(ATR) Rio de Janeiro opened its new light rail transit system (VLT) the only way it knows how: with a carnaval atmosphere.
The first line of VLT became operational today, as the first three trams began use on the new rail system. The opened line connects the city’s bus terminal to Santos Dumont airport going through the heart of downtown Rio de Janeiro.
Avenia Rio Branco, home to the majority of stations on the line, was closed to all cars so that pedestrians could see how the VLT trams will run along the tracks. Samba schools Mangueira, Portela, and Vila Isabel contributed to the festivities as part of the city’s official launch of the system after Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes inaugurated the first line.
The second line connecting Central Station and the Praca XV square is expected to become operational in the second half of this year. A third line connecting Central Station to Santos Dumont airport is expected to be completed in 2017.
"The VLT is a mobility effort inspired by the Olympics, which serves to do a lot to the city," Paes said to reporters ahead of the launch. "We could hold the Olympics without the VLT. It is an effort to rescue the city center as a place that people can attend, enjoy and live in the future as well."
Paes added that the VLT was not one of the 17 projects the city proposed during the 2016 Olympic bid, but is one of the 10 extra projects the city is delivering on top of what it promised for the Games. During the Games it will connect the live site in the Porto Maravilha area to the rest of the public transport networks in downtown Rio.
Rio executive secretary of government coordination Rafael Picciani told reporters that the service along the VLT line one would start slowly, reaching full operation on July 1. He added that the operation of the VLT is "very important for the Olympics," because of the range of tourists that will be visiting the live sites in downtown Rio.
"This will transform how tourists access this area, and during the Olympics this will be facilitated so that everyone can enjoy the cultural aspects of the center of Rio," Picciani added. "[Outside the Games], the historic center of Rio, with all its cultural and tourist potential, becomes more attractive, and will facilitate the daily lives of the people working in the city center."
Written by Aaron Bauer in Rio de Janeiro
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