Rio de Janeiro Metro

The Rio de Janeiro Metro (Portuguese: Metrô do Rio de Janeiro, Portuguese pronunciation: [meˌtɾo du ˈʁi.u dʒi ʒɐˈnejɾu]), commonly referred to as just the Metrô (Portuguese pronunciation: [meˈtɾo]) is a rapid transit network that serves the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Metrô was inaugurated on 5 March 1979, and consisted of five stations operating on a single line. The system currently covers a total of 58 kilometres (36 mi), and serves 41 stations.

The metro system is nominally divided into three lines but, because Lines 1 and 4 are operationally the same line, it effectively operates as two: Line 1/4 is 32 kilometres (20 mi) long and runs from Uruguai / Tijuca station in Tijuca to Jardim Oceânico / Barra da Tijuca station in Jardim Oceânico; Line 2 is 30.2 kilometres (18.8 mi) long and runs from Pavuna station in Pavuna to Botafogo station in Botafogo. Line 1/4 shares track with Line 2 between Central and Botafogo, a stretch that includes 10 stations and approximately 5 km (3.1 mi) of track. The Rio de Janeiro metro has the second highest metro passenger volume in Brazil after the São Paulo Metro.

Line 1/4 serves Tijuca, the city center, the South Zone and the eastern tip of Barra da Tijuca. It is a semicircular line, and is almost fully underground. Line 2 serves working-class residential neighborhoods in the North Zone, as well as the city centre and part of the South Zone. It is a northwest-to-southeast line, and the non-shared portion is almost completely above-ground (mostly at-grade and partly elevated); the section of the line that interlines with Line 1/4 is entirely underground. This line started as a pre-metro on top of an old abandoned railway line, but due to increasing numbers of commuters, it was converted to metro.

The Government of the State of Rio de Janeiro is responsible for the expansion of the metro network through Rio Trilhos; however, the operation and maintenance of the system was contracted out to Metrô Rio in 1998 with a 20 year lease. In late December 2007, the lease was renewed until 2038 and Metrô Rio assumed responsibility for the construction of Cidade Nova Station, interlining Lines 1 and 2, the purchase of 114 cars and the construction of Uruguai Station, extending Line 1 further north. In 2021, Mubadala acquired majority control of Metrô Rio. In 2025, the lease was further extended to 2048 in exchange for Metrô Rio finishing the construction of Gávea Station.