Rio De Janeiro Metro Article Index for
Rio De
Website Links For
Rio De
 

Information About

Rio De Janeiro Metro




The Rio de Janeiro Metro (''Metrô Rio'') is a Mass-transit underground railway network that serves the city of Rio De Janeiro , Brazil . Founded in 1979 with five stations operating on one line, it now includes 32 stations and two separate lines and serves on average nearly half a million passengers per day.


HISTORY

On November 14, 1968 , the Companhia do Metropolitano do Rio de Janeiro was created by the State Law n. 1,736. In March, 1975 , due to the Law-Decree n. 25, the company effectively started to exist

On June 23, 1970 , the construction works started at Jardim da Glória.

From 1971 to 1974 , due to lack of resources, the construction works stopped. In the following year, in Jardim da Glória, it restarted.

The Rio de Janeiro Metro began operation in March of 1979 , during the administration of governor Chagas Freitas . At the beginning, there were only five stations: Praça Onze, Central, Presidente Vargas, Cinelândia and Glória, operating from 9 AM to 3 PM.

In the first 10 days, the system transported more than a half 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 PM, including on Saturdays.

In 1980 , the metro system began to be expanded with the inauguration of the Uruguaiana and Estácio stations. The two new stations caused larger passenger demanded, compelling an increase in the number of trains from four to six.

The Carioca station, the most active station with more than eighty thousand passengers a day, was concluded in January of 1981 . In the same year the Catete, Morro Azul (now called Flamengo) and Botafogo stations were also inaugurated. In November, the second line (''linha 2'' in Portuguese), started, beginning with only two stations, São Cristóvão and Maracanã. In December, completing the southern section of the first line (''linha 1'' in Portuguese), the Largo do Machado station began service.

In 1982 , the complementary inaugurations of the northern section started, with the beginning of the operations of the Afonso Pena, São Francisco Xavier and Saens Peña stations.

In order to allow the conclusion of the second line to Irajá, in 1983 , the trains of this line began operating from 6 AM to 2 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 the Maria da Graça, Del Castilho, Inhaúma and Irajá stations were opened. In 1984 began the commercial operation of the second line, with five trains in the work days, with five minutes and thirty seconds intervals during the week.

Following the expansion, the Triagem station was inaugurated in July of 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 of 1998 , the Cardeal Arcoverde station, in the traditional neighborhood 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 operation, with the continuous service during the Carnival festivity days.

In 2003 , the Siqueira Campos station, in Copacabana, was inaugurated.

The Cantagalo station, following Siqueira Campos, was due to be completed in March, 2006 , however, as of April, it has not been completed yet.


TRAINS


There are two models of trains. One with a conduction cabin, called type A and another one without it, called type B. The monoblock type Passenger Car s are made of Stainless Steel . The type A can transport a maximum of 351 passenges (40 seated), and the type B can transport a maximum of 378 passenges (48 seated). The passenger car composition can vary between four and eight cars. In six-passenger car compositions, the maximum number of passengers that can be transported are 2,214 people.


SEE ALSO



EXTERNAL LINKS