Line 3 (Rio de Janeiro)

Line 3 of the Rio de Janeiro Metro is a planned line which would connect Rio de Janeiro and Niterói. This is a challenge due to the fact that the line would need to cross the Guanabara Bay, presumably underwater. Niterói last had rail service of any kind in 2007 and its public transit is currently only served by buses and boats.

Rio de Janeiro Metro Line 3
Overview
Status	Proposed
Locale	Niterói São Gonçalo Itaboraí
Termini	Araribóia Visconde de Itaboraí
Stations	18
Service
Type	Rapid transit
System	Rio de Janeiro Metro
History
Planned opening	Unknown
Technical
Line length	42 km (26 mi)
Route map Legend Araribóia Jansen de Melo Barreto Niterói São Gonçalo Neves Vila Laje Paraíso Parada Quarenta Zé Garoto Mauá Antonina Nova Cidade Alcântara Jardim Catarina Guaxindiba São Gonçalo Itaboraí Itambi Visconde de Itaboraí

Background

The plan to build a subway line connecting Rio de Janeiro to its sister municipality, Niterói, has existed since at least 1968.^[1] In the 1968 plan, it was estimated that the line would've been built by 1990.^[1] However, that deadline was never met.

Throughout the following years, many more promises were made – and subsequently not kept – by a multitude of governors of Rio de Janeiro regarding the construction of Line 3:

• In 2002, the project was divided into two parts: part 1, with a length of 6 kilometres (3.7 mi), extending underneath Guanabara Bay from Carioca Station (Rio de Janeiro) to Arariboia Station [pt] (Niterói); and part 2, with a length of roughly 21 kilometres (13 mi), extending from Arariboia Station [pt] (Niterói) to Guaxindiba (São Gonçalo), with segments above ground.^[2][3]
• In 2006, a seminar called "Rio de Janeiro on Rails – Subway Line 3" (Portuguese: Rio de Janeiro nos Trilhos – Linha 3 do Metrô) was held by the Brazilian Association of the Railway Industry (Portuguese: Associação Brasileira da Indústria Ferroviária, shortened as ABIFER) to discuss the implementation of the project of Line 3.^[4]
• In 2011, the Brazilian Ministry of Works announced that construction on the line would begin that year for a 2014 opening.^[5] The line would feature an existing 23 kilometres (14 mi) suburban rail alignment in Niterói, São Gonçalo and Itaboraí being upgraded to metro standard, and a 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) tunnel under Guanabara Bay to Rio de Janeiro.^[6] Federal funds for the construction, totalling R$ 1.2 billion, were initially intended to be granted in 2012, but were barred by Congress in late 2011.^[7]
• In September 2013, governor Sérgio Cabral and president Dilma Rousseff announced a partnership between the federal and state governments, with the goal of collecting R$2.57 billion in total to be put towards the construction of Line 3.^[8]
• In October 2014, governor Pezão stated his intent in starting the construction of Line 3 before the end of the year.^[9] Eight months later, in June 2015, Pezão explained that the state's government didn't have the necessary funds to build it, which had an estimated cost of R$3.9 billion.^[10] The Director Plan of Urban Transportation of 2015 (Portuguese: Plano Diretor de Transportes Urbanos) estimated that construction of its many projects should be done by 2036, but that it would be ideal for them to be finished by 2021.^[11]
• In July 2019, governor Wilson Witzel guaranteed that, during his administration, the construction of Line 3 would begin.^[12] Six months later, in January 2020, Witzel stated that the administration was considering whether building more boat stations would be more effective than building Line 3.^[13] Later that year, in August 2020, Witzel was suspended from office – and was subsequently impeached in April 2021 –, being replaced by Cláudio Castro as governor of Rio de Janeiro.
• Cláudio Castro, elected in 2022 as governor of Rio de Janeiro,^[14] stated in the government plans that he intended on constructing Line 3.^[15]
• In January 2023, after president Lula requested each state governor for a list of four pending construction works in their state that could use federal aid, Castro did not include the Line 3 expansion in his list, stating: "It's no use for me, right now, to talk about the metro Line 3, that, although very important, is very held up in terms of project maturity. [...] It's no use to talk about something to be done in three, four years".^[16][17]
• In February 2023, when directly asked if Line 3 was planned for 2023, Castro's government deflected by speaking about the new bus service planned for São Gonçalo, MUVI.^[18]

