The Mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas, met with the Chairman of the Board of Carris, Pedro Bogas, this Wednesday. “The president of Carris and all other board members submitted their resignation during this meeting,” stated the Lisbon City Council in a communication.
The statement noted that “Carlos Moedas highlighted the professional and courageous manner in which, during the most challenging time of the term following the tragic accident with the Elevador da Glória, the current Board defended the company’s interests. Despite putting their positions at the disposal from the start, they agreed to remain in functions.”
It was further emphasized that “the current administration will ensure management, within legal deadlines and limits, until a new president and Board of Carris are selected.”
The Mayor also mentioned that “he understands and accepts the reasons presented, considering it essential to appoint a new administration, which will be presented at the appropriate time, for a new term.”
The municipality stressed its commitment to “promptly restore full confidence and credibility in a company fundamental to the city of Lisbon.”
The resignations follow the preliminary report by the Aircraft Accident and Railway Accident Investigation Office (GPIAAF), released on Monday, concerning the tragedy with the Elevador da Glória on September 3, which resulted in 16 deaths and dozens of injuries among Portuguese and foreigners of various nationalities.
Currently, Carris is chaired by Pedro Bogas, who was appointed in May 2022 to replace Tiago Farias, serving since 2016. Bogas’s term was due to end this year.
On Tuesday, it was revealed that the Mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas, would not reappoint the current Carris administration led by Pedro Bogas. Moedas’s decision came after becoming aware of the preliminary conclusions of the GPIAAF report on the Elevador da Glória accident.
The Report
The GPIAAF’s preliminary report, known on Monday, October 20, stated that the cable connecting the two cabins of the Elevador da Glória, which broke at its attachment point on the derailed carriage, did not meet Carris’s specifications and was not certified for passenger transport.
“The use of cables that were repeatedly non-compliant with specifications and usage restrictions resulted from various accumulated failures in acquisition, acceptance, and application processes by CCFL [Companhia Carris de Ferro de Lisboa], whose internal control mechanisms were insufficient or inadequate to prevent and detect such failures,” stated this body.
The preliminary findings of GPIAAF revealed that the installed cable “was not the indicated one” for the system used in the Elevador da Glória.
The investigation highlighted issues in Carris’s cable procurement for the Elevador da Glória, where specifications intended for the Santa Justa elevator, notably different, were mistakenly sent to suppliers. Carris failed to detect or clarify this error.
GPIAAF reported that “for reasons Carris could not explain, and lacking documentary evidence from supplier consultations, the specification for one of the Santa Justa cables—only changing the diameter—was adopted for articles corresponding to cables for the Glória and Lavra lifts,” supplied by Carris’s Directorate of Electrical Mode Maintenance (DME).
The preliminary report’s conclusions prompted several councilors to demand the Carris administration’s resignation, who defended themselves by asserting they were unaware of the cable problems, attributing responsibility to the previous administration.
[News updated at 17:31]
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