Cariri Metro (, though it is technically not a

metro Metro may refer to: Geography * Metro City (Indonesia), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urban area with high ...

system; also known as ) is a , nine station

diesel Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine ...

commuter rail Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter town ...

line (sometimes referred to as a

light rail Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...

(VLT) line) in the

Cariri Kiriri people are indigenous people of Eastern Brazil. Their name is also spelled Cariri or Kariri and comes from the Tupi word meaning "silent" or "taciturn". History The French Capuchin missionary Martin of Nantes (1638–1714) was the ap ...

region of southern

Ceará Ceará (, ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. It is the List of Brazilian states by population, eighth-largest Brazilian State by ...

state,

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. It is operated by ''Companhia Cearense de Transportes Metropolitanos'', which also operates the

Fortaleza Metro The Metropolitan of Fortaleza, also known popularly as Metro of Fortaleza or Metrofor, is a system of metropolitan transport that operates in the Brazilian city of Fortaleza, operated by Companhia Cearense de Transportes Metropolitanos, company ...

. It is expected to transport about 5,000 passengers per day. The line went into operation on an experimental basis on 1 December 2009, and went into regular service in 2010. This rail line connects the cities of Crato and

Juazeiro do Norte Juazeiro do Norte is a city in the state of Ceará state in northeastern Brazil. It is located 491 km south of the state capital Fortaleza in the semiarid sertão. The municipality has a population of 276,264 (2020 official estimate) and co ...

together, and is operated with diesel light rail vehicles (LRVs). The initially estimated cost for implementation of this project was R$ 13,223,522; the cost that was later revised to R$ 25,190,720. The commuter rail system was implemented on a existing railway line, where the rail was adjusted to allow for the acquisition of greater speeds between stations. Five stations were built in Juazeiro do Norte, and four in Crato. In the future, it is planned to extend this rail line to the city of

Barbalha Barbalha is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the states of Brazil, state of Ceará in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast region of Brazil. Barbalha covers , and has a population of 61,228 with a population density of 100 inhabitants ...

, south of Juazeiro do Norte.

History

In late 2006 Lúcio Alcântara, the then-Governor of

announced the construction of a passenger rail line in Cariri, which was later renamed ''Metrô do Cariri''. The inauguration was scheduled for February 2007, but in January 2007 work on the line was halted due to the change in state government, and was only resumed in June 2007. The Metro Cariri was officially opened for test service on 1 December 2009, and after further testing was opened for full commercial operation in 2010.

Operations

Line

The Cariri Metro's single passenger rail line, called the Central Line, serves a total of nine stations, and runs over a total length of , consisting entirely of an

at-grade At-grade may refer to: *At-grade intersection, a crossing between roads on the same level * Road junction *Level crossing, where a road or path crosses a railway on the same level * Diamond crossing, where two railway tracks cross * At-grade railway ...

rail route. The gauge of this line is

meter gauge Metre-gauge railways ( US: meter-gauge railways) are narrow-gauge railways with track gauge of or 1 metre. Metre gauge is used in around of tracks around the world. It was used by several European colonial powers including France, Britain and ...

(). The frequency of trains on the line is every 40 minutes on weekdays, and every one hour and 20 minutes on Saturdays. A second line for the system, to be called the South Line, is in the planning stages.

Rolling stock

The fleet generally consists of a LRV trainset composition which is formed by two air-conditioned cars, and which are capable of carrying up to 330 passengers per train. While the vehicles used by the Cariri Metro have a maximum speed of , they operate with a maximum speed of on the rail line itself. The LRVs operated on this line are

hydraulic powered. The trainsets are built by Bom Sinal Indústria e Comércio Ltda., a company established in the municipality of

. LRVs are stored in a depot in Crato. During festival season, the number of cars is doubled due to demand.

Ridership

References

External links

* {{coord missing, Ceará Transport in Ceará Metre-gauge railways in Brazil Juazeiro do Norte