The Santa Teresa Tram (Portuguese: Bondinho de Santa Teresa, ) is a historic tram line in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, connecting the city centre with the primarily residential, inner-city neighbourhood of Santa Teresa, in the hills immediately southwest of downtown. It is currently maintained mainly as a tourist attraction, and is nowadays considered a heritage tramway system, having been designated a national historic monument in 1988. The line has a very unusual gauge: 1,100mm (3 ft 7⅓ in). The main line is 6.0 kilometres (3.7 mi) long.
Having run continuously since its opening in 1877, it is one of the oldest street railway lines in the world and, having been electrically powered since 1896, it is the oldest electric railway in all of Latin America. It is also the only remaining metropolitan tram system in Brazil. The only other original tram systems in the country to have survived past 1971 are the Campos do Jordão interurban tram/light rail line and the Itatinga line (near Bertioga), a rural and non-public tram line, which both continue to operate today. All other cities closed their systems by 1971 (Santos being the last), but since that time, three towns, Belém, Campinas & Santos, have reinstated trams as heritage services.
All service on the line has been suspended since 2011, as a result of a serious accident on the line, but a resumption is planned for 2014, and new fleet of 14 tramcars has been ordered for that purpose.
Read more about Santa Teresa Tram: Routes, History, Depots and Terminals, Problems, Accident and Suspension, See Also
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