References

1. Marcolini, Barbara (29 November 2014). "Projeto de 1968 que nunca saiu do papel, metrô até São Gonçalo ainda é um sonho" [1968 project that never became a reality, subway to São Gonçalo is still a dream]. O Globo (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 9 October 2020.
2. "Relatório de Fiscalização - Sintético" (PDF). Tribunal de Contas da União (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2010. pp. 1–2. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
3. "Audiência pública apresentou projeto da Linha 3 do metrô" [Public hearing presented subway's Line 3 project] (in Brazilian Portuguese). ABIFER. 18 September 2008. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
4. "Rio de Janeiro nos Trilhos discute Presente e Futuro da Linha 3 do Metrô" [Rio de Janeiro on Rails discusses Present and Future of the Subway's Line 3] (in Brazilian Portuguese). ABIFER. 30 November 2006. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
5. "Work set to begin on Rio de Janeiro Line 3". Metro Report International. 2 November 2011. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
6. "Brazil to begin construction on Rio de Janeiro metro Line 3 by end of the year". Metro Report International. 6 November 2011. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
7. Jungblut, Cristiane (22 December 2011). "Congresso suspende repasse federal para a Linha 3 do Metrô" [Congress suspends federal greant for subway Line 3]. Extra (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 9 October 2020.
8. Mendonça, Alba Valéria (11 September 2013). "Dilma anuncia R$ 2,5 bilhões para projeto da Linha 3 do metrô do RJ" [Dilma announces R$ 2,5 billion to Line 3 project of Rio de Janeiro subway]. G1 (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 9 October 2020.
9. "Pezão pretende começar obras da Linha 3 do metrô ainda em 2014". G1. 27 October 2014. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
10. "Pezão diz que estado não tem recursos para fazer Linha 3 do Metrô" [Pezão says state doesn't have the resources to build subway Line 3]. G1 (in Brazilian Portuguese). 10 June 2015. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
11. Bacelar, Carina; Galdo, Rafael (30 July 2018). "Plano que não começou a sair do papel prevê oito novos trechos de metrô no Rio" [Plan that never became a reality predicts eight new segments for Rio's subway]. O Globo (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 9 October 2020.  
12. Seara, Berenice; Macedo, Aline (24 July 2019). "Witzel promete Linha 3 do Metrô a empresários em Itaboraí" [Witzel promises subway Line 3 to businessmen in Itaboraí]. Extra (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 9 October 2020.
13. "Witzel diz que estuda implementar Linha 3 ou estações de barcas em São Gonçalo" [Witzel says he's studying whether to implement Line 3 or boat station in São Gonçalo]. Extra (in Brazilian Portuguese). 24 January 2020. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
14. "Cláudio Castro é reeleito governador do RJ no primeiro turno com quase 60% dos votos" [Cláudio Castro is reelected as governor of RJ in the first round with almost 60% of the vote]. G1 (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2 October 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
15. "As promessas de Cláudio Castro" [The promises of Cláudio Castro]. G1 (in Brazilian Portuguese). 1 January 2023. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
16. Seara, Berenice (27 January 2023). "Linha 3 do metrô está fora da lista de obras prioritárias entregue por Castro a Lula" [Metro Line 3 is out of the priority list given to Lula by Castro]. Extra (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 16 April 2023.
17. Schmidt, Selma (27 January 2023). "Em reunião de governadores com Lula, Cláudio Castro vai pedir a execução de quatro projetos que somam até R$ 14,9 bilhões" [In meeting of governors with Lula, Cláudio Castro will ask for the fulfillment of four projects that cost up to R$ 14.9 billion]. O Globo (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 16 April 2023.
18. Carvalho, Manuela (13 February 2023). "Linha 3 do metrô: uma promessa que atravessa gerações" [Metro Line 3: a promise that crosses generations]. Enfoco (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 16 April 2023.