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Link to official
Rio Metro website
The Metrô
Rio subway system is very useful for
reaching areas from Copacabana to
Downtown, although the rest of Zona Sul
is not particularly well-served and it
closes after midnight (but 24x7 during
Carnival).
The
air-conditioned subway is clean,
comfortable, and quick, and has
bilingual Portuguese-English signs,
maps, and a loudspeaker system to make
the life of millions of foreign tourists
easier.
There are
two main lines: Line 1 (Orange) has
service to Copacabana, the Saara
district, and much of Downtown, as well
as Tijuca. Line 2 (Green) stops at the
zoo, Maracanã stadium, and Rio State
University. Previously, the two lines
intersected at Estácio. As of January
2010, there is an ongoing transition to
change the transfer system between lines
1 and 2.
Line 2 is
now integrated into Line 1, going from
São Cristóvão to Central and Presidente
Vargas and so on stopping at the same
stations as Line 1, until Botafogo. Now
you have to beware if the train you're
taking belongs to Line 1 (from General
Osório to Saens Peña) or Line 2 (from
Botafogo to Pavuna).
The Metrô
company operates bus lines from some
stations to nearby neighborhoods which
are not served by the subway system.
This is particularly helpful for places
uphill such as Gávea, Laranjeiras,
Grajaú and Usina.
Since the
city grew around the Tijuca Range
mountains, these neighborhoods will
never be served by the subway, but you
now can take the integração (connection)
minibuses.
The
company calls it Metrônibus and Metrô na
Superfície (literally, Subway on
Ground), but actually they are ordinary
buses in special routes for subway
commuters. You can buy tickets for these
- just ask for expresso (pronounced "eysh-PREH-sso",
not "express-o") when buying a ticket
then keep it after crossing the
roulette.
When you
leave the subway, give the ticket to the
bus driver (who shall be waiting in the
bus stop just outside of the station).
If you buy an ordinary ticket, you won't
be able to get this bus for free - then
it will cost a regular fee.
Relatively recently the last wagon of
each train has been marked women-only
with a pink window sticker, in order to
avoid potential harassment in crowded
trains. Some men, however, are still to
get used to this separation (since it is
very recent) and many women, who are
accustomed to hassle-free everyday
travel in Rio's subway, also think the
measure is unnecessary.
If you're
a man, avoid getting into trouble with
local security staff and stay off the
pink-marked wagons. Note that the women
only policy for the wagon is valid only
in the rush hour. |
