It has been nearly a week since the tragic incident involving Lisbon's iconic Gloria funicular. Now, Portuguese authorities have revealed that a snapped cable caused the crash. According to the report, the cabins had traveled only a few meters when they "suddenly lost the balancing force provided by the cable connecting them."
"Cabin No. 2 suddenly reversed, its movement halting approximately 10 meters beyond due to its partial excursion past the end of the track and the burial of the underside of the trambolho (trolley) at the end of the cable trench. Cabin No. 1, at the top of Calcada da Gloria, continued its downward movement, increasing its speed. The cabin's brakeman immediately applied the pneumatic brake and the hand brake to try to halt the movement. These actions had no effect in stopping or reducing the cabin's speed, and it continued accelerating down the slope."
The report added an examination of the wreckage showed "the connecting cable had given way" at the attachment point to the cabin at the top of the hill. We now know that emergency brakes were activated immediately, yet one carriage still derailed and collided with a building. Have you ever visited Lisbon's Gloria funicular?
<social>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hJ9jLSjc_Q</social>