Lisbon Metropolitan

At the end of this year, its 55th anniversary will celebrate the most western metro of Europe – Lisbon. The capital of Portugal received non-economic rail transport in December 1959. Today, its length is only 45 and a half kilometers who are located. 55 stations!

Lisbon Metropolitan today – a sample of simplicity of understanding and orientation. So it was not always. And so it will not always.

As I said, the metropolitan opened in 1959. The starting area had a fork movement and 11 stations. (Image taken from Wikipedia)

Gradually built new sections from Sete Rios and Restauradores stations. As a result, such extensions brought the metropolitan in 1993 to an ugly species – a tail ring. Until July 1995, 36 years after discovery, the metro had one line. (Image taken from Wikipedia)

Since 1995, the city has begun to divide the Metropolitan at 3 full-fledged independent lines. All these three lines turned out of the ring. The historical appearance of the Metro, which we can see today, became 1998. During this year, the movement scheme changed several times and came to the final form. In the same 1998, the 4 line appeared – the only one for today (and for the future!) Line that is not associated with the first ring and his tail.

Lisbon Metropolitan is small, but I did not have the opportunity to drive it completely. The most important thing is primarily transport. At all stations that I saw, pure and neatly.

Almost everyone who enjoyed this subway, allocate the simplest navigation system. All inscriptions are clear and made on a black background. We are at the station s. Sebastiao blue line – all the inscriptions of this station are highlighted in blue. To go to the red line – you need to go on the red pointers.

All in modern – many pointers. Immediately seen who is now an hour, what date, in which direction travels from this platform and how many minutes will the next train be. And the station is clean. It seems that it was opened in the first stage?

Advertising, minimum design and stands with information.

Our train arrives. People in the other side of him for a long time to wait – no peak hour after all!

The internal device of the car is not designed for more people. Seats are standing. Little handrails, but many pens. 450 thousand people enjoy the metrolytone daily. With the total population of the city, 550 thousand, total 3 stations on the city feature on the territory of Big Lisbon and the outrage of a number of areas – this is a good indicator. Residents of the suburbs for passage pay more – the zone system of payment concerns all stations outside the capital.

Seats remind me more like a tram or train.

Inside the wagons, the metro scheme is located above the door.

On information racks you can see the metro scheme imposed on the city map.

There she is. Do not break your eyes – it will open in a very large resolution. On the map you can see all the sights, all the main streets and location of the stations. For those who want to go to Lisbon, I advise you to keep yourself.

The harsh pointer on the doors – men, you should not climb into the closing doors, and then it will fit something.

We arrived at the Baixa-Chiado station and we need to go to another line. On the right pointer to the green line – the chap line. This is exactly the way otherwise. In our translation, I found such names: Blue Line – Footage, Green – Karavel, Yellow – Sunflower, Red – Eastern. And no digits!

The number of passengers at this transplant station is decent. BAIXA-CHIADO intersect two lines ending with suburban electric train stations. The transplant station itself is unique. Something could be done in Moscow, taking into account the permanent conversations about the Spanish methods of construction and layout of a number of new stations with side platforms.

This is a Portuguese cross-platform station, which is essentially 3 platforms. Two stations of blue and green lines are located in parallel to each other at one level. Each in itself has two side platforms. Between platforms located in the middle of this node, there are direct corridors. See: I arrived from the north on the blue line from the side of Restauradores on the side platform. People sitting on the other side of the paths waiting for the train towards Restauradores to go to the north. And on the left there is a corridor leading to the trains of a green line to Cais Do Sodre Station. The most distant side platform, which is not visible behind the wall – to the trains of the green line towards Rossio.

The connecting corridor is very small (photographed already with a green line)

And for transitions from any station to any have two identical halls level above.

For security reasons, the toproom width with both ways. Accidentally fall under the train will not work. All these people that stand near, also wait for the train and go one station to the final.

Side seats, usual to the Russian eye, I noticed only in places near the transition from the car to the car.

And at the end I want to stay on the development plans of this subway. What is interesting, Lisbon Metropolitan, even in the long future, does not plan to increase the number of lines. And so there will remain four. Below is the scheme of promising development of the subway. It seems, this is the latest version. Such cards I found with minor differences. The essence does not change: in the future, the metro will be much more complicated in understanding and will require care from the passenger. Returning ring line in an extended route, combined areas for two lines, a few forks, three directions of development towards suburbs. Dates of all this construction distant – in 2014 only 1 station will open, and nothing else has started to build. Well, at least all the stations and the airport have already connected.

This is the small story of the only full-fledged Metro Portugal.