| São Paulo Metro | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Info | |||
| Locale | São Paulo | ||
| Transit type | Rapid transit | ||
| Number of lines | 5 (Lines 4 and 5 in expansion) | ||
| Number of stations | 62 | ||
| Daily ridership | 3,600,000 (FY 2010) | ||
| Operation | |||
| Began operation | September 14, 1974 | ||
| Operator(s) | Companhia do Metropolitano de São Paulo (Lines 1, 2, 3, 5) ViaQuatro (Line 4) |
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| Technical | |||
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The São Paulo Metro (Portuguese: Metropolitano de São Paulo, commonly called Metrô) is the principal rapid-transit system in the city of São Paulo and the largest in Brazil. It is also the second largest system in South America and the third largest in Latin America, behind Mexico City and Santiago.
The Companhia do Metropolitano de São Paulo - Metro was founded on 24 April 1968. Eight months later, work on North-South line was initiated. In 1972, the first train trip occurred between Jabaquara and Saúde stations. In 1974, the segment between Jabaquara and Vila Mariana entered into commercial operation.
Today, São Paulo Metro is considered the best rail transportation system in the Americas.[1][2][3] The Metro has a length of 74.3 kilometres (46.2 mi), distributed into five lines with 64 stations.
The system is interlinked with CPTM (São Paulo Metropolitan Trains Company) at Brás, Palmeiras-Barra Funda, Tatuapé, Corinthians-Itaquera, Tamanduateí and Santo Amaro stations, and at other modal transportation terminals in the city of São Paulo.[4]
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The metro system consists of five color-coded lines: Line 1 (Blue), Line 2 (Green), Line 3 (Red), Line 4 (Yellow) and Line 5 (Lilac), all of them operating from Sunday to Saturday, from 4:40 AM to midnight. The metro system carries 3,600,000 passengers a day (two million by entering directly into the system and the remainder by free integration with CPTM and paid integration with the municipal bus system). Metro itself is far from covering the entire urban area in the city of São Paulo and only runs within the city limits. Another company, Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos (CPTM), serves 22 of the 39 municipalities that make up the São Paulo Metropolitan Region with commuter lines, which total six lines (7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12), 260.8 kilometres (162.1 mi) long, serving 93 stations and carrying 2,100,000 passengers a day. Metro and CPTM are integrated through various stations. Metro and CPTM both operate as State-owned companies, and have received awards in the recent past as one of the cleanest systems in the world by ISO9001. The times between the trains both in Metro and CPTM are about one-two minutes in the high traffic times, and three-five minutes in the low traffic periods. The CPTM differs from Metro because it serves other municipalities around São Paulo and also cargo trains, and because of the considerably larger distance between stations (except for the Line 9, which has almost no differences to the Metro lines).
The first line, Norte/Sul (North/South), later renamed "blue line" or Line 1 Blue, was opened on September 18, 1972, with an experimental operation between Saúde and Jabaquara stations. Commercial operations started on September 14, 1974, after an eight-year "gestation" period that began in 1966, under mayor Faria Lima's administration. Expansion of the metro system includes new lines. As of late 2004, construction began on a US$ 1 billion, 12.8 km (7.9 mi) all-underground line (Line 4 Yellow), with eleven stations, aimed at transporting almost one million people per day. By 2004, line 2 was also being expanded, with two new stations open in 2006 and another one in 2007.
An 11.4 km (7 mi) expansion of Line 5 and construction of a 28 km (17.3 mi) International Airport express line are in the pipeline as well. Plans also include updating the CPTM heavy rail system, which will add several million passengers capacity into the system. It is expected that the São Paulo Metro and CPTM systems will carry about 7 million people on average week days by 2014, as opposed to today's 5.3 million (Metro: 3.3 million; CPTM: 2 million as of 2009). Metro stations operate from 4:40 AM to around 12:00 AM. As of February 2011[update], tickets cost R$ 2.90. In 2006, the São Paulo Metro system has started to use a smart card, called "Bilhete Único" (or "Single Ticket" in English), allowing a passenger to take up to 4 buses and 1 metro or suburban train within 2 hours paying only R$ 4.07, 4 buses paying R$ 2.70 or metro or a suburban train within 3 hours only and pay R$ 4.07.
Its current extension does not cover all the areas in the city, however, the subway network, with five lines (three of which are undergoing construction for extensions), is complemented by a network of metropolitan trains of 260.8 km (162 mi), divided into six lines operated by CPTM, which serve the capital and other cities in the Greater São Paulo, extending up to Jundiaí, Guarulhos, Osasco, Diadema, Santo André, Mogi das Cruzes, Ferraz de Vasconcelos, and others.[5] The metro is funded by the São Paulo government and is run by a special self administered organisation. In terms of service the lines are generally average compared to international standards although certain more prominent lines and station such as the yellow line and the downtown stations are feature much more capable infrastructure due to their expected high use and run much more quickly and efficiently while less used lines are historically given less attention and usually run a lesser number of cars. The São Paulo government has began to address this issue and is currently building more lines and stations in farther out areas and ordering more cars to run on lines already in service with the increase in funding th São Paulo government has been receiving in recent years due to the growth of th Brazilian economy.
