The Recife Metro ( Portuguese: ''Metrô do Recife'', Metrorec) is a

rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT) or heavy rail, commonly referred to as metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport that is generally built in urban areas. A grade separation, grade separated rapid transit line below ground su ...

system serving the Metropolitan Region of

Recife Recife ( , ) is the Federative units of Brazil, state capital of Pernambuco, Brazil, on the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of South America. It is the largest urban area within both the North Region, Brazil, North and the Northeast R ...

Pernambuco Pernambuco ( , , ) is a States of Brazil, state of Brazil located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.5 million people as of 2024, it is the List of Brazilian states by population, ...

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 the federally-owned ''Companhia Brasileira de Trens Urbanos (CBTU)'' and currently serves 29 stations, along of track. The system is complemented by two diesel-powered

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 ...

lines with seven additional stations. In 2018, the combined system carried 102,089,000 passengers.

Characteristics

The contemporary metro, entirely aboveground, began construction in 1983, with funding from the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

. The metro consists of the Center Line (with two branches, Center-1 and Center-2) and the South Line, which all radiate outward from Recife station. The stations were designed to include various non-written means of identification, as the Northeast Region has a substantial rate of

illiteracy Literacy is the ability to read and write, while illiteracy refers to an inability to read and write. Some researchers suggest that the study of "literacy" as a concept can be divided into two periods: the period before 1950, when literacy was ...

(13.9% as of 2019). In addition to audio messages announcing the name of the stop, there are visual cues: a different color is used on the walls of every station, and stations are uniquely identified with

pictogram A pictogram (also pictogramme, pictograph, or simply picto) is a graphical symbol that conveys meaning through its visual resemblance to a physical object. Pictograms are used in systems of writing and visual communication. A pictography is a wri ...

s, similar to the

Mexico City Metro The Mexico City Metro () is a rapid transit system that serves Greater Mexico City, the metropolitan area of Mexico City, including some municipalities in the State of Mexico. Operated by the Sistema de Transporte Colectivo (STC), it is the Lis ...

. Center Line trains leaving Recife station have one of two destinations: Center-1 trains run to Camaragibe, while Center-2 trains serve Jaboatão dos Guararapes. The two branches run on the same tracks between Recife station and Coqueiral station, reusing the route of an old railway track, where the metro system was built. The South line runs from Recife station parallel to the shore of the Atlantic. The average distance between stations is of so the typical speed of the train is , but the maximum speed is . The gauge is ( Irish gauge) and the trains are powered by

overhead line An overhead line or overhead wire is an electrical cable that is used to transmit electrical energy to electric locomotives, Electric multiple unit, electric multiple units, trolleybuses or trams. The generic term used by the International Union ...

s. The system originally had a total of of route. After completion of the expansion of the network that occurred from February 2005 to March 2009, the metro grew to its current in length.

Diesel light rail

A long meter gauge ()

network (, ''VLT'') is integrated with the metro system. Two light rail lines link the city of

Cabo de Santo Agostinho Cabo de Santo Agostinho (English: Cape of St. Augustine) is a 448 square kilometer sized municipality located 35 kilometers south of the city of Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil. It is believed by some historians that Vicente Yáñez Pinzón had set a ...

with Recife and provide a connection between the Center-1 and South lines through the suburbs. The rail lines are not electrified, and use diesel vehicles. Terminology varies, with the CBTU and media referring to it both as the ''VLT'' and as the ''Linha Diesel'' ('Diesel line'), the name of the former heavy rail service.

Bus integration

The system also includes several bus lines linked from the terminals of bus/metro integration designated ''SEI'' (''Sistema Estrutural Integrado'' - "Integrated Structural System") through which passengers may continue their travel on the same ticket.

Lines

Metro

The metro is built to a gauge of , ( Irish gauge). All three lines are elevated or at grade, and trains are powered by

s. † Center-1 and Center-2 lines share a significant amount of track. The precise length of each branch has not been published. *

Light rail

Metre 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 ...

( is used, in common with most other railways in Brazil. It is built at grade.

Rolling stock

File:Sta Matilde-MAN AG 800.jpg, TUE Série 800 File:Trem da CBTU, no Metrô do Recife.jpg, CAF 100 File:TUDH Bom Sinal Maceio-AL 27.06.2012 - ELIAS VIEIRA.png, TUDH BS Mobile 3, on a different system in Maceio File:Cajueiro seco.jpg, Locomotive at Cajueiro Seco station, in 2011

Stations

Notes

*SEI: integration with local buses *1: Center-1, Center-2 and South lines run together between Recife and Joana Bezerra stations *2: Center-1 and Center-2 run together between Recife and Coqueiral stations File:Cajueiroseco.jpg,

Pictogram A pictogram (also pictogramme, pictograph, or simply picto) is a graphical symbol that conveys meaning through its visual resemblance to a physical object. Pictograms are used in systems of writing and visual communication. A pictography is a wri ...

for Cajueiro Seco () station, depicting a cashew apple File:Largodapaz.jpg, Pictogram for Largo da Paz () station, depicting a

dove Columbidae is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with small heads, relatively short necks and slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. ...

File:Erecife.jpg, Pictogram for Recife station, depicting the former central railway station

Network map (excluding light rail)

References

External links

CBTU Recife
– official website * Parent company CBTU'
website
Contains links to other Brazilian urban rail systems
Photographic gallery
for the Diesel line (pictures taken at a "photographical excursion" involving several photo artists at 19 August 2009) {{Coord missing, Pernambuco Metro Rapid transit in Brazil Transport in Pernambuco Electric railways in Brazil