Metro Mondego

The Metro Mondego, part of the mass transit public transport system of Coimbra, Portugal, was to have been a light-rail network that runs above ground in Coimbra into the city's suburbs. Studies and planning were in progress but the Metro Mondego project was cancelled in January 2011 at the height of Portuguese financial crisis. The operational conventional rail line connecting the municipalities of: Coimbra, Miranda do Corvo, Lousã, and Serpins was closed at the same time and replaced by a bus service.

Metro Mondego

Ramal de Lousa Serpins trains sidings

Urban transport in Coimbra
SMTUC CP/IP + MM (2006– ⚒) tram (1911–1980)* trolleybus (1947–)* lift (2001–) Linha do Norte (1857–) Ramal da Lousã (1885–) Ramal da Lousã (1906–2006) MM "Linha do Hospital" MM * source ca. 1971   rede 1971 smtuc.jpg = SJ Elevador do Mercado P2 CB C P1 Mondego River   to Santa Clara   C0 Coimbra railway station CB Coimbra B railway station P1 Coimbra-Parque halt (original) P2 Coimbra-Parque halt SJ São José halt

A major part of the plan was to rejoin the isolated section of rail line between the stations of Coimbra - Parque and Serpins to the rest of the rail network at Coimbra and Coimbra - B station. This would have involved street running along Avenida Ermidio Navarro and Avenida da Lousã between the two existing stations of Coimbra and Coimbra - Parque.

There was a single un-electrified track along that street section used once a day for a scheduled train. It was also used to transfer rolling stock to and from the Coimbra - Parque station. Travelling north, the trains ran in the opposite direction to road traffic along a one-way street. The track embedded in the street is still intact; however, the Coimbra-Parque station was demolished in March 2022, and by that time, the rails in the other sections of the track had been lifted.

There is some local agitation to have the Serpins aspect of the project restarted as there is dissatisfication with the replacement bus service; current plans see the replacement of the railway with a bus rapid transit service,

Stations

The system would have had two lines with several stations:

• Line A: Coimbra-B - Hospital
• Line B: Coimbra-B - Serpins along the line of the old railway.

Line A

• Coimbra B (train connections to Porto, Lisbon, Guarda, Figueira da Foz)
• Açude
• Inês de Castro
• Aeminium
• Arnado
• Câmara (City Hall)
• Mercado
• Praça da República
• Universidade (University)
• Sereia (Parque de Santa Cruz)
• Celas
• Hospital

Line B

• Coimbra B
• Açude
• Inês de Castro
• Aeminium
• Portagem
• Parque (near Mondego River)
• Rainha Santa
• Arregaça
• Norton Matos
• São José
• Solum (near Estádio Cidade de Coimbra)
• Vale das Flores
• Carvalhosas
• Quinta da Fonte
• Conraria
• Ceira
• Vale de Açor
• Tremoa
• Moinhos
• Lobazes
• Miranda do Corvo
• Corvo
• Padrão
• Meiral
• Lousã - A
• Lousã
• Espirito Santo
• Serpins

External links

• metromondego.pt - official site