Yesterday, the Gloria funicular in Lisbon suffered a catastrophic failure that caused 17 dead, so far. This "accident" and its aftermath is certainly going to reveal a lot of the shitshow resulting from the modern mindset of privatization, incompetence and private-car focused politics.
This is a funicular system with 2 electric cars, and a cable connecting both cars. The cars act as a counterweight but, unlike a traditional gondola, the cars themselves have a motor that pulls them uphill.
Miguel Arroz
in reply to Miguel Arroz • • •Preliminary data points to a cable failure (either the cable snapped or disconnected from one of the cars) and a total failure of the emergency braking system.
This is a heritage system, and the cars are more than 100 years old. This is where the problem begins: there’s nothing wrong with operating cars this old, *if* they are maintained properly by people who know them intimately.
Miguel Arroz
in reply to Miguel Arroz • • •However, 14 years ago, maintenance stopped being made by the public Lisbon transit operator (Carris) and was outsourced to private companies through public bidding. At least two companies serviced this system during that period.
Why is this a problem? On equipment this old, maintenance can’t be learned on books. There are decades of institutional knowledge that needs to be passed down from the more experienced staff to new hires. That knowledge was thrown away on each contract.
Miguel Arroz
in reply to Miguel Arroz • • •