[5.5] South Tagus Light Rail

MST - A strategic project for the Council of Almada
[Domain: Policy & Integration]

The start of the construction, in 2003, of the Light Rail of the South Bank in the City Council of Almada is the result of a long process triggered over 15 years ago by the city councillors of the South Bank City Councils, as soon as it became clear the need to exist a means of transportation that would be accessible to the population, quick, effective and environmentally friendly.

Outdoor with part of the MST's line

The ‘South Tagus Tram’ (MST) is an environmentally friendly collective transport system that runs on electrical energy and on rails at street level, without barriers. This project will change the existent passenger transport system radically – comfort, speed, safety and the intermodality created with other modes of transportation are some of its great advantages. It is predicted that the MST will start to circulate in the end of 2005 and that it will transport 28 millions passengers per year, circulating every five minutes at peak hour.

In the City Council of Almada this project is framed in a policy of sustainable mobility, which includes measures for a urban mobility that relies less on the car, the improvement of air quality and of local acoustic conditions and simultaneously a betterment of the global urban environment. The project will improve the quality and attractiveness of all the region’s public transport system. The commuting time to Lisbon and between urban centres in the South Bank of the Tagus will be substantially reduced

The MST is also an excellent instrument for the re-qualification of urban public space and the improvement of the quality of life of the population. From the total extension of 13,6 Km and 19 stops, in this first phase, the layout inside the City Council of Almada includes the central axis of the City and it crosses important public transport interfaces, such as the Cacilhas boat and bus terminal and Pragal’s train station, and also crosses important regional social facilities, such as the University Campus, the Hospital, the new Courthouse and the Urban Park.

Metro Transportes do Sul S.A., who is responsible for the elaboration of the project and its construction, is building the MST. The client is the State: the Central Administration supervises the construction work and the fulfilment of the contract.

Although the City Council of Almada has no intervention in supervising or directing the construction work, it is following it through with commitment. The Mobility Plan - Accessibilities 21, it is being applied in association with this project and is of the responsibility of the City Council of Almada.

Life size model of the MST's carriage

Exhibition on the MST