Rio de Janeiro Metro

Cardeal Arcoverde Station (nicknamed "Batcave") in Copacabana.

Rio de Janeiro is the second largest city in Brazil and the most popular tourist attraction in 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. These conditions are 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 reduce the tram network and switch over to a metro network.

On 14 December 1968, the Companhia do Metropolitano do Rio de Janeiro (Metro Company of Rio de Janeiro in English) was created through State Law number 1736.[9] In March 1975, with Law–Decree number 25, the company effectively came into existence. On 23 June 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 Station, and Glória Station, operating from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM.

In its initial 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 Station 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 Station, Morro Azul (now called Flamengo Station), and Botafogo Station were completed. In November 1981, Line 2 (or Linha 2 in Portuguese) started operating with only two stations: São Cristóvão and Maracanã Station (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.

Ipanema/General Osório Station. The bus is part of the Metrô na Superfície (Metro in Surface), the metro extension bus service.

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 Station and Irajá Station 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, Thomaz 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 Station, Colégio Station, Coelho Neto, Engenheiro Rubens Paiva, Acari/Fazenda Botafogo and Pavuna Station.

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 (New Year's Eve celebrations) 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.

Bicycles in a metro station in Rio.

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 15 December.[10] 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 between Lines 1 and 2 saves up to 13 minutes of journey time. A new station on the new section, Cidade Nova, was opened in November 2010;[11] the station is on Avenida Presidente Vargas and serves the City Hall.

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

Since tracking began in 1998, there has been a steady increase in passenger traffic in the metro.[12] There is a drastic dip in early 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jardim Oceânico Metro Station.

• Single Journey (Unitário in Portuguese): This is the most popular option. When a commuter buys a ticket from the counter, they then can travel by metro from any station to any station of any line. Once the commuter leaves the station, they need another ticket for another trip. There is a flat single fare (Unitário) R$ 4.60 as of March 2020[14] regardless of distance.
• Single Journey with bus extension (Metrô na Superfície in Portuguese): Metro Rio operates a bus service from some of its stations, which acts as an extension of the metro service. No additional fee is charged for this service; however, when buying the ticket the traveller must ask for a Metrô na Superfície card. Cards can be bought directly on the Metrô na Superfície bus.
• Single Journey with express bus service: not to be confused with the bus extension, this fare allows a passenger to travel on the subway and on select bus services (Cosme Velho and Urca are served by express buses), also run by the metro company. The fare costs R$4.35 as of April 2014, and the ticket can be purchased on the subway or when boarding select buses.
• Prepaid Card (Cartão Pré-pago): a prepaid card, valid on the metro and on the buses run by the metro company (not valid on regular city buses) can be bought at any metro station. The card is free of charge, however a minimum prepayment of R$10 is required. Tickets (a disposable contactless card) are purchased from a cashier in a booth. Prepaid tickets can be topped up at the vending booths, or at automated ticket recharging machines at select stations. Cards cannot be bought at the machines, and no change is given. Cash is the only accepted means of payment on any of the sales channels.

The Barra Expresso included a single ticket pass and the fare for a bus trip to Barra da Tijuca, a neighborhood located in the West Side of Rio. This integration ended when Line 4 was opened to the public.

Cantagalo Metro Station.

The investment of R$1.15 billion included also the purchase of 19 additional compositions; 114 new cars[15] with a technology that allows the passengers to circulate inside the train. The first of the new compositions was scheduled to arrive in December 2010 and the others to start operating gradually before December 2011. These cars were intended for use on Line 2 and have a dimensioned air conditioning system to bear the sun and heat's direct incidence, as most part of the line is in the surface. With the increase of 63% of the fleet, the concessionaire also planned to standardize the compositions of Lines 1 and 2: all 49 trains will have six cars.

The control, signalization, ventilation and energy systems will be also expanded and modernized. The energy supply for the metro's operation will be reinforced with two new proper sub-stations, at Uruguaiana and Largo do Machado Stations, and with the remodeling of São Cristóvão and Central sub-stations. On the other hand, the signalization will be automated in the two lines. Metrô Rio will enhance the ventilation at the stations and will modernize all equipment of the Control and Operations Center, from where the complete daily operation is monitored. These actions, combined with the extension of Line 2, will allow Metrô Rio to transport more than 1.1 million passengers/day.

Uruguai Station

Line 4 (yellow line) was completed on 30 July 2016, connecting Barra da Tijuca neighbourhood in the West Zone, passing under São Conrado and Rocinha, to Ipanema/General Osório Station. All stations are underground, but when arriving in Barra da Tijuca, trains exit a tunnel, pass briefly by an elevated bridge and go underground again.[3][16][15][13]

Line 3 is proposed to connect Rio de Janeiro to Niterói via a 4 km (2.5 mi) tunnel underneath the Guanabara Bay.[17]

• List of Rio de Janeiro metro stations
• SuperVia
• Rio de Janeiro Light Rail
• Santa Teresa Tram
• List of Latin American rail transit systems by ridership
• List of metro systems
• Rapid transit in Brazil

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rio de Janeiro Metro.

• Metrô Rio – official website (in Portuguese and English)
• Rio de Janeiro Metro at NYCSubway.org (in English)
• Cantagalo Station information (in Portuguese)
• Rio Trilhos (in Portuguese)
• Rio de Janeiro metro map (in English)