Two Metro Sul do Tejo trains collide in Almada, two people slightly injured
A collision between two compositions on Avenida Bento Gonçalves in Almada left two people with minor injuries on Friday morning and disrupted lines 1 and 3 of the Metro Sul do Tejo.
The collision
Two compositions of the Metro Sul do Tejo collided on the morning of Friday, 9 October, on Avenida Bento Gonçalves in Almada, in the Setúbal district. The alert was raised at 07:20, according to the Sub-Regional Command of the Setúbal Peninsula. Two people suffered minor injuries, and a Lusa report citing Civil Protection said they were being assisted at the scene at 08:30. Notícias ao Minuto reported that the two victims would be taken to São José Hospital in Lisbon. An early report published at 07:11 had not confirmed any injuries and described the collision as involving two carriages. The Civil Protection source said it did not know the causes of the collision.
Response and disruption
At 08:30 nine operatives and four vehicles were on site, according to the Sub-Regional Command, with units from the Almada and Trafaria fire brigades and the Public Security Police (PSP). The operator Metro Transportes do Sul (MTS) said lines 1 and 3 were affected, while line 2, between Corroios and Pragal, ran normally. Line 1 links Cacilhas and Corroios, and line 3 runs between Cacilhas and the Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade NOVA. Service ran in both directions between Cacilhas and Cova da Piedade and between Pragal and the Universidade. Road traffic on Avenida Bento Gonçalves was also disrupted, in the Almada to Centro Sul direction according to Notícias ao Minuto, and the early report said the road was cut.
- Alert raised after collision between two Metro Sul do Tejo compositions on Avenida Bento Gonçalves
- Two people with minor injuries assisted at the scene; nine operatives and four vehicles present
- Lines 1 and 3 conditioned, with circulation on alternative routes
Maintenance works and open questions
MTS had announced track maintenance on 8 October in the Cova da Piedade area, covering Avenida Bento Gonçalves and Rua Conceição Sameiro Antunes. The works were scheduled to run until 15 October. None of the sources confirmed a link between those works and Friday's collision. The cause of the collision remained unknown in the morning reports. The early 07:11 report had not confirmed any injuries, so the count of two comes from the later Civil Protection information. As of the morning reports, there was no confirmation of when metro service would resume or when the road restrictions would end.
