Alstom celebrated the start of operations of its first tramway line in Rio de Janeiro — on time for the summer Olympic Games.

The Rio tramway network consists of three lines covering more than 17 miles, with 31 stations. The portion of the line that is opened covers a distance of 4 miles² connecting Santos Dumont to Parada dos Museus (Praça Maua). The 4 remaining miles of the line will open before the beginning of the Olympic Games. Well connected to other modes of transport, the tramway lines will significantly improve traffic in downtown Rio.

The tramway project — which was initiated by the municipality of Rio to modernize the port area — was awarded to Alstom by the VLT Carioca consortium in September 2013.

Alstom is responsible for providing a full integrated tramway system which includes: 32 Citadis trams, electrification, signalling, telecommunications and depot equipment.
To preserve and restore Rio’s authentic architecture, VLT Carioca has opted for Alstom’s catenary-free power solution combining two innovative technologies: APS, which supplies power via a third rail on the ground and supercapacitors, modules installed on the roof of the tram, which store and regenerate energy.

Made up of seven cars, the 144-foot-long Citadis tram is able to carry up to 420 passengers at a time and up to 200,000 passengers per day. The first five trams were designed and made in La Rochelle in France, while the 27 others are being manufactured in Taubaté, the first tram factory in Brazil.

Alstom is involved in every stage of tramway system development, from design to complete validation and commissioning and maintenance. The company was recently awarded tramway projects in global cities including: Cuenca,  Ecuador; Lusail, Qatar; Ouargla and Mostaganem, Algeria; and Sydney.

^{(1) VLT Carioca is formed by: CCR, OTP, INVEPAR, RIOPAR, BRT and RATP Développement
(2) The tramway line will be fully operational in 2017}