Trensurb

Trensurb, formally Empresa de Trens Urbanos de Porto Alegre S.A., is the state-controlled company responsible for the metropolitan rail service commonly associated with Porto Alegre Metro or Metrô de Porto Alegre. It operates in Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil, linking central Porto Alegre with municipalities to the north of the metropolitan region, including Canoas, Esteio, Sapucaia do Sul, São Leopoldo and Novo Hamburgo. The company was created in 1980 as part of a public effort to provide a higher-capacity alternative to the heavily congested BR-116 corridor, which had been the principal northbound transport route from Porto Alegre before the railway was built. The first section of the system opened on 2 March 1985, connecting Porto Alegre's Central Public Market area with Sapucaia do Sul. That initial section covered approximately 27 kilometres and included 15 stations. The line was subsequently extended northward in stages. Service reached Unisinos in December 1997, São Leopoldo-Museu was added in November 2000 after a period of trial operation, and the extension to Novo Hamburgo was completed in two phases in 2012 and 2013. The resulting metropolitan service is a single principal rail corridor of approximately 43.8 kilometres with 22 stations, according to descriptions of the Porto Alegre Metro system. Trensurb's core business is the operation and maintenance of urban passenger rail services rather than the manufacture of trains or provision of intercity railway transport. Its system uses broad-gauge track, 3,000-volt direct-current overhead electrification and electric multiple-unit trains. Stations are spaced roughly two kilometres apart, and the service is designed to carry large passenger volumes between Porto Alegre's central area and the surrounding municipalities. The network has also been integrated with an airport people-mover service connecting the Airport station with Terminal 1 of Salgado Filho International Airport. The automated people mover entered operation in 2013 and uses the Aeromovel atmospheric-rail technology developed in Porto Alegre. The company is associated with public transport policy at several levels of government. Although it is federally controlled, the railway serves a metropolitan territory whose transport needs are shared by the federal government, Rio Grande do Sul and local municipalities. Its role is therefore both operational and regional: it provides daily urban mobility, supports access to employment and education across municipal boundaries, and offers an alternative to road traffic on one of the metropolitan area's busiest corridors. A proposed second metro line from central Porto Alegre toward Cachoeirinha has been discussed as a possible future expansion, but it should not be treated as an operating Trensurb route. Trensurb remains principally identified with the Porto Alegre metropolitan rail corridor and its associated airport connection.

Trensurb was established in 1980 to develop and operate an urban railway for Porto Alegre and its northern metropolitan suburbs. The project responded to severe congestion on BR-116, the principal road connection between Porto Alegre and municipalities such as Canoas, Esteio, Sapucaia do Sul, São Leopoldo and Novo Hamburgo. A rail corridor was intended to provide a more reliable, higher-capacity alternative for daily metropolitan travel and to reduce dependence on the highway. Construction of the first operating section began in 1980. The initial route connected central Porto Alegre, including the Central Public Market area, with Sapucaia do Sul. It opened to passengers on 2 March 1985, covering about 27 kilometres and serving 15 stations. This opening established the basic north-south structure that continues to define the Porto Alegre metropolitan rail system. The network expanded northward during the following decades. In December 1997, trains began serving the Unisinos area. A further 3.8-kilometre extension to São Leopoldo-Museu entered service in November 2000, following two months of trial operations. The largest later expansion was the extension toward Novo Hamburgo. Its first 4.9-kilometre section, including two stations, opened in July 2012. The remaining 4.4 kilometres and three stations opened on 21 December 2013, completing the principal route to Novo Hamburgo. The resulting system is generally described as the Porto Alegre Metro, although it is operated by Trensurb and functions as a metropolitan heavy-rail service rather than a conventional street-running tramway. The line is approximately 43.8 kilometres long and has 22 stations. Trains use 1,600-millimetre gauge track and receive power through a 3,000-volt direct-current overhead catenary. The system's average station spacing is about two kilometres, with average train speeds reported at roughly 50 kilometres per hour and maximum speeds of up to 90 kilometres per hour. Trensurb also became associated with the airport connection at Salgado Filho International Airport. A fully automated people mover was built between the existing Airport station and Terminal 1. The commercial service began in August 2013. It is integrated into the metro system, allowing passengers to use the connection without buying a separate ticket. The airport link is approximately 814 metres in operational length, has a journey time of about 90 seconds and uses Aeromovel technology, an atmospheric railway concept developed in Porto Alegre in the late 1970s. It was the first commercial installation of that technology. The company operates within a multi-level public transport framework. Its federal control reflects the national importance of the system, while its service area spans the state capital and several surrounding municipalities. This arrangement makes Trensurb both a railway operator and a key metropolitan infrastructure institution. Proposals for a second line from central Porto Alegre toward Cachoeirinha have been discussed, including a route of about 19 kilometres with a substantial underground section. Such proposals represent potential future development rather than an existing operating line. Trensurb's established network remains the Line 1 corridor and its airport people mover.

