International Railroad Discussion > 1979 Bondes do Santa Tereza (Rio de Janiero)

In busy service "up" from  Catredal --> Dois Irmaos
1) tram 9
2) tram 12
3) tram 18

Laurence

 

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Nice pics od the Santa Teresa trams. I l7ved in Rio de Janeiro for ten years but neve took a ride on them, in apite of seen them running many times.
For those who wants to now more on them, here it is a bit of history:

The second half of the 19th century, the city center of Rio de Janeiro was particularly coveted and competitive for passenger transport. Due to this demand, there were a series of concessions covering short stretches, making traffic difficult on the narrow streets in the center. The concession for the railway lines between the city and the hills of Santa Teresa and Paula Mattos was obtained in 1872 by businessmen who founded the Santa Teresa Railway Company. The concession covered the operation of a line between the current Praça XV de Novembro and Largo da Lapa to Avenida Gomes Freire, on the corner of Rua do Riachuelo. Until that time, access to Santa Teresa was mainly done in two ways: via Rua Monte Alegre, the usual route for stagecoaches, and via the Plano Inclinado from 1877 onwards, whose boarding point was on Rua do Riachuelo next to Ladeira do Castro, taking passengers close to Largo do Guimarães. From there, people boarded animal-drawn trams to go to Paula Matos or towards Largo do França and Silvestre. From 1885 onwards, this company began to operate under the name of Companhia do Plano Inclinado de Santa Teresa, having abandoned the city center proposal and expanding the hill lines. In 1891, the Carioca Railway Company was formed, which obtained the concession from the Santa Teresa Inclined Plane Company. The introduction of electric traction in Rio de Janeiro's trams in 1892 represented a tremendous leap in quality in the history of Rio's transport, as journeys could be made more quickly. The first company to use electricity was the Jardim Botânico Railway Company, as it had more resources. Electric traction opened up a new possibility for the Companhia Ferro-Carril Carioca, as the new company obtained permission to extend its lines to Morro de Santo Antônio in the center, through the old Carioca Aqueduct (the Arcos da Lapa) which was deactivated, allowing it to be used to access Morro de Santa Teresa. The passage of trams over the arches meant that the company used the unusual gauge of 1,100 mm, this being the possible width between the rails, given the limitations of the old construction of the Carioca Aqueduct.

The inauguration of the new system took place on September 1, 1896, with electric trams already in operation, which extended to Largo dos Guimarães along Almirante Alexandrino Street. As the second company to adopt the new technology, Companhia Ferro-Carril Carioca, it was somewhat of a surprise, as it had lines exclusively in the Santa Teresa neighborhood and was much smaller than others, such as Companhia Ferro-Carril de São Cristóvão or Companhia Ferro-Carril da Vila Isabel. The terminal station was installed in Largo da Carioca, initially between the Imprensa Nacional building and the Carioca fountain, which was located near the current Santo Antônio subway exit. The trams continued up a slope through Morro de Santo Antônio to reach the arches, which "made the hairs on the necks of the first passengers stand on end when they crossed." From Largo dos Guimarães at the other end of the line, animal traction was replaced by electrification in two directions: one to Paula Matos up to Largo das Neves, and the other followed the entire length of Almirante Alexandrino Street, towards Largo do França, Dois Irmãos and Silvestre, where it meets the Corcovado Train. At Rua Joaquim Murtinho, 2009 Near the line on Santo Antônio Hill, the workshops and garage of the Cia. Ferro-Carril Carioca were installed, with plenty of space to house the many vehicles, since in addition to the motorized units there were trailers. The old garage provided services until the final destruction of the hill, approximately in 1965. With the disappearance of Santo Antônio Hill, the workshop and garage of the Santa Teresa trams began to operate in the facilities of the old inclined plane station, at the end of Carlos Brandt Street, where it still operates today. The dismantling of the hill marked the beginning of the decline of the neighborhood's tram system, accelerated by the entry of the CTC (Companhia de Transportes Coletivos, a company of the State of Rio de Janeiro) into the administration of the system. The rains of 1966 and 1967 destroyed a large part of the lines, and at that time the CTC introduced buses to the neighborhood, which ended up causing the removal of the trailers from circulation, because if they encountered a tram with a trailer on some of the many sharp curves, it would not be possible to pass.

