Little is known about the closure of Santa Apolónia metro station for eight months, which will certainly make life difficult for thousands of Lisbon residents who use this station to travel to the city center, especially those coming from the easternmost part of Greater Lisbon, such as Sacavém, Azambuja, Castanheira do Ribatejo, Vila Franca de Xira, Alverca or Santa Iria, just to name a few.
All because the mega-drainage tunnel has reached Santa Apolónia, after leaving Campolide in 2023.
Eight months?!
According to the Público newspaper, the H20 tunneling machine that has now reached this iconic Lisbon station will continue its work by digging further between the neighborhoods of Chelas and Beato, which, since the terrain is fragile between this “path”, will force the closure of the Santa Apolónia metro station, and it is not expected to reopen until April 2026.
It is easy to see that, for safety reasons, this intervention is essential to guarantee the robustness of the metro, protect the historic structures and reinforce the entire underground network against extreme phenomena.
Metro traffic will be suspended between Terreiro do Paço and Santa Apolónia for approximately seven to eight months, with work starting in September/October.
To ensure that no one is left stranded, a special network of buses will be set up to provide a fast connection between these two points and the essential services nearby.
Carris is also expected to reinforce its fleet and adjust bus stops to ensure that no one is left stranded.
Since not even the Público newspaper, which is reporting this news, has been able to get in touch with Metropolitano de Lisboa to find out more details about this forced stop, stay tuned because we’ll have more news soon.
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