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A minister, a secretary of state, a councilor of the Lisbon Chamber and the board of directors of the metro, accompanied by technicians, advisers and journalists, inaugurated the north atrium of the Areeiro station on Friday. Twelve years after the start of the works, users have more stairs and an elevator to go down.
Anticipating possible sarcastic comments that the delegation was pompous for such a small project, the environment minister defended his presence there. “I imagine that for many it is strange that a minister comes to the opening of an atrium. Normally when ministers appear it is to speak of many millions, of great works ”, admitted João Pedro Matos Fernandes.
But, he argued, “this work is extraordinarily important”, mainly because it makes Areeiro the 40th Lisbon Metro station with total accessibility. With the installation of one lift to the surface and two between the pier and the turnstile area, people with reduced mobility can finally take the train there. At the moment, in a network with 56 stations, 16 remain inaccessible to citizens in wheelchairs.
“I have lived in Lisbon for almost five years and this is the first time that I have been in Praça do Areeiro without seeing Tshirts made of plastic, ”Matos Fernandes joked, referring to the ordeal that the residents of that area had to endure for a long time.
It was in 2008 when the station expansion works began to allow the stopping of six-car trains, in a similar way to what happened in all the Green Line stations. The business dragged on and only the south atrium was ready. North atrium work was halted in 2013 due to contractor non-compliance and was only resumed about a year ago.
Arroios station ready in June?
With a project by the architect Alberto Barradas, who guided the minister on a visit to the station, the contract recovered the tile panels from Maria Keil and Júlia Ventura, improved the ventilation system and renewed the electrical installation, as well as once again allowing access to Av. Padre Manuel da Nóbrega.
“In recent years, the metro has invested 12 million in works like this,” said Matos Fernandes, referring to the works of Colégio Militar, Olivais and Baixa-Chiado, to which are added interventions in Anjos and Intendente, among other stations . “Interventions like these are essential and are nothing less than important interventions,” he said.
Speaking of major interventions, the Arroios station expansion recently celebrated its third anniversary and, the minister says, can be completed in June 2021, a few months before the contractual deadline, but much later than originally planned.
The metro returned to pre-pandemic service levels in July and recovered some of the passengers lost in April, but there was still a drop in demand of around 52%. The expectation of Matos Fernandes is that in September, with the return to school, the demand will return to normal.
