The SMM, a system of articulated electric buses operating on a dedicated track, will begin with a preliminary free service between Portagem and Vale das Flores, in the city of Coimbra, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing (MIH) said in a press release sent to the Lusa news agency.

The approximately five kilometres route, which covers ten stations in the city, will be free until the opening of the section to Serpins, in the municipality of Lousã, "scheduled for the end of the year," the ministry clarified, without giving a specific date for the route, which also passes through the municipality of Miranda do Corvo, to begin operating.

The launch of operations follows several free demonstrations in the three municipalities covered by the SMM, organized this month by Metro Mondego, the entity that provides the service.

According to a press release also released today by Metro Mondego, Friday's operation will begin at 10 am and continue until 6 pm.

Starting Saturday and until full commercial operation is in place until Serpins operations on the urban stretch between Portagem and Vale das Flores will operate daily between 8 am and 8 pm, including weekends.

Trips will occur simultaneously "while large-scale testing of vehicles, infrastructure, technical systems, operational management, and passenger experience is being conducted," so that "any flaws can be corrected before commercial operation," Metro Mondego explained.

In addition to the service between Portagem and Serpins, expected to be operational by the end of the year, the service between Portagem and Coimbra-B is expected to be operational by 2026, as well as the hospital line in the city centre, a project with several sections still to be completed.

The current service covers only five of the network's 42 kilometres, which includes 42 stations.

The start of the operation, which the ministry calls the "Metro Mondego, responds to a long-standing aspiration of the populations of that region in the centre of the country," the government emphasized.

The project involved the closure of the Lousã railway branch and experienced numerous delays, changes, and suspensions over more than 30 years, eventually halting after the tracks were removed in 2010.

The SMM, which was planned to be a light rail system, was revived in 2017 by the government led by António Costa, who reformulated the project, maintaining the same route and replacing the metro with articulated electric buses.

For the MIH, the system "fosters urban cohesion between these municipalities, promoting local development and combating mobility poverty," creating "an efficient and complementary transportation network based on interoperability with other transportation operators."

According to the Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing, the SMM represents an investment of 220 million euros.

"For decades, the residents of the Coimbra region have waited, and despaired, for the day when the Metro Mondego would finally begin operating. When it comes to meeting their needs, citizens do not understand these delays and indecisions, nor their political motivations," emphasized the Minister of Infrastructure and Housing, Miguel Pinto Luz, quoted in the press release.

According to Metro Mondego, the minister is expected to be present on 29 August for the start of preliminary operations.

The Mondego Metro expects to handle 13 million passengers per year and maintain a five-minute headway between buses during peak periods.