Light rail diversity in Lisbon

摘要

Looking out from Lisbon across the broad river Tagus, the eye is drawn by two dominant features: the 25 de Abril suspension bridge and, near its southern pylon, the Christ the King (Cristo-Rei) statue. A small cluster of buildings may be discerned, but otherwise the scale of development on the southern bank is largely concealed by a cliff. Estuary settlements often evolve a perceived dominant partner: Newcastle over Gateshead; Porto over Vila Nova de Gaia; San Francisco over Oakland. The less famous side is nevertheless usually vitally important in the functioning of the metropolitan area. So it is here, for Almada municipality and its ferry port Cacilhas play a key role in what is known to most outsiders as just Lisbon.