Monorail Line 17 finally opens in São Paulo

6.7km elevated line to Congonhas Airport was originally scheduled to open in 2014.

Photo Credit: São Paulo state government/Kayke Guimarães

THE first section of the Line 17/Gold elevated monorail in São Paulo has entered service, running for 6.7km from Morumbi to Congonhas Airport with five intermediate stations.

Interchange is provided with commuter Line 9/Emerald at Morumbi and with metro Line 5/Purple at Campo Belo. All stations are equipped with lifts and are fully accessible to passengers with reduced mobility.

Limited services began running on March 31 with two trains in assisted operation mode. This was more than 10 years after the first section of Line 17/Gold was due to open in time for Brazil to host the 2014 Fifa World Cup.

The project has experienced repeated delays linked to contractor changes, legal disputes and the Covid-19 pandemic. Total investment in the project has reached approximately Reais 5.8bn ($US 1.1bn) compared with an initial estimate of around Reais 2bn, according to local media reports.

Rolling stock and systems have been supplied by BYD of China under a Reais 1.1bn contract awarded in 2020, including 14 five-car trains with capacity for 616 passengers each, signalling and telecommunications systems, platform screen doors and maintenance equipment. According to BYD, this is the first application outside China of its SkyRail monorail technology, featuring CBTC signalling for driverless operation at Grade of Automation 4 (GoA4).

Initial ridership is forecast at around 100,000 passengers per day, with full commercial service expected by the third quarter of this year. The new line is expected to reduce emissions of pollutants and CO₂ by 25,937 tonnes a year, relieving road congestion and cutting fuel consumption by 11.7 million litres a year.

During the opening ceremony on March 31, São Paulo state governor, Tarcísio de Freitas, announced the approval of a 4.6km extension to Line 17/Gold, running from Morumbi with three new stations at Panamby, Paraisópolis and Maurano Américo. An extension to São Paulo Morumbi is planned which will provide interchange with metro Line 4/Yellow.

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