and from Algés on Avenida Dr. Alfredo Magalhães Ramalho, in front of the IPMA entrance.
CP warns that, "in the replacement road service, journey times may vary depending on traffic conditions" and that "between Cais do Sodré and Algés, there is no guaranteed connection to the hourly trains, except for the last train of the night"which leaves Algés at 2.05am.
The buses that will run this service will be from Carris Metropolitana and will be identified with "CP" on the flag. They will be prepared for people with reduced mobility, offering access ramps, but no space for bicycles (except, of course, folding bikes). On the other hand, the transportation of small pets is allowed if the animal travels in an appropriate container that can be carried as hand luggage.
Carris streetcar 15E will also be an alternative to the interrupted Cascais Line service, along with the following other Carris routes:
- 751, 714, 728, 727, 732 and 201 for traffic near train stations;
- 723, 729, 750, 751, 727 and 728 for connections from Algés/Belém to the city center.
Why the interruption?
These interruptions over the two weekends are related to the construction of the Lisbon Metro Circular Line, which involves building a new tunnel to connect the new Santos station to the current Cais do Sodré station. This tunnel is being built in the open air, which will mean the Cascais line will have to be diverted. It is the work to prepare and create this detour in the Santos area that will mean that rail traffic will have to be cut off.
"Given the typology of the site, it is an area of the city with various technical and infrastructural challenges, including underground, which require the most rigorous and safe intervention that will not be compatible with the movement of CP trains"Metro de Lisboa said in a joint statement with CP and Infraestruturas de Portugal (IP).
Traffic on the Cascais Line has been interrupted at night between Cais do Sodré and Algés for another reason: the modernization work on the line itself, which is being carried out by IP. This interruption for two consecutive weekends will coincide with the Metro works.
The suspension will also be used for the construction of a new atrium (west) at the Cais do Sodré metro stationwith two direct surface accesses to the CP platform, which, according to Metro de Lisboa, "will allow an increase in the flow of passengers from the Cais do Sodré interface, where the Metro, CP, Carris and Transtejo operate, with all the advantages of fluidity and safety, improving the quality of the service provided and providing an increase in intermodality between the various transport operators".
