In statements to the Lusa news agency after a public presentation in Lisbon of the content of the complaint, the spokesperson for the Users' Committee, Aristides Teixeira, said that the service provided by Fertagus, the railway line that connects the two banks of the Tagus River via 25 April Bridge, between Lisbon and Setúbal, is an attack on public health, integrity and the safety of passengers.

"On Thursday [12 March], we sent a complaint to the European Commission, Transport Subcommittee, against the Portuguese State, which oversees Fertagus, due to the undignified conditions in which thousands of people are transported between the two banks, and we ask them to intervene with the Government so that the situation changes," he said.

In the complaint, according to Aristides Teixeira, the Users' Commission reports that the situation has worsened since 2025, with daily delays in train circulation, very reduced speed, and breakdowns.

"People crowd onto the platforms, push each other, and verbally and physically assault each other. Everyone wants to get into the crowded carriages, including children, breathing on top of each other. In this suffocating atmosphere, there is always someone needing help, and the train has to stop at the next station and wait for assistance," he reported.

According to the Commission's spokesperson, the Government is aware of the situation, but nothing has improved.

"When we talk about Nazism, the image that comes to mind is of concentration camps. Today, when we talk about Fertagus, the image that comes to mind is of thousands of people suffocating inside the carriages—this is the pure and simple truth," he emphasised.

Aristides Teixeira also mentioned that some people are already using cars, making a financial effort, one or two days a week, just to avoid having to travel in such an undignified manner on Fertagus trains.

The Commission spokesperson also stressed that the complaint sent to the European Commission is an appeal for it to intervene with the Portuguese State so that “urgent measures are taken to put an end to this situation that shames Portugal in the eyes of civilised Europe.”

“We hope that, upon learning of this dramatic way in which they are transported, the Commission will ask the Government for clarification on this matter. It is a way of putting pressure on them. It will be a slow process, but it should be a medium-term path so that people begin to be transported with the minimum dignity of the worst railway operator that exists in Portugal,” he said.