"Today we have clear news here, which is the start of the service in June between Seixal and Barreiro," said Miguel Pinto Luz, adding that this connection makes it possible to fill a gap in the connection between the populations of the two municipalities, which "are so close," but which, due to the absence of a bridge, have to take a long route to travel between them.

The announcement was made during the official ceremony for the 1st anniversary of electric operation in Seixal, an event that also marked the transport of 2 million passengers on Transtejo Soflusa (TTSL) electric ships.

"Today we came here to celebrate two million passengers of an innovative service, which is also electric river mobility. It is essential to understand that it was a process with setbacks, but that today it is stabilised," said the Minister.

Population in need

The population on the south bank, the official said, really needs this service because "Fertagus (the train on 25 April Bridge) is currently suffering from a glaring lack of rolling stock," which will take some time to resolve, and therefore, the river service can help with mobility between the two banks.

According to the Minister of Infrastructure, the electric operation of TTSL constitutes "a strong contribution to the objective of decarbonising public transport, particularly on the Tagus River, and to the sustainable mobility of millions of passengers."

Strengthening the rail service

Miguel Pinto Luz also indicated that the Government is acquiring two additional carriages for the Fertagus rail service, emphasising the need to serve the south bank.

The president of Transtejo Soflusa, Rui Ribeiro Rei, explained in statements to the Lusa news agency that the river connection between Seixal, Barreiro and Lisbon will initially begin on weekends, later evolving into a weekday service with transport in the morning, afternoon and evening.

Importance of the river connection

Rui Ribeiro Rei explained that the connection will be from Seixal to Barreiro, then to Lisbon (Cais do Sodré).

“It is a need that the local authorities understand, and the population also understands, and that, in reality, our connection to Lisbon also demands. Transtejo doesn't just have to make point-to-point connections; it has to make several point-to-point connections and connections between the banks. And in this case, it is something that has been requested for a long time and that has not been implemented,” he said.

According to data from Transtejo-Soflusa, of the two million passengers transported on electric vessels over the last year, 52% were on the Cacilhas-Cais do Sodré crossing.

The remaining 48% who travelled on electric vessels did so on the Seixal-Cais do Sodré route, which has been 100% electric since May 2025.

Since November 2025, TTSL has reinforced the Cacilhas connection using electric vessels, with 10,289 trips completed as of April.

On the Seixal-Cais do Sodré route, 17,276 trips were made between May 2025 and April of this year, and on the Montijo-Cais do Sodré crossing, the electric connection is in the experimental phase.

The company says in a statement that the 10 electric vessels in operation serving TTSL, each with 540 seats, “allow for an improved river travel experience, increasing comfort and safety in a transport solution that is more environmentally sustainable and reduces current maintenance costs.”

According to TTSL, last year the company avoided consuming 1,740,000 litres of diesel and prevented CO2 emissions equivalent to 87,000 car trips between Lisbon and Porto.

By 2025, globally, TTSL will have transported nearly 21 million passengers, and its 30 ships will have made 128,000 trips, aiming to reach close to 25 million annual users.

Transtejo Soflusa (TTSL) is responsible for river connections between Seixal, Montijo, Cacilhas (Almada), Barreiro and Trafaria/Porto Brandão (Almada), in the Setúbal district, and Lisbon.