Porto Alegre lies in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul and has some 3.5 million inhabitants in the metropolitan area.
Construction of a surface mass transit line started in 1980 to link the city centre of Porto Alegre to the towns in the north of the metropolitan area, like Canoas, Esteio, Sapucaia do Sul, São Leopoldo and Novo Hamburgo. Line 1 was inaugurated on 2 March 1985 between Mercado and Sapucaia. In December 1997 it was extended to Unisinos. A 2.4 km extension to São Leopoldo-Museu do Trem was added in November 2000 after two months of trial service. Its current length is 34.5 km with 17 stations. Average station distance is 2 km, therefore commercial speed is 46 km/h. The longest distance with 3.9 km is between Sapucaia and Unisinos. A trip along the entire line takes 42 minutes. Track gauge is 1600 mm. Fleet of 25 4-car-trains. Platform length 190 m. Overhead catenary at 3000 Vdc.
The Porto Alegre Metrô is operated by TRENSURB and carries some 130.000 passengers daily.
02 Mar 1985
- Mercado - Sapucaia
09 Dec 1997 - Sapucaia
- Unisinos
20
Nov 2000
- Unisinos
- São
Leopoldo-Museu do Trem
Line 1 will be extended further north to Novo Hamburgo (elevated, 9.5 km, 4 stations).
A second 19 km line will serve the eastern suburbs and the city centre of Porto Alegre (from Sarandi to Azenha). 16 km will be underground. Between Aeroporto and Cairu on the future Line 2 a 3.1 km link might be built along Benjamin Constant Ave.
The Porto Alegre Metro operates from 5:00 to 23:20. Trains run every 5 minutes during rush hours (6:00-8:00, 17:00-19:00), every 10 minutes during daytime and every 15 minutes before 6:00 and after 20:00. On Saturdays there's a train every 12 minutes until 13:00, in the afternoon and on Sundays every 15 min.
Flat fare - R$ 1.50 (metro only - 2007)
Transfer tickets - R$ 1.50 - 3.45, depending on where you change to buses
TRENSURB - Empresa de Trens Urbanos de Porto Alegre