The worst is over.
The Green and Yellow lines fully reopened this Saturday morning, July 8th. It is now possible to travel uninterruptedly along the entire Yellow Line and Telheiras station is open again. A normality is restored after two months of work, as part of the construction of new viaducts for the future circular Green Line in the Campo Grande area.
Between May 2nd and July 7ththe Telheiras station was closed because the Green Line only ran between Campo Grande and Cais do Sodré. The Yellow Line was running in two sections: one between Campo Grande and Odivelas, and the other between Cidade Universitária and Rato. These interruptions threw the Metro network into chaos, because in the first month and a half of works the circulation in all the Green Line and in the Odivelas-Campo Grande section of the Yellow Line was subject to three carriages. June 12th only is that the six carriages were put back on the Green Line and between Odivelas and Campo Grande four were placed.
To restore normality to the Lisbon Metro, the Green and Yellow lines were closed during the morning of this Saturday, July 8th, until around noon. Initially, it was planned to reopen the entire two lines at the very beginning of operation, at 6:30 a.m., but a apparent delay in construction led to the change of plans. In a statement, Metro explained that "these temporary closures have become indispensable given the technical characteristics of the work to be carried out in various locations along the sections of the Green and Yellow lines, which, due to their complexity, would be impractical to execute while maintaining the circulation, even if in a conditioned manner".
"These interruptions guarantee the completion of the work under safe conditions and allow the work to run more efficiently, ensuring that the work is completed and circulation is resumed as quickly as possible."added the company. During Saturday morning, buses ran in "back and forth" mode along the Green and Yellow lines in an attempt to minimize the impacts of the construction delay.
The resumption of full circulation on the Green and Yellow lines does not yet mean the end of construction work on the future Green Line ring road. There is still work to be done in the Campo Grande area, with no expected impact on the Metro's operation, and construction continues on the tunnels and the two new stations, Estrela and Santos. It should be remembered that, in spite of the circular line coming into operation, the extension of the Yellow Line from Odivelas to the city center at least during peak hours is guaranteed.
