"They don't feel dangerous; a touch precarious, perhaps, but only because the fin-de-siecle contraptions, with their angular poise against the steep inclines and narrow wooden benches, seem so unlikely. But I hadn't thought about how they actually function until the tragic accident at the Elevador da Gloria last week: two carriages at either end of the climb, connected under the track by a haulage wire in perfect balance, provide a counterweight to propel each other, with the help of an electric cable overhead."
"Last Wednesday evening, during rush hour, a cable connecting two of those carriages reportedly disconnected, causing the higher one to careen downhill, derailing and crashing into a nearby building at high speed. Sixteen people were killed with 20 more injured; five are still in a critical condition. According to preliminary observations by Portuguese officials, the funicular's scheduled maintenance plan was up to date and no anomalies had been discovered in the cable or braking systems before the crash."
"There also continues to be much debate about underlying issues at play, all of which is feeding into the city and its discontents. An early line from Publico newspaper Cable breakage exposes fragile maintenance of Lisbon elevator overloaded' with tourists made me think about how much of the global coverage of the incident talked about the funicular only as a tourist attraction."
A cable connecting two funicular carriages disconnected during rush hour, causing the higher carriage to careen downhill, derail, and crash into a nearby building at high speed. Sixteen people died and 20 were injured, with five in critical condition. Preliminary Portuguese observations reported that the scheduled maintenance plan was up to date and that no anomalies had been found in the cable or braking systems before the crash. Two separate investigations are under way. Debate has arisen about broader issues, including how coverage emphasized the funicular as a tourist attraction despite Portuguese victims among the dead.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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