Lisbon, Sept. 4, 2025 (Lusa) - Carris has made a direct agreement with the company that currently maintains Lisbon's lifts and funiculars for five months, after the public contract for this purpose expired at the end of August.
"This is the time needed to launch a new public tender," explained the chairman of Carris at a press conference, recalling that the previous tender "was deserted".
Pedro de Brito Bogas said that a new public tender will be launched later this month.
He also explained that the direct award is not on the publicly accessible BASE portal because it is made "within the scope of special sectors".
The Carris chairman confirmed that maintenance continues to be carried out by the company MNTC - Serviços Técnicos de Engenharia, which owns the Main - Veículos Eléctricos sobre Carris brand.
"We couldn't do without maintenance," he said, recalling that a new public tender was launched this year, but "it was deserted", i.e. "no proposal was submitted below the base price".
Pedro de Brito Bogas said that MNTC/Main has provided maintenance services since 2019, during which time, he said, "periodic inspections have been carried out without fail".
The outsourcing of lift and funicular maintenance services has been in place since 2007.
Currently, he explained, the services are provided by "six technicians, supervised by three engineers from the company providing the services, two of whom are permanently at the company, 24 hours a day, accompanied and supervised by two specialised Carris technicians".
Pointing out that Carris more than doubled its investment in maintenance between 2015 and 2025, Pedro de Brito Bogas recalled that the last general maintenance of the Glória funicular was carried out in 2022 and that it must be done again within four years (until 2026).
The safety plan in force also includes weekly and monthly maintenance and daily inspections, the last of which took place on Wednesday, the day of the accident.
The Glória funicular in Lisbon crashed down the steep incline this Wednesday at 6.04 p.m. on Calçada da Glória, causing at least 16 deaths and two dozen injuries.
According to Civil Protection, of the 38 people affected by the accident, 15 died on Wednesday and 23 were transported or travelled by their own means to hospitals, one of whom died during the night.
The government decreed a day of national mourning on Thursday, and the Lisbon City Council decided to adopt three days of municipal mourning.
Carris runs the Glória funicular and connects Restauradores to the Jardim de São Pedro de Alcântara, in Bairro Alto, on a route of around 265 metres, and is very popular with tourists.
SBR/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
