Authorities' "year of silence": Lisbon unveils monument to 16 people killed in funicular derailment

The city of Lisbon today unveiled a monument to the 16 people who died in a funicular derailment exactly a year ago, as questions continue to be raised about the safety of the still-out-of-service means of transport.

Near the crash site, a 150-year-old olive tree is at the center of a ring of limestone blocks with the names of those who died.

The accident was one of the worst in the Portuguese capital in recent times and cast a shadow over the city's tourism boom.

A picturesque pair of yellow funicular cabins, resembling trams, connected by a cable so that one ascends the alley up a steep hill while the other descends, was a tourist attraction.

Authorities said that on September 3 last year, 11 foreigners were among the dead, probably tourists who always waited in the queues to take a ride.

Lisbon attracted around ten million tourists last year, and they are one of the city's main economic pillars. Portugal has around 30 million foreign visitors annually.

The Gloria funicular remains suspended while an official investigation is underway. Two other city funiculars are also out of service for inspection.

The anniversary has once again drawn attention to the delays in determining the cause of the accident that injured 24 people, and in determining any specific blame.

Portugal's public prosecutor's office said it hopes to publish a final report by March on the cause of the accident and whether there is criminal liability.

The victims' families complained in a letter obtained by public broadcaster RTP about "a year of silence" from the authorities. They were not informed about the investigation and have not received any contact from officials, they said, according to RTP.

A preliminary report into the accident, published last year, said a faulty steel safety cable and poor maintenance contributed to the accident. One of the funicular's cabins hurtled down the hill, derailed on a curve, and crashed into a building, causing the wooden cabin to disintegrate.

Karis, a Portuguese public transport company, said on Wednesday it plans to open an international tender in the first quarter of next year to modernize the dilapidated funicular, with the aim of having it operational by 2029.