The Rio de Janeiro’s Light Rail Vehicle (VLT), operator of the VLT Carioca concessionaire, inaugurated the Central Station, which completes the route planned for Line 2 of the new rail passenger transportation system in the city of Rio de Janeiro. The station is considered strategic because it is next to Central do Brasil, station with connection to the subway and urban train systems of the city, and Terminal Américo Fontenelle, through which 54 intercity bus lines pass. The projection is that about 20 thousand new passengers board every day in the place, increasing by 40% the movement of Lines 1 and 2, which today carry, together, between 45 thousand and 50 thousand people per day.
VLT Carioca was inaugurated in 2016, with the first line connecting Santos Dumont Airport to Rodoviária Novo Rio. The VLT system has 32 trains, each with a capacity of 420 passengers, and is designed to receive up to 200,000 people a day when it is complete. Line 3 is not in operation yet – which will connect the Central to Santos Dumont Airport by an alternative route – and its works are scheduled to begin in March next year.
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