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 of social capital, captained by the Government of the State of

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 ...

, in

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 ...

, and has Eduardo Hotz as current president. Founded on May 2, 1997, the company is responsible for administration, construction and metro planning in the state of Ceará, being present in the systems of Sobral and Cariri, having its main activity in Fortaleza and its metropolitan region. According to data released in December 2016, the system is the sixth largest in

among the 12 Brazilian metropolitan regions that have passenger rail transport, having in the period , behind

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

(),

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(),

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(), Natal (), and

Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, ; , ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian Federative units of Brazil, state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of roughly 1.4 million inhabitants (2022) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, 11th-most p ...

(). The FMR lines represent 4.3% of the total network of subways and trains of Brazil that, in 2015, was of of extension. The Metro was used by 13.2 million passengers in 2018. The Fortaleza Metro started its operations on June 15, 2012, in assisted operation. With the start of commercial operation on October 1, 2014, a R$2.40 fare started being charged, which gradually increased to R$3.60 as of April 2021. There is fare integration with the Integrated Transport System of Fortaleza (SIT-FOR). Currently in operation are 20 stations on the South Line, 10 stations of West Line light rail (in the future to be converted into a metro system), and 10 stations on the Parangaba-Mucuripe light rail, operating in assisted operation with passenger transportation in the period from 6 am until noon without charge for tickets. Possessing a projected extension of distributed in 4 lines, connected by 52 stations, mostly under construction or in design on the East Line (Tirol-Moura Brasil ↔ Edson Queiroz). The system was designed to integrate with two of the city's seven bus terminals, Parangaba and Papicu, and to connect to the passenger terminals at Mucuripe Port and Fortaleza International Airport.

Background

The operator of the Fortaleza Metro, Metrofor, has been in the process of modernizing Fortaleza's rail network since 1999, with plans for improving the network going back to the 1980s. The project involved double tracking and electrification of two of the main passenger rail lines, installation of modern signalling and communications system, construction of new stations, and acquisition of new rolling stock, all with the goal of achieving higher frequency operations on the two lines. The upgraded rail network is expected to serve nearly 700,000 passengers a day.

Operations

The existing Fortaleza rail infrastructure consists of of rail route, comprising two lines:

Lines

Routes

The long South Line provides passenger services between Carlito Benevides in Maracanaú to Central – Chico da Silva in downtown Fortaleza. The Linha Sul (South Line) is the first of the two lines to be converted to higher frequency service, with headways of 27 minutes. Its route has been diverted into a long

tunnel A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two portals common at each end, though there may be access and ve ...

, with 4 underground stations all with long platforms, in the city center. The West Line, currently operating as a

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, is long. It begins at Caucaia and currently terminates at João Felipe, with plans to extend it to Central – Chico da Silva. It currently operates with train frequencies of 45 minutes.

Stations

Stations on the metro-standards South Line, from south to north: *Carlito Benevides (formerly Vila das Flores) *Jereissati *Maracanaú *Virgílio Távora (formerly Novo Maracanaú) *Rachel de Queiroz (formerly Pajuçara) *Alto Alegre *Aracapé *Esperança (formerly Conjunto Esperança) *Mondubim *Manoel Sátiro *Vila Pery *Parangaba *Juscelino Kubitschek *Couto Fernandes *Padre Cícero *Porangabussu *Benfica *São Benedito *José de Alencar (formerly Lagoinha) *Estação Central – Chico da Silva (formerly João Felipe)

Rolling stock

The AnsaldoBreda rolling stock used on the system is similar to that used on the Circumvesuviana railway, in

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

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. A total of 20 train-sets were expected to be delivered, and in service, by 2012.

Light rail

A third rail line in the Fortaleza area, which runs between Parangaba and Macuripe and which had operated as a cargo line, was converted into a diesel light rail line. The line partly opened in July 2017, was extended in July 2018, and was then extended to its current 10-station length with the opening of Iate station in September 2020.

Future plans: East Line

A new totally underground line, the East (Leste) line, was expected to begin construction in 2018, with the contract for its constructions awarded to Sacyr and Ferrera Guedes, with an estimated construction time of 48 months. Tunnel boring machines for the construction were announced to be provided by The Robbins Company in 2012, but construction stalled. Current plans are to complete this third metro line as follows:

References

External links

* {{coord missing, Ceará Metro Metre-gauge railways in Brazil Railway lines opened in 2012