Head of Lisbon funicular operator resigns after inquiry faults cable

Police officers inspect the site where a tourist streetcar derailed and crashed in Lisbon, Portugal, Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)

LISBON, Portugal — The head of Lisbon’s municipal transport operator and its entire board resigned Wednesday, two days after an inquiry pointed to a faulty cable in a deadly funicular crash last month.

Pedro Bogas and the board members have “given up” their posts at the publicly owned operator Carris, also known as CCFL, city hall said in a statement.

It added that Mayor Carlos Moedas, who was re-elected earlier this month, promised to “re-establish as soon as possible complete trust in and credibility of a company that is fundamental to the city”.

The accident, which saw the picture-postcard 19th-century Gloria tramway hurtle into a building after careering off the rails, killed 16 people and laid bare fears over the safety of the popular yet ageing tourist attraction.

Portugal’s air and rail accident investigations bureau (GPIAAF) determined after the tragedy that a cable linking two cabins disconnected shortly before the September 3 incident.

The GPIAAF’s preliminary report released on Monday said the cable was not up to the standards laid out by the city’s transport operator, CCFL.

The city’s other funiculars have been kept out of service since the accident and the GPIAAF said they should remain grounded until inspectors confirm they have braking systems “capable of immobilising the cabins in the event of a cable break”.