Niterói has been bestowed $82.6m by the Brazilian government, a 5km line connecting Barreto with the central business area of the city. The project will reduce congestion, enhance mobility, and manage sustainable development of the metropolitan area.

Rio de Janeiro Pushes Forward with Metro Expansion Plans
Source, photo: www.railjournal.com

This is reported by the railway transport news portal Railway Supply.

Federal investment and prospective extension plans of the Niterói light rail line

Finance minister Fernando Haddad has confirmed the allocation of Reais 450m ($82.6m) of construction funds. Vehicle purchases, which need independent financing, will not be paid from the federal funds.

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The initial line will be 10-stop long, linking Barreto to the central region through Engenhoca, Santana, and São Lourenço. In addition, the BNDES and the Ministry of Cities estimates include another extension to 11.8km with 19 stations on the agenda, further expanding the line to Charitas. It will offer a straight link with ferry terminals along Arariboia and Charitas, thus making multimodal transport easily available across Guanabara Bay.

Integration with Rio metro and under-bay studies

It is part of the PAC – the New Acceleration Growth Programme. Meanwhile, the state of Rio advances metro works, such as Line 4 and extension of Line 2 and the new corridor of Line 3.

Line 3 will connect Rio, Niterói, and São Gonçalo via a 28km track with 15 stations. It will carry 650,000 passengers daily according to estimates, reducing the traveling time between Niterói and São Gonçalo to 40 minutes from two hours.

At the same time, Coppe researchers launched a R$ 4m technical study to explore the possibility of a subaqueous metro tunnel across Guanabara Bay. The tunnel would link Rio’s Carioca station with Niterói’s Arariboia and offer a high-capacity complement or alternative to the light rail system.

Wider regional effects of the region’s rail investment

The light rail Niterói line and the future extension of the metro will directly and indirectly bring thousands of jobs. Hence, they will improve accessibility as well as accelerate economic growth, reduce emissions, and reimagine urban transport in Rio’s metropolitan area.

Source, photo: www.railjournal.com

For what purpose is the Niterói light rail line built?

The Niterói light rail line will connect Barreto to the central area of the city, reduce congestion on the roads, and improve access to ferry operations, providing a more sustainable urban transport mode.

How could the project further develop in the future?

It will be extended to nearly 12km and 19 stations to Charitas and integrated with ferry terminals at Arariboia and Charitas, so the system will be multimodal.

What role does the under-bay metro study play?

It has been researched that a subaqueous tunnel of Rio Metro Line 3 connecting Rio and Niterói, which will be underneath the Guanabara Bay, will serve as a metro linkage complementing the light rail by supplying regional passenger flows.

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