New Overhead Transit System Opens in Brazilian Slum

A new gondola cable car system is opening in a Rio de Janeiro slum to improve accessibility.

1 minute read

March 5, 2011, 7:00 AM PST

By Tim Halbur


"Simply getting from point A to point B requires a sub-alphabet of zigzaggery up stairs, over switchbacks, and through alleyways that can be just a few feet wide. There's nowhere for public transit to go. Nowhere, that is, but up.

That's the direction for the newest transportation system in Rio, slated to open in March: a six-station gondola line running above a collection of favelas known as the Complexo do Alemão. The government says that 152 gondolas will carry 30,000 people a day along a 2.1-mile route over the neighborhood, transforming the hour-and-a-half trudge to a nearby commuter rail station into a 16-minute sky ride."

The new system is seen by some as a transport solution, but by others as public relations ahead of the city's hosting duties for the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics.

Monday, February 28, 2011 in Wired

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