Lisbon, March 13, 2026 (Lusa) - The Fertagus commuter train passengers’ commission has lodged a complaint with the European Commission against the Portuguese State for allowing passengers to be transported daily in conditions that are “below European standards” and “pose safety risks”.
Speaking to the Lusa news agency on Friday following a public presentation in Lisbon of the content of the complaint, the spokesperson for the passengers’ commission, Aristides Teixeira, said that the service provided by Fertagus, the railway line linking the two banks of the river Tagus via the 25 de Abril Bridge between Lisbon and Setúbal, is a threat to public health and the safety and well-being of passengers.
“On Thursday, we sent a complaint to the European Commission’s Transport Subcommittee against the Portuguese State, which oversees Fertagus, due to the appalling conditions in which thousands of people are transported between the two banks, and we have asked them to intervene with the Government to ensure the situation is rectified,” he said.
In the complaint, according to Aristides Teixeira, the passengers’ commission reports that the situation has worsened since 2025, with delays to train services running at very low speeds on a daily basis and breakdowns.
"People crowd onto the platforms, pushing and shoving, verbally and physically assaulting one another. Everyone wants to get onto the crammed carriages, including children, breathing on top of one another. In this suffocating atmosphere, there is always someone in need of assistance, and the train has to stop at the next station and wait for help," he reported.
According to the commission’s spokesperson, the Government is aware of the situation, but nothing is improving.
“When we talk about Nazism, the image that springs to mind is that of concentration camps. Today, when we talk about Fertagus, the image that springs to mind is that of thousands of people suffocating inside the carriages – this is the plain and simple truth,” he emphasised.
Aristides Teixeira also said that there are already people using their cars, making a financial sacrifice, one or two days a week, just so they do not have to subject themselves to travelling in such appalling conditions on Fertagus trains.
The commission’s spokesperson also stressed that the complaint sent to the European Commission is a call for it to intervene with the Portuguese State so that “urgent measures are taken to put an end to this situation which brings shame upon Portugal in the eyes of civilised Europe”.
“We hope that, upon learning of the appalling conditions in which they are transported, the Commission will seek clarification from the Government on this matter. It is a way of applying pressure. It will be a slow process, but it should be a medium-term solution so that people can begin to be transported with a modicum of dignity by the worst rail operator in Portugal,” he said.
DD/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
