First track segment laid for Rio de Janeiro light rail

The first track segment of a new VLT light rail system in Rio de Janeiro has been laid.
A 400-metre section of track has been installed on General Luiz Mendes de Morais street in the city’s Santo Christo district. The first section of the line is scheduled to enter into service at the end of 2015, linking the surrounding districts with Santos Dumont Airport. In total, the network will include 32 stops and cover 28 kilometres around the city’s port area.
The VLT is part of a wider redevelopment project for the port area called ‘Porto Maravhila’, or ‘Marvellous Port’. Alstom is supplying its Citadis tram and APS ground-level power supply system as part of the VLT Carioca consortium delivering the project. Thirty-two trams will serve the new system of which 27 will be manufactured in Brazil.