A faulty wire inside one of Lisbon’s historic Calçada da Glória funicular cars caused the tragic crash that killed 16 people earlier this year, according to a new report from Portuguese investigators.
A preliminary report from the Gabinete de Prevenção e Investigação de Acidentes com Aeronaves e de Acidentes Ferroviários (GPIAAF) released on Monday, Oct. 20, concluded that “the haulage cable connecting the two cabins ruptured inside cabin no.1’s upper trolley cable swivel, just a few centimetres from its socketed termination.”
Investigators said the haulage cable “did not comply with the specifications” required by Portugal’s transit authority. They also found that the maintenance program for the vehicle had relied on “non-existent, inapplicable or outdated standards” on at least five occasions.
The crash occurred around 6:04 p.m. local time on Sept. 3, according to the GPIAAF.
The Glória funicular, a national monument and a beloved tourist attraction, has operated in its current form since 1914. It uses an underground cable system that links two cars traveling in opposite directions. Each car’s truck is connected by a special trolley, known as a “trambolho,” the GPIAAF report explained.
Glória first opened in 1885, according to CTV News.
On the day of the disaster, the funicular derailed 170 meters (558 feet) from its starting point, as it entered a right-hand curve. The report noted that “the vehicle, due to its speed, derailed and began to roll to the left in the direction of travel.”
The cabin then “completely lost its guidance, colliding laterally with its upper part against the wall of the building on the left side of the Calçada,” before hitting “a streetlight pole and another supporting the funicular’s overhead electrical network, both made of cast iron.” Its uncontrolled movement ended when it struck the corner of another building.
The first collision was estimated to have occurred at a speed of about 37 mph.
The Glória line remains one of Lisbon’s most visited attractions, Reuters reported. Authorities said the victims included five Portuguese, three British, two South Koreans, two Canadians, one Swiss, one Ukrainian, one American, and one French resident.
