Mafersa S.A. is a Brazilian manufacturer of passenger rail cars, buses and

trolleybus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or troll ...

es, and related components. It was founded in 1944 and was located in the city of

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 ...

.Bushell, Chris (Ed.) (1997). ''Jane's Urban Transport Systems 1997-98'', p. 451. Coulsdon, Surrey (UK):

Jane's Information Group Janes is a global open-source intelligence company specialising in military, national security, aerospace and transport topics, whose name derives from British author Fred T. Jane. History Jane's Information Group was founded in 1898 by Fred T. ...

. . At the end of 1997 it became a subsidiary of

Alstom Alstom SA () is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer which operates worldwide in rail transport markets. It is active in the fields of passenger transportation, signaling, and locomotives, producing high-speed, suburban, regional ...

. Most of its customers were in Brazil. However, export orders included, in 1990–92, 38 stainless-steel push-pull

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 ...

cars for the

Virginia Railway Express Virginia Railway Express (VRE) is a commuter rail service that connects outlying small cities of Northern Virginia to Washington Union Station in Washington, D.C. It operates two lines which run during weekday rush hour only: the Fredericksbur ...

Bushell, Chris (Ed.) (1991). ''Jane's Urban Transport Systems 1991'', p. 409. Coulsdon, Surrey (UK): Jane's Information Group. . (10 control cars ab-equipped trailersand 28 trailers) Middleton, William D.; and Sebree, Mac (1994). ''North American Commuter Rail 1994'', pp. 16 and 47. Pasadena (CA), US:

Pentrex Pentrex Media Group, LLC, is an American producer and seller of railfan-related videos and DVDs. It was founded in 1984 and was originally headquartered in Pasadena, California.

. ISSN 0160-6913. and 256

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 ...

-car bodyshells for the

Chicago Transit Authority The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is the operator of public transport, mass transit in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and some of its suburbs, including the trains of the Chicago "L" and List of Chicago Transit Authority bus routes, CTA bu ...

(as a

subcontractor A subcontractor is a person or business which undertakes to perform part or all of the obligations of another's contract, and a subcontract is a contract which assigns part of an existing contract to a subcontractor. A general contractor, prime ...

to Morrison-Knudsen). In the mid-1980s the company built more than 270

cars for

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

and more than 400 for

, and these were built under license from the

Budd Company The Budd Company was a 20th-century metal fabricator, a major supplier of body components to the automobile industry, and a manufacturer of stainless steel passenger rail cars, airframes, missile and space vehicles, and various defense produ ...

.Bushell, Chris; and Stonham, Peter (Eds.) (1984). ''Jane's Urban Transport Systems 1984'', p. 18. London: Jane's Publishing Company. . In addition to building new rail vehicles, Mafersa also carried out overhauls of existing rail cars. In 1997, Mafersa was acquired by Alstom. A subsidiary of Alstom keeping the same name, Mafersa SA, continued producing rail vehicle components (such as wheels and

axle An axle or axletree is a central shaft for a rotation, rotating wheel and axle, wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to the vehicle, with the wheels rotating around the axle. In ...

s), while manufacturing of rail cars also continued but now under the name, "Alstom Transporte do Brazil S.A."Pattison, Tony (Ed.) (1999). ''Jane's Urban Transport Systems 1999-2000'', p. 440. Coulsdon, Surrey (UK): Jane's Information Group. . Alstom sold the technology and license of Mafersa SA to MWL Brasil Rodas & Eixos Ltda. in November 1999, and this company continued making rail-vehicle components, initially under the Mafersa name.Pattison, Tony (Ed.) (2002). ''Jane's Urban Transport Systems 2002-2003'', p. 471. Coulsdon, Surrey (UK): Jane's Information Group. .

Buses

Mafersa entered the field of

bus manufacturing Bus manufacturing, a sector of the automotive industry, manufactures buses and coaches. History Bus manufacturing had its earliest origins in carriage building. Other bus manufacturers had their origins in truck manufacturing. Historically, c ...

in 1985, with development of a bus chassis and a

monocoque Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell". First used for boats, ...

(or integral) trolleybus.Bushell, Chris (Ed.) (1989). ''Jane's Urban Transport Systems 1989'', p. 451. Coulsdon, Surrey (UK):

. . Production of

es lasted only from 1986 until 1988 and was relatively small, totalling only 85 vehicles, of which 84 were two-axle vehicles and one was

articulated An articulated vehicle is a vehicle which has a permanent or semi-permanent coupling in its construction. This coupling works as a large pivot joint, allowing it to bend and turn more sharply. There are many kinds, from heavy equipment to buse ...

.Murray, Alan (2000). ''World Trolleybus Encyclopaedia'', p. 95. Yateley, Hampshire, UK: Trolleybooks. . Between the start of production in 1985/86 and 1988 more than 600 diesel buses had been delivered to various cities.

References

External links

MWL Brasil website
{{Authority control Manufacturing companies based in São Paulo Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of Brazil Rolling stock manufacturers of Brazil Electric vehicle manufacturers of Brazil Trolleybus manufacturers Alstom 1944 establishments in Brazil Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1944 1997 mergers and acquisitions Bus manufacturers of Brazil Budd Company

Buses

See also

References

External links