1. 2013Novo Hamburgo route completed

   The final 4.4-kilometre phase toward Novo Hamburgo opened on 21 December, adding three stations and completing the extension.

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2. 2013Airport people mover entered service

   An automated people mover began connecting the Airport station with Terminal 1 of Salgado Filho International Airport.

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3. 2012First Novo Hamburgo extension opened

   The first phase of the Novo Hamburgo extension opened in July, adding approximately 4.9 kilometres and two stations.

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4. 2000São Leopoldo-Museu extension opened

   A 3.8-kilometre extension to São Leopoldo-Museu opened in November after a trial-service period.

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5. 1997Service extended to Unisinos

   The metropolitan rail line was extended northward to Unisinos in December.

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6. 1985Initial metro section opened

   The first operating section opened on 2 March between Porto Alegre's Central Public Market area and Sapucaia do Sul, covering approximately 27 kilometres and 15 stations.

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7. 1980Company and railway project established

   Trensurb was established and construction of the Porto Alegre metropolitan urban railway began, partly to relieve congestion on the BR-116 highway corridor.

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A public metropolitan mobility operator providing high-capacity rail transport between Porto Alegre and northern municipalities in the Porto Alegre urban region.

• Porto Alegre Metro Line 1Urban heavy rail1985

  Trensurb's principal passenger railway is a metropolitan electric rail corridor linking central Porto Alegre with northern municipalities in the urban region. The route serves Porto Alegre, Canoas, Esteio, Sapucaia do Sul, São Leopoldo and Novo Hamburgo. It is approximately 43.8 kilometres long and has 22 stations. The line uses 1,600-millimetre gauge track and 3,000-volt direct-current overhead electrification. It is designed for frequent, high-capacity daily travel and functions as an alternative to road travel along the congested BR-116 corridor.

• Salgado Filho Airport People MoverAutomated airport connector2013

  The airport connection links Trensurb's Airport station with Terminal 1 of Salgado Filho International Airport. The automated line has an operational length of approximately 814 metres and a journey time of about 90 seconds. It is integrated with the metro system's fare arrangement. The service uses Aeromovel atmospheric-rail technology, a system developed in Porto Alegre and applied commercially to the airport connection.

• 2013Launch of integrated airport people moverProduct launch

  Salgado Filho International Airport required a direct connection between the existing Airport rail station and Terminal 1.

  What changed. Trensurb incorporated an automated people-mover link into the Porto Alegre Metro system, allowing passengers to transfer without purchasing a separate ticket.

  Aftermath. The service began commercial operation in August 2013 and created the first commercial installation of the locally developed Aeromovel atmospheric-rail technology.

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• 2013Completion of the Novo Hamburgo extensionGeneration change

  The metropolitan railway was being extended northward in phases to improve access to Novo Hamburgo.

  What changed. Trensurb opened the final 4.4-kilometre section and three stations on 21 December, following the first phase opened in 2012.

  Aftermath. The principal operating corridor reached Novo Hamburgo and formed the approximately 43.8-kilometre, 22-station system described for the Porto Alegre Metro.

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1. Porto Alegre Metro
2. Trensurb official website