Metropolitano De Lisboa To Be Modernised

On 10 May 2021, Siemens Mobility and Stadler consortium announced that is will execute a contract to modernise and upgrade the Metropolitano de Lisboa (ML) network and fleet. The contract was confirmed by the Court of Auditors on 5 May 2021, following its signing on 8 February 2020 (!) as a result of an international tender announced by ML in September 2018 and decided on 24 January 2020.

The 114.5 million EUR contract includes supply of 14 Stadler-built  three-car metro trains and delivery of Siemens-built Communications-Based Train Control system Trainguard MT on the Blue, Yellow and Green lines. Siemens will also upgrade the existing equipment, together with installing its on-board CBTC technology on 70 trains of the existing fleet, as well as on the new Stadler trains. The agreement assumes that the first unit will be delivered in first quarter of 2023, with delivery of the final one scheduled for third quarter of 2024.

CBTC will increase reliability, availability and efficiency of the service delivered by Lisbon Metro, while also complying with the high standards of quality and safety required by the operator. The contract includes technical training for operation and maintenance, as well as preventive and corrective maintenance of all equipment for the first three years, and a supply of spare parts and consumables for preventive maintenance for a further two years. The supply period agreed is 77 months, with provisional acceptance planned for 2027.

The new Stadler-built 70 km/h third-rail 750 V DC METRO trains will use stainless-steel bodyshells and will have three double-leaf doors on each car’s sidewall. The units will be 49.6 m long and 2.78 m wide and will have 90 seats arranged longitudinally, together with two places for wheelchair users, and will offer standing capacity for 450 passengers (6 per m²). The trains will initially be fitted with CBTC GoA2 but will have the ability to be upgraded to GoA4, so the service can be fully automated in future.

Siemens Mobility CBTC signaling technology provides real-time data on vehicle position and speed conditions operating in moving block principle, allowing system operators to safely increase the number of vehicles on a rail line. This results in greater frequency of train arrivals and allows more passengers to be accommodated on the system.