Sao Paulo
subway, light rail under construction, monorail under construction

Sao Paulo is the largest city in the southern hemisphere, with approximately 11 million souls in the city proper, and 19 million in the metro area. Pilots refer to it as "Gotham", a name previously reserved for New York.

Sao Paulo's subway opened in 1974. It currently consists of  74.3 km, 5 lines and 63 stations, a paltry network for a city so huge. By 2017, the system is expected to have over 172 km and 156 stations. Currently under construction or in the late planning stages are an 11 km extension to Line 5, a 14 km extension to Line 5 known as Line 15 (naming an appendage something else does not mean it's another appendage, Or at least that's what my wife tells me.), and a 13.5 km, 15 station Line 6.

In May 2008, a commuter airport express line was opened up for bid. The line will connect the airport with the city center at Luz and is expected to open later this year..

The Old


The New

Commuter Metro (S-Bahn)

Integrated with the metro is the CPTM, a local commuter network with metro-like rolling stock which spans 260.8 km. Many urban railfans would refer to it as an S-Bahn, part subway, part commuter train, Plans are to convert the more heavily used CPTM lines to metro lines, increasing headway, moderninzing stations and hooking the line into the rest of the subway network. To date, two lines, the Emerald and Coral lines, have been integrated to the SP metro system. However, both lines are still run by CPTM.

New Sao Paulo www.subways.net home page
New photos courtesy of Fabiano Aparecido Pietrini
Sao Paulo VLT project
Wikipedia Page
State Metro Transport Project Updates
CPTM Official Home Page
Sao Paulo Metro Official Home Page


Monorail

The Sao Paulo metro company is building the first 23.9 km monorail line of a 3 line network..It is scheduled to open in 2014 in time for the city's hosting of the World Cup.  The lines will replace what were originally planned metro lines, if the statements can be believed.


Bus Rapid Transit

The Expresso Tiradentes is a 31 km elevated busway in Sao Paulo that strongly resembles an elevated light metro. There are plans to converted it to light rail. 
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