Rio de Janeiro Light Rail () is a modern

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 ...

system serving

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 ...

, Brazil. The system is among several new

public transport Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whic ...

developments in the region ahead of the city's successful bid for the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

. Its official name is , the

initialism An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial letter of each word in all caps wi ...

"VLT" (which stands for ''veículo leve sobre trilhos'', literally ''Light vehicle on rails'') being equivalent to the English term ''

''.

Overview

Rio light rail arriving at Santos Dumont station

The first phase, consisting of a single 15-kilometre line between the

Novo Rio Bus Terminal Novo Rio Bus Terminal () is the main bus station in Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. The terminal was constructed in 1965 and was built for the proximity to Centro and key routes in and out of Rio de Janeiro. Services The station ha ...

and

Santos Dumont Airport The Santos Dumont Airport is the second major airport serving Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is named after the Brazilian aviation pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont, Alberto Santos Dumont (1873–1932). It is operated by Infraero. History Or ...

and 18 stops, was inaugurated on 5 June 2016, two months ahead of the Olympics opening ceremony, with regular service beginning the following day. For the first month of operation, it was

free of charge The adjective ''free'' in English is commonly used in one of two meanings: "at no monetary cost" (''gratis'') or "with little or no restriction" (''libre''). This ambiguity can cause issues where the distinction is important, as it often is in ...

to ride, but only two trams were in service between noon and 15:00 on the section between Parada dos Museus in

Praça Mauá Praça Mauá (English language, English: Mauá Square) is a square situated in the Centro, Rio de Janeiro, Centro neighborhood of the Zona Central, Rio de Janeiro, Zona Central of Rio de Janeiro. With an area of 25,000 Square metre, m², it is pa ...

and Santos Dumont Airport."Rio's trams will run for the Olympics: Brazil's wire-free modern tramway opens, part of a major revitalisation project for Rio de Janeiro" (July 2016). ''

Tramways & Urban Transit ''Tramways & Urban Transit'' ''(TAUT'' or ''T&UT)'', also known as ''Modern Tramway'', is a British monthly magazine about tramways and light rail transport, published continuously since 1938. Its content is orientated both to tramway enthusi ...

'', p. 244. UK: LRTA Publishing. The remainder of the line was opened and service was expanded to full-time operation on 12 July, although only 16 of the 18 stops on the line are in use. The network uses 32

Alstom Citadis The Alstom Citadis is a family of low-floor trams and light rail vehicles built by Alstom. , over 2,300 Citadis trams have been sold and 1,800 tramways are in revenue service throughout the world, with operations in all six inhabited continents ...

402

low-floor tram A low-floor tram is a tram that has no steps between one or more entrances and part or all of the passenger cabin. The low-floor design improves the accessibility of the tram for the public, and also may provide larger windows and more airspace. ...

s carrying 420 passengers each. They are bi-directional, air-conditioned, have seven sections, and eight doors per side. The first five trams were built in

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 ...

's facility in

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle'') is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime Departments of France, department. Wi ...

, France and shipped to Rio in July 2015, and the remaining 27 were built in Alstom's facility in

Taubaté Taubaté is a medium-sized city in the state of São Paulo, in southeastern Brazil. History Taubaté was part of the ancient Tupinambá Territory, along the Paraíba do Sul River. The Tupinambá Territory in the 16th century, stretched from ...

, in the

state of São Paulo State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

. There are no

overhead lines 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 ...

installed along the entire route. Instead, Alstom has equipped approximately 80% of the line with its proprietary

ground-level power supply Ground-level power supply, also known as surface current collection or, in French, ''alimentation par le sol'' ("feeding via the ground"), is a concept and group of technologies that enable electric vehicles to collect electric power at ground lev ...

(APS) system. The remaining 20% uses on-board

supercapacitor alt=Supercapacitor, upright=1.5, Schematic illustration of a supercapacitor upright=1.5, A diagram that shows a hierarchical classification of supercapacitors and capacitors of related types A supercapacitor (SC), also called an ultracapacitor, ...

-based

energy storage Energy storage is the capture of energy produced at one time for use at a later time to reduce imbalances between energy demand and energy production. A device that stores energy is generally called an Accumulator (energy), accumulator or Batte ...

(SRS), also developed by Alstom. Trams are still equipped with pantographs for use in the maintenance facility. The remainder of the three-line, 28-km network will open in stages by the end of 2017. It is estimated that when the entire network is at full capacity, it would be able to eliminate 60% of buses and 15% of automobile traffic circulating in the city centre.

References

External links

VLT Rio
{{Urban Rail systems in Brazil Public transport in Rio de Janeiro (city) Tram transport in Brazil Railway lines opened in 2016 750 V DC railway electrification

Overview

See also

References

External links