At issue is the railway crossing that connects the Roma-Areeiro stations in Lisbon to Setúbal, which has 10 stations on the so-called Margem Sul and four in the capital.

In a statement to Lusa news agency, Aristides Teixeira, director of the Fertagus Users' Committee, said that only when the train is stopped between stations, or at a station, is the train informed that it must be reset.

"The journey to the station is often painful. You notice that the train moves very slowly and jolts to the next station. This is a recurring situation, and therefore, we believe it's a problem with the quality of the carriages, with damage and obsolete equipment [...]. The first step is to demand that an independent entity inspect the Fertagus trains quickly, because September is approaching, and starting in mid-September, if we continue like this, it will be chaos," he emphasized.

The director also said that Fertagus users will propose the creation of a passenger ombudsman for all transportation services.

"This will be a person who must have the profile of using the transport system as an essential condition, and this person should also be able to take pressure initiatives and propose solutions so that these situations do not deteriorate," he indicated.

Passengers, he added, are very concerned because even now, during the school holidays and many people are enjoying their vacations, there are still frequent breakdowns.

In this context, according to the representative, train schedules are often disregarded, and even during off-peak hours, people are "sandwiched."

"This is a situation that needs to be resolved. We realize that Fertagus is a private company whose goal is profit, but profit cannot come at any price. It cannot be done by sacrificing passengers by lying to them, attributing the stop to the signs, and only later do passengers, who are not stupid, begin to realize that there is a breakdown in the rolling stock," he said.

The Fertagus Users' Committee will attempt to meet with the Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing this morning to submit the two proposals.

The rail link between Lisbon and the South Bank was inaugurated on July 29, 1999, with the aim of removing cars from the 25 de Abril Bridge.