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With more than 11 million inhabitants in the metropolitan area Rio de Janeiro still has a very small metro network with only two lines (35 km). The metro network is complemented by several suburban rail lines (SuperVia) running north and west from the city centre.

Line 1 runs from the beaches in Copacabana north to the city centre, then turns west via the main railway station to Estácio, where transfer is provided to Line 2, and further to the district of Tijuca. The first section of the line opened in 1979 between Glória and Praça Onze (5 km), after 9 years of construction. It was then extended to Botafogo in the south (1981) and Saens Peña in the west (1982). 16 years later, in July 1998 it reached Copacabana (Cardeal Arcoverde station, 1.7 km). It was extended further south to Siqueira Campos in Dec 2002, and to Cantagalo in Feb 2007. Line 1 is 15.7 km long, totally underground, uses 6-car trains, and has an average station distance of 830 m.

Line 2 started operating as a light rail (Premetrô) line in 1983, parallel to a suburban railway alignment, leaving from Estácio station on Line 1. Slowly and in various stages it was extended towards the northwestern districts and eventually in 1998 it reached its terminus Pavuna and was changed to full metro operation. In the future it will be extended from Estácio into the city centre and to the harbour, crossing Line 1 again at Carioca. Line 2 (22 km, partly elevated) uses only 4-car trains and average station distance is 1,720 m. Both lines have 1,600 mm gauge. Since 1998 Metrô Rio has been operated by Opportrans – Concessão Metroviária S.A.

15 March 1979 - L1 Glória - Praça Onze (5 km)
20 Sept 1980 - L1 Praça Onze - Estácio
1980 - L1 Uruguaiana station added
Jan 1981 - L1 Carioca station added
17 Sept 1981 - L1 Glória - Botafogo
19 Nov 1981 - L2 Estácio - Maracanã (3 km)
3 May 1982 - L2 Estácio - Saens Peña (Tijuca)
12 March 1983 - L2 Maracanã - Irajá (Premetro)
June 1988 - L2 Triagem station added
March 1991 - L2 Engenho da Rainha station added
Sept 1996 - L2 Tomás Coelho station added
2 July 1998 - L1 Botafogo - Cardeal Arcoverde(Copacabana)
31 Aug 1998 - L2 Irajá - Pavuna
24 Sept 1998 - L2 Engenheiro Rubens Paiva station added
21 Dec 2002 - L1 Cardeal Arcoverde - Siqueira Campos (regular service only started 1 March 2003)
27 Feb 2007 - L1 Siqueira Campos - Cantagalo (1.2 km)

 Projects

Construction of a Line 1 extension southwards to Praça General Osório started in early 2007.

Line 6 is planned to link the International Airport on Ilha do Governador with Barra de Tijuca (22 km). It will mainly serve the northern and eastern parts of the city (Leopoldina, Baixada) and offer transfer to Line 2 and Flumitrens' suburban service.

The 22 km Line 3 will be privately financed and run from Carioca station on Line 1 to Niteroi and São Gonçalo, including an underwater tunnel under Guanabara Bay.

The Rio de Janeiro metropolitan area has more than 11 million inhabitants.

- OPERATION

05:00 - 24:00 Mon - Sat, 4-7 min. interval (Line 1) 5-10 min (Line 2)

07:00 - 23:00 Sundays or holidays

- FARES (2007)

Single Fare (Unitário) R$ 2.35

Transfer Ticket R$ 2.30 - 4.00 (transfer to bus or suburban rail)

Metro Rio (Official Page - needs 800x600 resolution)

Rio Trilhos

SuperVia - Suburban Trains (ex-Flumitrens)

Secretaria de Transportes do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (Sectran)

Revista Ferroviaria