Faulty
cable caused Lisbon funicular crash, inquiry finds
Report
says snapped cable between cabins was substandard and city’s other funiculars
should fix risk before reopening
Agence
France-Presse
Mon 20
Oct 2025 21.49 BST
The
funicular that crashed in Lisbon killing 16 people in early September had a
faulty cable, the official inquiry said on Monday as it recommended the city’s
vehicles stay out of service until their safety can be confirmed.
The
accident, which saw the picture-postcard 19th-century Elevador da Glória hurtle
into a building after careering off the rails, shocked the Portuguese capital
and laid bare fears over the safety of the popular yet ageing tourist
attraction.
Portugal’s
air and rail accident investigations bureau (GPIAAF) wrote in a note published
three days after the tragedy that a cable linking two cabins disconnected
shortly before the 3 September incident.
The
GPIAAF’s preliminary report, released on Monday, said the cable was not up to
the standards laid out by the city’s transport operator, CCFL.
“The
cable did not comply with the specifications in force at the CCFL to be used
for the Glória tram,” the 35-page report stated.
The
city’s other funiculars have been out of service since the accident and the
GPIAAF said they should remain grounded until inspectors confirm they have
braking systems “capable of immobilising the cabins in the event of a cable
break”.
Eleven of
the 16 victims were foreign nationals, with three UK citizens, two South
Koreans, two Canadians, one Frenchwoman, one Swiss, one American, and one
Ukrainian identified among the dead.
The crash
also injured about 20 people, including three Britons.
The
Portuguese victims included four staff members from the same social care
institution, whose offices sit at the top of the sheer side road serviced by
the funicular.
The
Glória first opened in 1885, using a system of counterweights to propel its two
wagons along its 265-metre (870 feet) track up and down a steep hill.
According
to the GPIAAF’s note days after the accident, a routine inspection on the
morning of the accident found nothing unusual about the cable that snapped.
The
investigators said the Glória’s driver had activated the funicular’s brakes,
but they were unable to halt the carriage without the counterweight system’s
help.
The whole
incident happened in just 50 seconds, they added.
The
bureau’s final report, to come with safety recommendations, is expected within
the next year, though an intermediary report could update the public on the
inquiry’s progress.
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