September 14, 1974
Brazil’s first underground rapid transit system made its public debut when regular service began on a 4.3-mile (6.9-kilometer)-long section of the São Paulo Metrô between the Jabaquara and Vila Mariana stations on the North-South Line (the present-day Blue Line). Those taking part in the formal inauguration of this system included Miguel Colasuonno, who was mayor of São Paulo from 1973 to 1975.
Plans for such a public transportation network in what is now the most populous city in the Western Hemisphere had been discussed as far back as the late 1920s, but it was not until 1968 that the Companhia de Metropolitano de São Paulo was established to actually create and operate a subway system. Construction on the São Paulo Metrô started that same year.
This system now encompasses a total of 89 stations and 62.8 miles (101.1 kilometers). Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos (CPTM), the other major public transit system operating in the São Paulo area, is a rapid transit and commuter rail service that consists of 94 stations and 169.6 miles (273 kilometers) altogether. Collectively, the São Paulo Metrô and CPTM form the largest metropolitan rail transport network in all of Latin America.
Photo Credit: Wilfredor (licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike 4.0 International license at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en)
For more information on the São Paulo Metrô, please check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%A3o_Paulo_Metro and http://www.urbanrail.net/am/spau/sao-paulo.htm
Transportation History 
Leave a Reply