This project of conversion of lines to metro arose due to the high demand of passengers who use the metropolitan lines of CPTM and the need to recover the old stations.
Currently, there are old nineteenth century stations that were never modernized. With the extreme need to recover stations, it appeared that the plan of conversion, which is nothing but the modernization of the stations, purchase of new trains and reduction of headway to less than three minutes, as international standards.
Between the end of the 1990s and the early 2000s, with this project of refurbishing the CPTM lines, inherited from the RFFSA, Federal Railway Network and Fepasa (former São Paulo State Railways), the conversion of some metropolitan lines to the Metro standard began. This experience started in Line E, in the stretch known as "Eastern Express," serving Eastern São Paulo and running parallel to Line 3-Red. The stretch completed (to Guaianases station) today has new and modern trains and stations with a new route in the final part. The next stretch to be built, between the station Guaianases, in the Capital, and Estudantes in Mogi das Cruzes, also covering the cities of Ferraz de Vasconcelos, Suzano and Poá, is estimated to have its works resumed in 2007, but this was again postponed, now to 2008. Currently, all CPTM lines, with exception of Line 7 and Line 8, are working as full Metro system.
In May 1977, Metro assumed the administration and commercial utilization of the Inter-City Jabaquara Intermunicipal Terminal, and inaugurated, in May 1982, the modern Inter-city Tietê Bus Terminal, replacing the former Júlio Prestes Terminal.
This agreement established that Metro would be in charge of the studies for the planning, implementation, and operation of passenger transportation in the municipal district of São Paulo, either directly or through third parties.
Later, the other inter-city bus terminals were integrated into the system, such as Bresser, in January 1988, and Palmeiras-Barra Funda, in December 1989. In January 1990 the inter-city bus terminals were outsourced by Metrô, which through public bidding, contracted Consortium Prima for the administration and commercial utilization of the 4 inter-city bus terminals of the city of São Paulo. This contract included the responsibility for maintenance and conservation of the existing installations, as well as of the expansion and modernization of the terminals.[6]
Metro's security agents have police powers and in case of need they will provide assistance. All police matters that occur within the system are directed to the police station of the subway system, DELPOM (Delegacia de Polícia do Metropolitano de São Paulo), located at Palmeiras-Barra Funda station.[7]
| Line | Color | Termini | Opened | Length | Stations | Duration of trips (min) | Hours of Operation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Line 1 | Blue | Tucuruvi ↔ Jabaquara | September 14, 1974 | 20.2 kilometres (12.6 mi) | 23 | 45 | Daily, from 4:40 AM to 0:32 AM |
| Line 2 | Green | Vila Madalena ↔ Vila Prudente | January 25, 1991 | 14.6 kilometres (9.1 mi) | 14 | 18 | Daily, from 4:40 AM to 0:20 AM |
| Line 3 | Red | Palmeiras-Barra Funda ↔ Corinthians-Itaquera | March 10, 1979 | 22 kilometres (14 mi) | 18 | 36 | Daily, from 4:40 AM to 0:35 AM |
| Line 4[8] | Yellow | Vila Sônia ↔ Luz | May 25, 2010 | 12.8 kilometres (8.0 mi) | 11 | 2 | Daily, from 4:40 AM to 0:00 AM |
| Line 5 | Lilac | Capão Redondo ↔ Largo Treze | October 20, 2002 | 8.4 kilometres (5.2 mi) | 6 | 11 | Daily, from 4:40 AM to 0:00 AM |
New lines are planned. In September 2010, CMSP awarded contracts for the construction of a 23.8 kilometres (14.8 mi) long monorail with 17 stations, which would effectively extend Line 2 (Green) from Vila Prudente through São Mateus and Cidade Tiradentes.[9]
| Extension for | Color | Termini | Opened | Length | Stations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Line 2-A[10] | Green (Monorail) | Vila Prudente ↔ Cidade Tiradentes | Under construction | 23.8 kilometres (14.8 mi) | 17 |
| Line 4[11] | Yellow | Taboão da Serra ↔ Vila Sônia | Under project | 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) | 2 |
| Line 5[12] | Lilac | Largo Treze ↔ Chácara Klabin | Under construction | 11.4 kilometres (7.1 mi) | 11 |
| Line | Color | Termini | Length | Stations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Line 6[13] | Orange | Brasilândia ↔ São Joaquim | 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) | 17 |
| Line 15[14] | White | Vila Prudente ↔ Tiquatira | 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) | 9 |
| Line 16[15] | Silver (Monorail) | Cachoeirinha ↔ Lapa | 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) | 10 |
| Line 17[16] | Gold (Monorail) | São Paulo - Morumbi ↔ Congonhas / Jabaquara | 21.5 kilometres (13.4 mi) | 20 |
| Line 18[17] | Brown (Monorail) | Tamanduateí ↔ Alvarengas | 20 kilometres (12 mi) | 18 |
| Line 19[18] | Sky Blue | CECAP ↔ Água Espraiada | ||
| Line 20[19] | Pink | Lapa ↔ Moema |
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