Lisbon city council proposes new funicular system to ensure safety

The deputy mayor of Lisbon, Filipe Anacoreta Correia (CDS-PP), on Monday presented proposals from the PSD/CDS-PP leadership to respond to the Glória funicular accident, from supporting the victims to designing a new technological system for this funicular.

“An assessment for the future, setting up a team to design a new technological system for this funicular, involving, if possible, the Association of Engineers and LNEC [National Civil Engineering Laboratory], and the possibility of also rethinking anything necessary to provide unequivocal safety guarantees,” Anacoreta Correia told journalists at Lisbon’s Paços do Concelho.

The deputy mayor was giving an account of the PSD/CDS-PP leadership’s proposals before the start of an extraordinary meeting of the Lisbon City Council, which is to be led by the mayor, Carlos Moedas (PSD), on the Glória funicular accident, at which measures to support the victims and their families, as well as to establish the causes and responsibilities, are to be discussed.

In addition to all the members of the municipal executive, the meeting will also be attended by the president of Carris, Pedro de Brito Bogas.

The Glória funicular, managed by Carris, derailed on Wednesday afternoon in an accident that left 16 dead and two dozen injured, including Portuguese and foreigners of various nationalities.

Asked if the proposal to design a new technological system for the Glória funicular means that it won’t return to Calçada da Glória, Anacoreta Correia said that “it’s hasty to draw that conclusion”.

“But what is unequivocal on the part of Lisbon City Council is that we have to ensure maximum safety and, therefore, without unequivocal answers that reassure the whole city and the country about its operation, it is natural that we cannot move forward,” he said.

The PSD/CDS-PP leadership, which governs without an absolute majority, also has a proposal for support and an immediate response in terms of creating a municipal fund to support the victims of this accident.

According to the deputy mayor, another proposal is to honour and recognise André Marques, the brakeman who was driving the crashed cabin, and it is proposed that his name be given to a street in the city, as well as the creation of a collective memorial.

As for making information available, the PSD/CDS-PP leadership suggests the creation of “a transparency portal”, where all the documentation relating to the accident can be made available.

“There are also recommendations to Carris: the possibility of awarding a lift with the name of the brakeman, the awarding of support to the family and the families involved,” said Anacoreta Correia, highlighting the role of Carris in taking on some of the social responses.

As to whether the PSD/CDS-PP leadership’s proposal is in line with that of the PS, which was presented on Friday, the deputy mayor expressed his willingness to accept suggestions from the opposition, saying that “there is a great deal of commitment” in this direction, warning that “this tragic moment cannot be a moment of political exploitation, it must be a moment of unity”.

Regarding the assumption of political responsibility for the accident, Anacoreta Correia said that today’s town hall meeting is not the time to analyse politics, but rather to approve response measures.

As for resignations within the council, the deputy mayor, who is also responsible for Mobility, said: “If there were any political responsibility, I understand that it would have to be placed first and foremost on me, but naturally in my mind too, in my conscience, there has always been the conviction that you can’t run away and that’s why we’re here. It would always be the most comfortable thing to do, but we are here precisely to take responsibility.”