The Lisbon Metro () is a rapid transit system in Lisbon, Portugal. Opened in December 1959, it was the first rapid transit system in Portugal, and to date is the only rapid transit system in Portugal. , the system's four lines total of route and serve 56 stations.
History
Initial plans
The idea of building a system of underground railways for the city of Lisbon first arose in 1888. It was first proposed by Henrique de Lima e Cunha, a military engineer who had published a proposal in the journal Obras Públicas e Minas (Public Works and Mines) for a network with several lines that could serve the Portuguese capital. Concrete plans took longer to evolve, though. Lanoel Aussenac d'Abel and Abel Coelho presented theirs in 1923, and José Manteca Roger and Juan Luque Argenti theirs one year later, in 1924. None of these plans were carried out.
After World War II, in which Portugal remained neutral, the national economy took off and the financial possibilities arising from the Marshall Plan provided a strong boost to the potential construction of a metro in Lisbon. A society was formed on 26 January 1948 with the purpose of studying the technical and economic feasibility of the project.
1955–1979: Beginning of operations
Construction began on 7 August 1955, and four years later, on 29 December 1959, the Lisbon Metro was inaugurated. The network was formed by a Y-shaped line linking Restauradores to Rotunda (now Marquês de Pombal), branching then to Entre Campos and to Sete Rios (now Jardim Zoológico), where the rolling stock depot (PMO I) which was also linked to the outer-loop Cintura Line of CP was located. Two services were operated on the system: one between Restauradores and Sete Rios (which later became part of the Blue Line), and one between Restauradores and Entre Campos (which later became part of the Yellow Line).
The new system was well received by the public, and in the first year the Metro carried more than 15.3 million passengers. The metro has proved an important factor in urban development of the city, outlining new areas of housing and services. On 27 January 1963, the first phase of the central portion of the network (later the Green Line) opened with an extension from Restauradores to Rossio; the second phase (from Rossio to Anjos) opened on 28 September 1966 and the third phase (from Anjos to Alvalade) opened on 18 June 1972.
After this first extension, no further extensions began construction until the early 1980s. In 1974, after the Carnation Revolution, the management model was changed, being nationalized in 1975 and renamed Metropolitano de Lisboa, EP in 1978. Under the new management, works were carried to enlarge platforms, originally designed to receive two cars, so that these could receive four cars.
1980–1989: Initial expansion
In the 1980s, additional extensions to the metro network began to be studied. An extension from Alvalade to Calvanas was planned to begin construction in 1980 and the extension from Sete Rios to Colégio Militar (later Colégio Militar/Luz) was expected to begin construction in 1982.
In 1984, works began to extend the eastern branch of the initial line from Entre Campos to Campo Grande (then called Cruz Norte). At the same time, construction of the extension from Alvalade to Campo Grande began; plans to build a station at Calvanas, near the Júlio de Matos hospital, had already been abandoned at the time.
By the end of the decade, on 14 October 1988, the extension connecting Sete Rios to Colégio Militar/Luz was inaugurated, opening three stations: Laranjeiras, with artwork by Sá Nogueira, Alto dos Moinhos (artwork by Júlio Pomar), and Colégio Militar/Luz (artwork by Manuel Cargaleiro). Cidade Universitária (connected to the main campus of the University of Lisbon, with artwork by Maria Helena Vieira da Silva) opened at the same time, as part of the extension from Entre Campos to Campo Grande. These four stations were the first to be built from scratch with platforms long enough to receive six cars () and with artwork in the platforms themselves.
1990–1999: Rapid expansion to accommodate Expo '98
In 1990, the Network Expansion Plan was presented, which included extensions from Rossio to Cais do Sodré and from Restauradores to Baixa-Chiado, splitting the Y in Rotunda (extending the branch from Picoas to a new station, Rato) and the extension Colégio Militar/Luz–Pontinha (including a new depot near the Pontinha station, PMO III).