From 1968 onwards, only the Santa Teresa trams remained in operation in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Throughout its existence, the system had more than 35 vehicles in operation, some with trailers. At the Carioca Aqueduct (Arcos da Lapa), 2008 In 1975, of a total of 28 vehicles, only 18 were in operation, with an occupancy rate of 69%, one of the highest in its history. At the time of its operation by the now defunct Companhia de Transportes Coletivos (CTC), the tram system had an operational fleet of only 10 vehicles and operated with intervals between departures from the Carioca station of 15 minutes. The system transported between 25 and 30 thousand passengers per month. By Decree No. 21,846 of July 18, 2001, responsibility for the Santa Teresa Tram System was transferred from the CTC to the Companhia Estadual de Engenharia de Transportes e Logística (CENTRAL), a state-owned company in Rio de Janeiro responsible for passenger transportation. The state government restored the Paula Matos Street branch, followed by the Dois Irmãos and Silvestre branches, which had been out of service since 1966 due to landslides caused by heavy rains that year. In 2005, the trams stopped running for several months due to a strike by their technicians and drivers.

Accidents

In 2011, a French tourist died after falling from the Arcos da Lapa. He was standing on the step when he lost his balance while trying to take a photo and got stuck on the wall, falling into a gap between the car and the railings of the wall. On August 27 of the same year, another accident occurred when the tram derailed and crashed heavily into a pole, killing 6 people (including the driver Nelson Corrêa da Silva) and leaving more than 50 passengers injured. This very serious accident completely paralyzed the main means of transport in the region. In 2012, Law 6,159 of January 9, 2022 gave the official name of Motorneiro Nelson Correia da Silva Station to the initial station of the system (Carioca).

Revitalization

Santa Teresa tram revitalized at Largo do Carioca station In July 2013, almost two years after the tram accident, work began on replacing the entire rail network and overhead network, carried out by the Elmo-Azvi consortium, which won the bid. The project included 28 kilometers of new electrical cables and replacing the rails along a 17.5-kilometer stretch. The State Company for Transport and Logistics Engineering (CENTRAL) acquired a fleet of 14 new trams from the company T'Trans, with capacity for 32 passengers in the standard version and 25 passengers in the wheelchair-accessible version. The new, modernized trams are different from the originals, with the Central's justification that “the historical and cultural aspects will be preserved, however, for safety reasons, there will be a side enclosure 80 centimeters high, made of translucent polycarbonate” and “the running boards will be retractable, to prevent people from sitting on them and falling”. The entire revitalization project was budgeted at a total cost of 110 million reais, with 60 million for track infrastructure, 40 million for the acquisition of new trams and 10 million for renovating the stops and the tram repair shop. In April 2015, tests began for the operation of the new trams with a view to their partial reopening. On July 27, 2015, after a 4-year shutdown, the system resumed passenger operations, initially between Largo da Carioca and Largo do Curvelo. Since then, the system has been progressively expanded, reaching Largo dos Guimarães on December 28, 2015, Largo do França on October 22, 2018 and Dois Irmãos on January 21, 2019,[15] in a trip that takes about 23 minutes. The Francisco Muratori Street branch was also restored, with a single track, with occasional operation - a single departure, going and coming from Carioca station, daily at 8:30 am if there are interested parties, in a 17-minute round trip. In November 2023, the state government announced the resumption of works on the Largo dos Guimarães, Largo das Neves and Dois Irmãos, Silvestre stretch. In January 2025, the state government inaugurated the Ramal Paula Mattos, which runs from Carioca to Largo dos Guimarães (an existing section), then following the streets Paschoal Carlos Magno, Monte Alegre, do Oriente and Progresso until reaching Largo das Neves, in a total of 1.7 km of new roads.

Pedro Rezende
Vespasiano MG,
https://youtube.com/c/minasgeraisrailways1



Edited 6 time(s). Last edit at 04/30/25 10:59 by pedrop.

Some pics from the Rio de Janeiro Tram page.

Posted from Android

Pedro Rezende
Vespasiano MG,
https://youtube.com/c/minasgeraisrailways1



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/30/25 11:04 by pedrop.

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More pics from the Rio de Janeiro Tram page.

Posted from Android

Pedro Rezende
Vespasiano MG,
https://youtube.com/c/minasgeraisrailways1

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Many Thanks to Pedro for his updates.

More from 1979 at the lower end, literally....

1) Looking up to Santa Tereza community and the old Aqueduct, providing access

under the 1979 dating can be seen Corcovado Mountain and iconic Cristo Redentor statue

2) Downhill car and work gang

3) Catedral Metropolitana do Rio de Janeiro and the work gang

Laurence

 

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Nice to have more pics from 1979. Rio changed a lot since then, but it beautifull as always.

Posted from Android

Pedro Rezende
Vespasiano MG,
https://youtube.com/c/minasgeraisrailways1