Teleférico do Alemão

Teleférico do Alemão
Many gondolas in operation
Overview
Service typeGondola lift
StatusSuspended
LocaleComplexo do Alemão, Rio de Janeiro
First service7 July 2011
Last service14 October 2016
Current operator(s)Rio Teleféricos
Former operator(s) SuperVia
Ridership10,000 passengers/day (2012)[1]
Route
TerminiBonsucesso
Palmeiras
Stops4
Distance travelled3.5 km (2.2 mi)
Average journey time16 minutes
Technical
Track owner(s) Government of Rio de Janeiro
Route map
Legend
 Bonsucesso
Adeus
Baiana
Alemão/Kibon
Itararé
Palmeiras

Teleférico do Alemão was a gondola lift service operating in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The service opened on 7 July 2011 and closed in September 2016, following the withdrawal of state funding. The line operated between Bonsucesso Station [pt] and Complexo do Alemão, with a total of six stations along the route.[2] The duration of a single ride from start to finish was 16 minutes.[3]

The service, announced as part of PAC 2 (the Brazilian federal funding program for infrastructure) consisted of a 2.1 mile gondola line running above the Complexo do Alemão group of favelas, and cost 210 million Brazilian reais to build.[4][5] The decision to fund the construction of the line saw heavy criticism, with local media describing it as a vanity project,[6] with the money potentially being better spent elsewhere. The system received 9000 riders daily whilst in operation.[7]

History

The service was inaugurated by Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, Rio de Janeiro State Governor Sérgio Cabral Filho and Rio de Janeiro City Mayor Eduardo Paes on 7 July 2011.[8] Local residents could apply for a card granting them two free trips a day.[9]

Services were suspended in 2016 because the state couldn't pay the consortium anymore.[10][11]

Services

The line consisted of six stations between Bonsucesso Station [pt] and Palmeiras Station in the Complexo do Alemão favela. The 152 gondolas took 16 minutes to traverse the 3.5 km route.[2][12]

References

  1. ^ Gomide, Raphael (8 March 2012). "Construído por R$ 210 mi, teleférico do Alemão custa R$ 6,70 por viagem". Último Segundo (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 10 March 2012. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  2. ^ a b "História do Teleférico" (in Portuguese). SuperVia. Archived from the original on 24 September 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  3. ^ "Rio de Janeiro's Transit Solution: Cable Cars Over the Favelas". WIRED. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  4. ^ (www.dw.com), Deutsche Welle. "Rio hits the brakes on controversial favela cable car | DW | 03.02.2017". DW.COM. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  5. ^ "Plans for Rio Favelas to Get Facelift | The Rio Times | Brazil News". The Rio Times. 14 December 2010. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  6. ^ Arsenault, Chris. "In Rio's oldest favela, a cable car ferries residents - but they're..." U.S. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  7. ^ Presse, Agence France. "Ride to nowhere: Cable car above Rio favela closed". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  8. ^ Quaino, Lilian (7 July 2011). "Dilma inaugura teleférico do Alemão". G1 (in Portuguese). Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  9. ^ "Teleférico do Complexo do Alemão « The Gondola Project". gondolaproject.com. 27 October 2011. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  10. ^ "Teleférico do Alemão, no Rio, é fechado por falta de pagamento". Rio de Janeiro (in Brazilian Portuguese). 18 October 2016. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
  11. ^ "Novos cabos do teleférico do Alemão chegam em semanas, mas serviço não tem data para retornar". O Globo (in Brazilian Portuguese). 22 December 2017. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  12. ^ Walters, Nathan M. (28 February 2012). "Favela Tourism Off the Ground in Alemão". The Rio Times. Retrieved 3 November 2014.