The Rio de Janeiro Metro (, ), commonly referred to as just the Metrô () is a rapid transit network that serves the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Metrô was inaugurated on 5 March 1979, and consisted of five stations operating on a single line. The system currently covers a total of , and serves 41 stations.
The metro system is nominally divided into three lines but, because Lines 1 and 4 are operationally the same line, it effectively operates as two: Line 1/4 is long and runs from Uruguai / Tijuca station in Tijuca to Jardim Oceânico / Barra da Tijuca station in Jardim Oceânico; Line 2 is long and runs from Pavuna station in Pavuna to Botafogo station in Botafogo. Line 1/4 shares track with Line 2 between Central and Botafogo, a stretch that includes 10 stations and approximately of track. The Rio de Janeiro metro has the second highest metro passenger volume in Brazil after the São Paulo Metro.
Line 1/4 serves Tijuca, the city center, the South Zone and the eastern tip of Barra da Tijuca. It is a semicircular line, and is almost fully underground. Line 2 serves working-class residential neighborhoods in the North Zone, as well as the city centre and part of the South Zone. It is a northwest-to-southeast line, and the non-shared portion is almost completely above-ground (mostly at-grade and partly elevated); the section of the line that interlines with Line 1/4 is entirely underground. This line started as a pre-metro on top of an old abandoned railway line, but due to increasing numbers of commuters, it was converted to metro.
The Government of the State of Rio de Janeiro is responsible for the expansion of the metro network through Rio Trilhos; however, the operation and maintenance of the system was contracted out to Metrô Rio in 1998 with a 20 year lease. In late December 2007, the lease was renewed until 2038 and Metrô Rio assumed responsibility for the construction of Cidade Nova Station, interlining Lines 1 and 2, the purchase of 114 cars and the construction of Uruguai Station, extending Line 1 further north. In 2021, Mubadala acquired majority control of Metrô Rio. In 2025, the lease was further extended to 2048 in exchange for Metrô Rio finishing the construction of Gávea Station.
History
In the middle of the 20th century, Rio de Janeiro was the largest city in Brazil and was quickly growing, in large part due to urban industrialization and the migration of rural workers from the Northeast. At the same time, with the explosive growth of the Brazilian car industry, the number of motor vehicles on the streets was quickly overwhelming the city, then reliant on its streetcar, bus and suburban rail networks. By the early 1960s, traffic jams, pollution, and overcrowded public transport had become serious problems in the city, which were made worse by the dismantling of the streetcar network in 1964. To overcome these problems, the local government decided to build a metro network.
On 14 December 1968, the Companhia do Metropolitano do Rio de Janeiro (Metro Company of Rio de Janeiro) was created through State Law number 1736. On 23 June 1970, construction work started in Praça Paris using the cut-and-cover method. The Rio de Janeiro Metro began operating on 5 March 1979. In the beginning, there were only five stations, all on Line 1: Praça Onze, Central, Presidente Vargas, Cinelândia, and Glória, operating from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM. In its initial 10 days, the system transported more than half a million people, averaging sixty thousand passengers per day. At that time, the subway worked with only four trains of four cars each, with an average interval of eight minutes. In December of the same year, the operating schedule was extended until 11:00 PM, including Saturdays. In 1980, the metro system began to be expanded with the opening of Uruguaiana and Estácio stations. The two new stations caused larger passenger demand, compelling an increase in the number of trains from four to six. Carioca Station in the city centre was finished in January 1981. By the end of the same year, Catete, Largo do Machado, Flamengo (originally called Morro Azul) and Botafogo stations were completed. In 1982, the metro was extended to Tijuca, with the openings of Afonso Pena, São Francisco Xavier and Saens Peña stations.
Line 2 opened from Estácio to Maracanã via São Cristóvão in 1981, and initially used the same rolling stock as Line 1, but, due to a shortage of this rolling stock, started instead using modified light rail vehicles that had been ordered for the planned pre-metro system in 1982. Line 2 was extended from Maracanã to Maria da Graça in 1983; at the same time, the at-grade pre-metro was opened from Maria da Graça to Irajá along an abandoned railway alignment via Del Castilho and Inhaúma. By 1984, Line 2 used 5 trains and ran every 5.5 minutes. A burst pipeline in 1985 led to the closure of the pre-metro line; it was partially rebuilt as fully grade-separated metro and re-opened in 1987 as an extension of Line 2, with trains running from Estácio to Inhaúma. In 1988, Triagem Station opened. Engenho da Rainha Station opened in 1991 and was followed by Thomaz Coelho Station and Vicente de Carvalho Station, both of which opened in 1996. By this point, Line 2 used 9 trains and ran every 6 minutes.
Since 1997, the metro has operated 24/7 during Carnaval. In December of that year, the management and operation of the system was privatized, with the Opportrans Consortium presenting the winning bid for a 20 year lease under the Metrô Rio brand; expansion of the network and purchase of new rolling stock is still the responsibility of the state government through Rio Trilhos. In 1998, Line 1 was extended from Botafogo to Copacabana with the opening of Cardeal Arcoverde Station. The same year, Line 2 was extended from Vicente de Carvalho to Pavuna via Irajá, Colégio, Coelho Neto, Acari/Fazenda Botafogo and Engenheiro Rubens Paiva. Since 1999, the metro has sold tickets in advance for the Rio Réveillon, with passengers assigned a specific time window to pass through the ticket barriers.
