Line 3 of Rio’s Light Rail (VLT) to Start Passenger Service in November

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – An agreement between the Rio Mayoralty and the concessionaire that manages the Light Rail (VLT), confirms the operation of Line 3 beginning next month.

The last stretch that was still to be inaugurated connects the Central do Brasil train station to the Santos Dumont airport through the Avenida Marechal Floriano route, using portions of lines 1 and 2 already in operation.

The agreement signed between the city government and the VLT concessionaire has formed a working group made up of technicians to adjust the contractual issues.

In March, the VLT filed a lawsuit against the City of Rio de Janeiro, alleging breach of contract and delays in transfers that, when updated, amount to R$170 million (US$43 million).

The light rail system was inaugurated in June 2016, as a legacy of the Rio Olympics. The construction work cost nearly R$1.2 billion. More than R$500 million were paid with public money from the Mobility Growth Acceleration Program.

The consortium paid the balance of R$625 million and is entitled to operate the service for 25 years. The contract provided that the city government would pay back 270 installments of R$9 million to the company. However, since May 2018, the municipality has not made the transfers.

The contract provided for a daily volume of 260,000 passengers, but only 80,000 run on trams daily. To compensate for the gap, it would be up to the city government to pay the difference.

Mayor Marcelo Crivella proposed changing the compensation. According to him, ensuring 260,000 passengers daily is equivalent to a loss of R$420,000 per day. He suggests ensuring only 100,000 passengers per day, which would reduce the damage with the surplus that should be transferred to the consortium.

To this end, the mayor even announced the closure of much of the Center for buses. Intermunicipal lines would only go to Rodoviária Novo Rio or to the area surrounding the Central train station.

In addition, Crivella proposed extending the concession period from 25 to 35 years.