Estação Cais do Sodré Train Station

The Estação Cais do Sodré is the train station which connects Lisbon to the western towns of Cascais and Estoril and the great beaches of the region. Of Lisbon’s central train stations this is the busiest and for tourists who wish to spend time on the beaches will pass through here on numerous occasions.

Estação Cais do Sodré is to the south western side of central Lisbon and is locate on the Avenida de Ceuta. The station is conveniently connected to the last stop on the green metro line (Linha da Caravela ) and there are exits directly onto the platforms.

 

The 26km Linha de Cascais (Cascais Train Line) connects all of the beach towns and resorts to the west of Lisbon and terminates at the town of Cascais. The first train of the day is at 5:30am with the last train at 1:30am and the journey takes 40 minutes from end to end. Tickets can be purchased from the ticket office or from the ticket machines which are dotted around the station.

 

The Estação Cais do Sodré is located on the banks of the river Tagus (Rio Tejo) and a ferry terminal is within close proximity to the train station, the main destination for the ferries is to Cacilhas on the opposite side of Rio Tejo.

Many bus routes begin and terminate in front of the train station. One of the more interesting bus routes is 101 which ends at the Christo Rei Statue on the opposite bank of the Rio Tejo, this bus route also crosses the Ponte de Abril suspension bridge. The Linha de Cascais was opened in December 1890 but the final terminus was at Alcantara-Mar approximately 3 km further down the train line. The Estação Cais do Sodré was added to the train line in 1895.

 

Cais do Sodré was the scene of Lisbon deadliest structural disasters, on the morning of May 28th 1963 the interior of the main station collapsed killing 49 commuters and severely injuring 40 more. The cause of the collapsed roof was due to badly designed reinforced concrete that had been constructed during the 1950s. Interestingly the official time of Portugal was set against a clock which stood just outside the train station, the clock set the official time from 1914 until sadly converted to a digital device in 2001.

The Linha de Cascais Train, Lisbon