In 2002, Siqueira Campos Station in Copacabana was inaugurated. In 2004, the metro started operating on Sundays. Cantagalo Station beyond Siqueira Campos was due to be completed in March 2006, but owing to financial problems, the opening date was postponed to 15 December. This was again postponed and the final opening took place in February 2007. Estácio Station was briefly renamed Estácio/RioCidadeNova in 2007 as part of a partnership with a nearby convention centre.
In late December 2007, Metro Rio renewed the concession, then defined as for another 20 years, to 2038. In exchange for this early renewal, Metro Rio would buy 19 new trains; Metro Rio would also build a new stretch of track between São Cristóvão and Central, which would be used to interline Line 2 and Line 1, as well as a new station on that section of track. In March 2008, Del Castilho Station was renamed Nova América/Del Castilho as part of a partnership between Metrô Rio and the adjacent . It had been renamed back to Del Castilho by 2021. Ipanema/General Osório Station in Ipanema opened in December 2009, and was renamed General Osório in 2013. The connection between São Cristóvão and Central also opened in December 2009. The same month, Invepar bought control of Metro Rio from the Opportrans Consortium. Cidade Nova Station, located between São Cristóvão and Central, opened in November 2010. From 2009 to 2023, Line 2 ran from Pavuna to Botafogo on weekdays and from Pavuna to Estácio on weekends and public holidays, which meant that Cidade Nova station was only open on weekdays. Since 2023, Line 2 has run from Pavuna to Botafogo every day, with trains continuing on to General Osório during special events.
19 new trains, built by CNR (which merged into CRRC in 2015), arrived between August 2012 and March 2013. These trains are able to carry up to 2240 people and have a top speed of ; they also have air conditioning units that allow the trains to operate in temperatures of up to . In March 2014, Line 1 was extended further into Tijuca with the opening of Uruguai Station. In 2016, Line 4 was completed between General Osório Station and Jardim Oceânico Station. This line had been legally conceded to the Rio Barra consortium, which was owned by , Odebrecht and Carioca Engenharia, and had its rolling stock acquired by MetroBarra, which was owned by Invepar; Metrô Rio was responsible for operation and maintenance of the new line. Line 4 originally opened on 1st August, 4 days before the start of the 2016 Olympic Games, but was restricted to Olympic and Paralympic ticket holders, athletes and media members until 19th September, the day after the Paralympic Games ended. 15 more CRRC trains were used for Line 4, with a total of 34 such trains in the system. In March 2017, Lines 1 and 4 were fully interlined, with all trains running from Uruguai to Jardim Oceânico.
Gávea Station, which is located on a Line 4 spur between Antero de Quental and São Conrado, started construction in 2013, but construction was abandoned in 2015 due to an investigation from the Rio de Janeiro State Court of Accounts (TCE-RJ) into overpriced contracts. Nearby tunneling work continued until April 2016. By the time construction work was abandoned, there was a deep hole at the station site; this was flooded with of water in 2017 so as to minimize structural risk to the surrounding buildings, including PUC-RJ. The function of Gávea Station in the metro system would be as an interchange station between a deinterlined Line 1 and Line 4, with Line 1 running a circular route via Antero de Quental that will go under Tijuca Massif towards Uruguai, and Line 4 running from Barra da Tijuca to the city centre via São Conrado and Jardim Botânico. In August 2025, work resumed on the station, with a shuttle between São Conrado and Gávea expected to open by July 2028.
In November 2019, a state law officially changed the name of Uruguaiana Station to Uruguaiana-Engenheiro Fernando Mac Dowell after the then-recently deceased vice-mayor. At the time, Metrô Rio ignored this law and would go on to rename the station themselves in 2022. In January 2021, Metrô Rio sold the naming rights to Botafogo Station, which was renamed Botafogo/Coca-Cola; the name was reverted to Botafogo in November 2022. In June 2022, a state law changed the name of Presidente Vargas Station to Saara/Presidente Vargas so as to promote the nearby commercial district. In August 2022, another 16 of the system's 41 stations were renamed after the neighbourhoods where they are located: Uruguai, Saens Peña, São Francisco Xavier, Afonso Pena, Central, Uruguaiana, Carioca, Cinelândia, Cardeal Arcoverde, Siqueira Campos, Cantagalo, General Osório, Nossa Senhora da Paz, Jardim de Alah, Antero de Quental and Jardim Oceânico were respectively renamed to Uruguai / Tijuca, Saens Peña / Tijuca, São Francisco Xavier / Tijuca, Afonso Pena / Tijuca, Central do Brasil / Centro, Uruguaiana / Centro, Carioca / Centro, Cinelândia / Centro, Cardeal Arcoverde / Copacabana, Siqueira Campos / Copacabana, Cantagalo / Copacabana, General Osório / Ipanema, Nossa Senhora da Paz / Ipanema, Jardim de Alah / Leblon, Antero de Quental / Leblon and Jardim Oceânico / Barra da Tijuca. On 20 June 2026, Uruguaiana / Centro was renamed by Metrô Rio to Uruguaiana / Engenheiro Fernando Mac Dowell, in accordance with state law.