The first part of the system was opened in 1959 between Sete Rios / Entre Campos and Restauradores showing a Y form system. The eastern branch to Alvalade was built until 1972. The extensions from Sete Rios to Colégio Militar-Luz and from Entre Campos to Cidade Universitária were opened in 1988. Finally, in 1993, the eastern and the middle branch met at Campo Grande forming a circle (although trains did never run in a circle). Until 1995 trains starting at Campo Grande would run via Alameda alternately to Colégio Militar-Luz or back to Campo Grande via Cidade Universitária. Then in 1995, the line (90 % underground) was split into two lines with very poetic names:

Linha da Gaivota (Seagull line): Colégio Militar/Luz - Campo Grande via Alameda
Linha do Girassol (Sunflower line): Rotunda - Campo Grande

Metro Lisboa decorates all stations with some artistic elements (see official page below) which is especially visible on the new Oriente Line (mainly interesting Olaias, Chelas and Oriente stations). Older stations are of a very simple design with small wall decorations.

Blue Line - Linha da Gaivota (15km - 18 stations) extension north from Colégio Militar/Luz to Pontinha (2 stations) opened Oct. 1997 and after splitting the line in the city centre it runs from Restauradores via Baixa-Chiado (Aug. 1998) down to the harbour at Terreiro do Paço and further to Sta. Apolónia railway station (2008). With a 1-station extension from Amadora Este to Reboleira, an interchange was created in April 2016 with the Sintra suburban line.

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In March 1998 some station names changed: Sete Rios > Jardim Zoológico, Palhavã > Praça de Espanha, Rotunda > Marquês de Pombal

Green Line - Linha da Caravela (Caravel line) (9km - 13 stations) is the name of the remaining eastern branch split from the Gaivota line. It runs from Campo Grande via Alameda, Rossio, Baixa-Chiado to the Cais do Sodré railway station (April 1998) by the harbour. An extension from Campo Grande to Telheiras (1 station) was taken into service in Nov. 2002. Additional stations had been planned in the past, but not built: Madrid between Areeiro and Roma, and Calvanas between Alvalade and Campo Grande. Later this line is planned to be extended towards Pontinha.

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In March 1998 Socorro station was renamed into Martim Moniz.

Yellow Line - Linha do Girassol (Sunflower Line) (11km - 13 stations) was extended from Rotunda to Rato in Dec. 1997. In 1999 construction work started on a northern extension to Odivelas. This 5km extension opened on 27 March 2004, almost doubling the Yellow Line's length. The new stretch runs in tunnel between Campo Grande and Senhor Roubado and then on a bridge to Odivelas across a large valley in this area.

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Red Line - Linha do Oriente (Eastern line) (11.3 km - 12 stations) was a completely new line serving the Expo98 area at Oriente when it opened on 19 May 1998. Initially starting at Alameda on the Green line it was extended to São Sebastião in 2009, now providing transfer to all other metro lines. The Red Line eventually reached the Airport in July 2012 (3.3 km).

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1999 © Robert Schwandl

Click here for detailed Lisbon metro history (thanks to Alex Riabov).

 Other Rail Transit in Greater Lisbon

CP - Comboios Urbanos

Caminhos de Ferro Portugueses (Portuguese Railways) operates a suburban service on 3 main routes:

Linha de Sintra (from Lisboa-Rossio via Benfica to Sintra; Oriente - Mira Sintra/Meleças; Alverca - Oriente - Sintra weekday peak times)
Linha de Cascais (from Lisboa-Cais do Sodré via Belém to Cascais)
Linha de Azambuja (Alcantara Terra - Azambuja; Santa Apolonia - Castanheira do Ribatejo: weekdays daytime only)
Linha do Sado (on south bank of Tagus River from Barreiro to Setúbal and Praias do Sado)

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FERTAGUS

Since July 1999, a new rail link across the Ponte 25 de Abril (Tagus bridge) has been operated by FERTAGUS between Roma-Areeiro and Fogueteiro on the south bank with trains every 10-20 minutes. On 6 October 2004, Fertagus extended the suburban railway service from Fogueteiro to Setúbal (hourly).

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Unfortunately adjacent metro and rail stations do not always have the same name:

CP station Rossio is served by Metro Restauradores (not Rossio)
CP station Sete Rios is served by Jardim Zoológico (renamed from Sete Rios!)

Eléctricos (Trams)

Lisbon is famous for its old-style tram lines that serve the hilly neighborhoods of Alfama and Chiado (lines 12 and 28) but only a few lines of the once large tram network are left over. Line 15 to Belém is served by modern low floor trams.

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Oeiras Mini-Metro

A new transportation system opened on 7 June 2004 in the municipality of Oeiras, west of Lisbon. The system called SATU (for Sistema Automático de Transportes Urbanos de Oeiras) was similar to a monorail but with wheels. It started from Paço de Arcos station on the CP Cascais suburban line. It used to have 3 stations (Navegantes - at the CP station, Tapada and Fórum) and was once planned to be extended to Lagoas Park and Tagus Park. However, service was discontinued on 31 May 2015.

Metro do Sul do Tejo

On the south shore of the Tagus River, a light rail network operating mostly on separate right-of-way was built. The first section from Corroios to Cova da Piedade opened on 30 April 2007. The western branch from Cova da Piedade to Universidade was brought into service on 15 Dec 2007, and the system was completed on 27 Nov 2008 with the opening of the Cacilhas leg through the Almada town centre.

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In April 2021, construction started on a link between Rato and Cais do Sodré for the creation of a Linha Circular (Circle Line) which will eventually leave a Yellow Line shuttle between Telheiras and Odivelas.

Later, the Red Line will be extended from São Sebastião to Alcântara Terra via Campolide/Amoreiras and Campo de Ourique. A northern branch from Moscavide to Sacavém is also planned.

The Green (Yellow) Line may be extended from Telheiras to Pontinha (3 km).

View map with proposed extensions!

METROPOLITANO DE LISBOA (Official page)

Carris (Tram and Bus Operator)

CP - Rail services in the Greater Lisbon area

Fertagus (Cross-Tagus Rail Link)

Metro do Sul do Tejo (Light rail on south bank of Tagus River)

Transporlis - Transport info

Portal VIVA (Smartcard system)

Other websites:

Metropolitano de Lisboa at Wikipedia.pt

Scanned map from my collection - (planned network for 2000 on city map) (170K)