Lisbon’s trams running up and down its steep hills also date back to mid-20th century and have a similar structure

International News via Reuters:

The death of at least 16 people in an historic cable car that derailed in Lisbon has exposed flaws in the “old charm” image of the Portuguese capital, which is brimming with tourists but runs on quaint but creaking infrastructure.

In Wednesday’s crash, railcar left the track at a turn and hit a building just metres from its twin at the bottom of the steep 265-metre slope, leaving a mangled wreckage with bodies trapped inside. The traction cable linking them had snapped.

Jorge Silva, vice-president of the Portuguese association of civil protection technical experts, said a car made of a more modern material, such as carbon fibre, rather than metal and wood – the same design used since 1914 when the line was electrified – would have made the crash less violent and deadly.

“The pieces are rigid enough to withstand oscillation and normal service, but they’re not designed to withstand the impact in the event of a derailment, become twisted, leaving the passengers more exposed,” he said.

Lisbon’s trams running up and down its steep hills also date back to mid-20th century and have a similar structure, he said.

“Investment should be made in renovating the carriages, using more modern materials, even if preserving their historic shape,” he said.

Silva said an investigation would show to what extent the pendulum cable system played a role in the crash.

The time-tested technology has had to cope with a tripling in the number of passengers on the “Gloria” funicular line in the past decade to more than 3 million people annually, as tourism booms.

The two cars, each capable of carrying around 40 people, alternately climb the slope and descend as electric motors pull the cable linking them.

Manuel Leal, leader of the Fectrans union, told local TV that workers had complained that problems with the tension of the cable had made braking difficult, but that it was too early to say if that was the cause of the crash.

The municipal transport company Carris said all maintenance protocols have been carried out. Silva said more rigorous and frequent maintenance and inspection was likely to be needed to prevent future accidents with current heavier use.

But modernisation attempts in the earthquake-prone city have also concerned engineers and architects, fearing a reoccurrence of the Great Lisbon Earthquake of 1755.

Many houses in downtown Lisbon built not long after 1755 with then-pioneering interconnected internal structures and pillars to withstand quakes have lately been adapted in a way that could compromise their original anti-seismic structures, several engineering experts told Reuters.

While newer houses built after 1958 must have seismic-resistant structures by law, no anti-seismic reinforcement is required for old buildings being renovated.

Reporting by Andrei KhalipEditing by Ros Russell

The mangled wreckage of a yellow tram-like carriage, which carries people up and down a steep hillside in the Portuguese capital, lay where it had left the track and hit a building on Wednesday

International News via Reuters:

Portuguese authorities were investigating on Thursday what caused a Lisbon funicular railway popular with tourists to hurtle down a hill, killing at least 16 people and injuring 22 when it crashed into a building.

The mangled wreckage of a yellow tram-like carriage, which carries people up and down a steep hillside in the Portuguese capital, lay where it had left the track and hit a building on Wednesday, just metres from its twin at the bottom of the steep 265-metre slope. The traction cable linking them had snapped.

Lisbon resident Abel Esteves, 75, and his wife and grandson were among 40 passengers in the lower car who saw the carriage plunge towards them before derailing at the last second.

“I told my wife: ‘We’re all going to die here’,” he said. “It picked up a brutal speed, took a slight turn and hit the building with a loud bang.”

FOREIGNERS AMONG LISBON FUNICULAR DEAD

Flags flew at half-mast as Portugal declared a day of mourning and the city’s two other funiculars were shut for inspections. The Pope sent condolences and blessings to victims, relatives and rescuers.

“This is one of the greatest human tragedies in our recent history,” Prime Minister Luis Montenegro said in a press conference on Thursday, adding that he expected the investigation into the causes of the accident to be concluded swiftly.

He said Portugal’s state airline TAP had offered to provide transport for the families of the victims and to repatriate the injured and the deceased.

Thirty-eight people were hurt in the accident, with 15 killed at the scene while one more died in hospital overnight. Lisbon’s director of emergency services Margarida Martins had earlier said that 17 had died.

Among the injured were four Portuguese, two Germans, two Spanish, one Korean, one Cape Verdean, one Canadian, one Italian, one French citizen, one Swiss and one Moroccan, Martins said.

Authorities did not identify the victims by name, but said some foreign nationals were among the dead.

Eliane Chaves, a Brazilian who has lived in Lisbon for 20 years, said she walked past the Ascensor da Glória – one of the symbols of the city – every day.

“People say that it was negligence but it was not negligence,” she said, tears streaming down her cheeks. “They supervise it thoroughly. It was an accident, just like a plane or car accident can happen.”

CABLE PROBLEMS REPORTED ON FUNICULAR

Manuel Leal, leader of the Fectrans union, told local TV workers had complained that problems with the tension of the cable that hauls the carriages had made braking difficult, but that it was too early to say if that was the cause of the crash.The municipal transport company Carris said in a statement that “all maintenance protocols have been carried out”, including monthly and weekly maintenance and daily inspections.

Police took photos of the wreckage and inspected the braking system on the undamaged carriage.

The two cars, each capable of carrying around 40 people, alternately climb the slope and descend as electric motors pull the cable linking them.

That cable appears to have snapped, a fire brigade official said. Seemingly unable to check its descent, the carriage entered the turn too fast, ploughing into the cobblestone pavement and crashing into a building.

The lower car jolted back a couple of metres (yards) and was apparently undamaged, but video from bystanders showed several passengers jumping out of its windows.

The line, which opened in 1885, connects Lisbon’s downtown area near the Restauradores Square with the Bairro Alto, or Upper Quarter, famous for its nightlife, and transports around 3 million people a year.

Some local media reported that a German family-of-three had been among the victims. The father had died in the crash while the mother was seriously hurt and their 3-year-old child suffered minor injuries, they reported.

Portugal, and Lisbon in particular, have experienced a tourism boom in the past decade, with visitors cramming the popular downtown area in the summer months.

Reporting by Andrei Khalip, Inti Landauro, Sergio Goncalves; Writing by Charlie Devereux; Editing by Alex Richardson