From Rags to Riches: Rail Renewal Success Story

In 1995 Sao Paulo, the third largest city in the world had two mass transit rail systems with entirely different historical origins that provided their passengers with contrasting levels of service. Sao Paulo Metro, modern and efficient subway network with the second highest passenger rider ship per route kilometer in the world carrying 2.2 million trips per day on 40 kilometers. This system was designed and built from scratch as a continuous project since 1968. A commuter type train system with mixed freight traffic on certain sections servicing 700 thousand passenger trips on 270 kilometers of routes on old trains with irregular service and overloaded conditions. This system included sections of track designed in the 19^th century as freight lines first as private and later as Sao Paulo State and Federal government companies. In the 90s both systems were merged into a new state-owned passenger mass transit company called CPTM (Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos).