Porto, June 17, 2025 (Lusa) - Metro do Porto and STCP will increase the frequency and capacity of their vehicles during the night of São João, in an operation that will run throughout the early hours of Monday and Tuesday, it was announced on Tuesday.
The popular festival in the city of Porto, which draws crowds to the streets on the night of 23rd to 24th June, will feature a "special super-service" by Metro do Porto, which starts at 20:00, "with increased vehicle capacity on all lines of the network, through the circulation of double trains", the transport company said in a statement.
According to the Metro, on all routes, except the Violet Line (the airport line), service will remain uninterrupted and active until 6:00 a.m. on Tuesday.
However, Metro pointed out, the service will be forced to stop on the connection between Vila Nova de Gaia and Porto on the Luiz I bridge, between 23:30 and 01:00, "due to the traditional fireworks and the strong influx that this generates on the banks of the River Douro", and the upper deck of the crossing will be closed to pedestrians from 12:00 until 04:00.
"Also in Jardim do Morro, there will be no stop at the metro station (although there will be no cut in the route) from 12:00 until 04:00. The same situation will occur at the Aliados and São Bento stations, although there the closure of the two stations will only begin at 22:00 and will end after authorisation from the security forces - which should happen before 04:00," he added.
Despite these restrictions, "normal operation on the Yellow Line is always guaranteed between Hospital de São João and Trindade [in Porto] and between General Torres and Vila d'Este [in Gaia]".
Sociedade de Transportes Coletivos do Porto (STCP), meanwhile, will be running "a special service" between Monday night and Tuesday morning, which will involve reinforcing "the main lines to the centre of the city, a greater frequency of buses and large-capacity vehicles in circulation".
"To facilitate the movement of passengers during the night and early morning, several lines will terminate their journey at strategic points such as Rua da Restauração, Trindade, Rua do Bolhão and Rua Sá da Bandeira, with timetables adjusted to the needs of demand," STCP said in a statement.
The festivities in the city centre mean that lines 200, 602 and 1M will end at Rua da Restauração.
Lines 305, 700, 800, 801, 7M, 8M and 9M will now terminate at Rua Sá da Bandeira, while lines 502, 701, 702 and 5M will terminate at Bolhão.
The festivities also mean changes to the termini of the Gaia lines, namely 901, 906, 904, 905, 10M and 12M."
"Due to traffic constraints, lines 403, 500, 900 and 11M will be cancelled from 7 p.m. [on Monday]," resuming the usual service the following day, with the "Sunday and public holiday" timetable, adds STCP.
Trams (lines 1 and 18) will also end at 19:00 on Monday, resuming at 09:00 on the municipal holiday.
The São João fireworks will last 16 minutes and will be split between the Luiz I and Arrábida bridges.
At the presentation of the São João festivities, the city council announced that the budget for the pyromusical show is the highest ever, €210,000, which will be borne equally by the municipalities of Porto and Gaia.
According to the information distributed, the festivities represent an investment of €780,000 for the municipality of Porto, of which €300,000 is earmarked for the programme.
The main entertainment will take place in Largo Amor de Perdição, the gardens of Palácio de Cristal and Casa da Música, where there are scheduled shows of humour, for example with Herman José and Tio Jel, and music, with Quim Barreiros, Cláudia Pascoal, Ana Bacalhau and Ena Pá 2000, according to the programme.
JAP/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
