Rio de Janeiro Metro - History

History

Rio de Janeiro is the second largest city of Brazil and the most important tourist attraction of the country. After 1950, the number of motor vehicles on the roads increased dramatically. Rio de Janeiro lies in a hilly region, between the mountains and the Atlantic Ocean. The landscape of the city is extremely uneven, making travelling by car or bus a very time-consuming task through the narrow streets, which were ideal for trams but not for the increasing traffic of motor vehicles. By the early 1960s, traffic jams, pollution, and smog had become a serious problem in the city. To overcome these problems, local transport authorities decided to greatly reduce the tram network and switch over to a metro network.

On December 14, 1968, the Companhia do Metropolitano do Rio de Janeiro (Metro Company of Rio de Janeiro in English) was created by State Law number 1736. In March 1975, with Law–Decree number 25, the company effectively came into existence. On June 23, 1970, construction work started in Jardim da Glória. From 1971 to 1974, owing to a lack of resources, construction work stopped and was only resumed a year later. The Rio de Janeiro Metro began operating in March 1979, during the administration of governor Chagas Freitas. In the beginning, there were only five stations: Praça Onze, Central, Presidente Vargas, Cinelândia, and Glória, operating from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM.

In the first 10 days, the system transported more than half a million people, averaging sixty thousand passengers per day. At that time, the subway worked with only four trains of four cars each, with an average interval of eight minutes. In December of the same year, the operating schedule was extended until 11:00 PM, including Saturdays. In 1980, the metro system began to be expanded with the opening of Uruguaiana and Estácio stations. The two new stations caused larger passenger demand, compelling an increase in the number of trains from four to six.

The Carioca station in Downtown Rio de Janeiro, the busiest station with more than eighty thousand passengers a day, was finished in January 1981. By the end of the same year, the stations Catete, Morro Azul (now called Flamengo), and Botafogo were completed. In November 1981, Line 2 (or Linha 2 in Portuguese) started operating with only two stations: São Cristóvão and Maracanã (which serves the Maracanã football stadium). In December, completing the southern section of the first Line 1, Largo do Machado station began service. In 1982, the complementary inaugurations of the northern section of Line 1 started, with the beginning of operations of the Afonso Pena, São Francisco Xavier and Saens Peña stations.

To allow the completion of the second line to Irajá, in 1983, the trains on this line began operating from 6:00 AM to 2:00 PM. After a month, this schedule was extended until 8 PM, and a free bus service was established, integrating the Estácio, São Cristóvão, and Maracanã stations. After the conclusion of the works, the Pre-Metro and Maria da Graça, Del Castilho, Inhaúma and Irajá stations were opened. In 1984 the commercial operation of the second line began with five trains on workdays with a five-and-a-half-minute interval during the week.

Following the expansion, the Triagem station was inaugurated in July 1988, the year of the creation of the subway/train integration ticket. In 1991, the Engenho da Rainha station was inaugurated. From 1991 to 1996, two stations were opened, Tomás Coelho and Vicente de Carvalho. In this period, the time interval of the nine stations of the second line was reduced to six minutes. In July 1998, Cardeal Arcoverde station, in the traditional neighbourhood of Copacabana, was inaugurated. Five more stations became operational in the following two months: Irajá, Colégio, Coelho Neto, Engenheiro Rubens Paiva, Acari/Fazenda Botafogo and Pavuna.

In 1997, the Carnival Operation (Operação de Carnaval in Portuguese) began with continuous service during the Rio Carnival festivity days. In December of that year the system was privatised and the management and operation of the company passed into the hands of the Consortium Opportrans with a concession of 20 years, leaving the responsibility for expansion of the network in the hands of the state government of Rio de Janeiro through the company Rio Trilhos. The Rio Reveillón is highlighted by the performance of Opportrans that since 1999 has conducted a Special Operation to ensure a party for all. Tickets illustrated scheduled appointments to avoid overcrowding and provide the best service.

In 2003 Siqueira Campos station in Copacabana was inaugurated. Cantagalo Station beyond Siqueira Campos was due to be completed in March 2006 but owing to financial problems the opening date was postponed to December 15. This was again postponed and the final opening took place in February 2007. At the same time construction began on the subway extension to General Osório station in Ipanema. This was opened in December 2009.

In late December 2007, Metro Rio renewed the concession, then defined as for another 20 years, to 2038.

Line 1A from Pavuna to Botafogo opened in December 2009 with a connection between São Cristóvão and Central. Passenger traffic at Estácio is reduced and the elimination of the need to transfer betweens lines 1 and 2 saves up to 13 minutes of journey time. A new station, Cidade Nova, was opened in November 2010 on Avenida Presidente Vargas on the new section. The station is on Avenida Presidente Vargas and serves the City Hall.

The extension north from Saenz Peña from to Uruguai is expected to be completed in 2014.

In June 2010, the construction of Line 4 began, linking Ipanema to Barra da Tijuca, where most 2016 Olympic Games events will occur.

• Uruguaiana Metro Station

• Saens Peña Metro Station

• Afonso Pena Metro Station

• The President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and governor of Rio de Janeiro, Sérgio Cabral, at the now-open Cantagalo Station