Rio’s Santa Teresa Tram Reopens a Branch Closed for Twenty Years
RIO DE JANEIRO · HERITAGE
Key Facts
- —The reopening The Ramal Silvestre carried passengers again on Thursday 11 June 2026, after roughly twenty years out of service.
- —The work About 667 tonnes of new rail over 5.84 kilometres, six kilometres of rebuilt overhead line, and 27,800 square metres of repaving.
- —The operator CENTRAL, the Rio de Janeiro state transport company, for which the bonde is now its only running service.
- —The accident 27 August 2011 on Rua Joaquim Murtinho. Six dead, including the motorman, and more than fifty injured.
- —The cause Brake failure. A piece of wire had been substituted for a proper bolt in the braking mechanism, on a car carrying more than sixty people with capacity for about forty.
- —The gauge 1,100 millimetres, dictated by the width of an eighteenth-century aqueduct.
A tram that killed six people in 2011 is running again on a branch that had been closed for two decades. What was rebuilt in between is not only track.
The Silvestre branch of Rio de Janeiro’s Santa Teresa tram carried passengers again on 11 June 2026, the latest stage in a reconstruction that began after the line killed six people fifteen years ago.
What Happened in 2011
On Saturday 27 August 2011 a tram lost control on the steep descent of Rua Joaquim Murtinho, toward Largo do Curvelo, and derailed.
Six people died, including the motorman, Nelson Corrêa da Silva. Injury counts in the reporting range from fifty to fifty-seven depending on the source.
The braking mechanism had a piece of wire in place of a proper bolt. The car was carrying more than sixty passengers against a capacity of around forty, with people riding on the running boards as they always had.
A state legislative inquiry in 2018 attributed the accident to chronic lack of maintenance. Five employees were charged with culpable homicide and bodily injury. No criminal convictions followed.
Courts had ordered the line restored as early as 2009, two years before the accident, and the order had not been complied with.
What Was Rebuilt
Service stopped entirely and stayed stopped for close to four years. The reconstruction replaced 17.5 kilometres of rail, strung around 28 kilometres of new overhead cable, renovated the stations and workshop and delivered fourteen new cars.
The published figure for the whole programme is R$110 million, of which R$40 million went on the new fleet. The work was carried out by the Elmo-Azvi consortium.
The line reopened on 27 July 2015 between Largo da Carioca and Largo do Curvelo, with further segments following that December and the full run to Dois Irmãos restored by January 2019.
The new cars keep the open sides that define the bonde, with retractable steps and polycarbonate panels added. Riding on the outside, the practice that made the 2011 crash as lethal as it was, is no longer possible.
The Silvestre Branch
The branch reopened on 11 June 2026 after roughly twenty years closed. The state transport secretariat, Setram, put 667 tonnes of new rail into 5.84 kilometres of track, rebuilt about six kilometres of overhead line and repaved some 27,800 square metres.
The opening timetable was minimal: departures at 10am, 11am, 2pm and 3pm, with a permanent schedule promised for July after a demand study. The Rio Times has not found confirmation that the permanent schedule was published.
One thing that has not happened, and that is frequently confused with this, is the physical reconnection at Silvestre station between the tram and the Corcovado cog railway. That link was severed in 1966 and restoring it is a separate project which has not been completed.
What the Line Actually Is
The bonde runs on 1,100 millimetre gauge, unusually narrow, because it has to cross the Carioca Aqueduct. The Arcos da Lapa were completed as a working aqueduct around 1750, with 42 double arches over 270 metres at a height of 17.6 metres, and were adapted to carry trams in 1896.
The line has run since 1896, interrupted only by the four years after the 2011 crash. Rio’s other tram routes were shut down by 1968.
It should not be confused with the VLT Carioca, the modern standard-gauge light rail that opened downtown in 2016. Different technology, different operator, different century.
Nor is it Brazil’s last tram in the broad sense. Santos, in São Paulo state, runs a heritage tram circuit through its historic centre. What is specific to Santa Teresa is the combination: continuous operation on the same narrow gauge across a colonial aqueduct, with open-sided cars, into a residential hillside neighbourhood where the tram is public transport rather than an attraction.
That last point is the one visitors miss. Registered local residents, uniformed schoolchildren and passengers over 65 ride free. The R$20 return fare is for everybody else.
The Numbers It Carries
July 2024 produced 67,730 boardings in the month and a single-day record of 3,126 passengers on 27 July, described at the time as a five-year high. The Rio Times has not found verified totals for 2025 or 2026.
For a system with fourteen cars carrying about 32 people each, those are respectable numbers and they are not tourism numbers alone.
The service runs from Largo da Carioca, Monday to Friday from 8am, with reduced hours at weekends. The Francisco Muratori branch gets a single departure a day, at 8.30am.
More: Rio de Janeiro news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did the Silvestre branch reopen?
11 June 2026, after roughly twenty years out of service.
What happened in the 2011 accident?
A tram derailed on Rua Joaquim Murtinho on 27 August 2011, killing six people including the motorman and injuring more than fifty. The cause was brake failure, with a piece of wire substituted for a bolt.
Who runs the tram?
CENTRAL, the Rio de Janeiro state transport and logistics company. The bonde is now its only operating service.
Is it Brazil’s only tram?
No. Santos runs a heritage tram circuit. What is specific to Santa Teresa is continuous operation since 1896 on 1,100 mm gauge across the Carioca Aqueduct, as working public transport.
What does it cost?
R$20 return. Registered local residents, uniformed public-school students and passengers aged 65 and over travel free.
Sources: Diario do Rio de Janeiro, Diario do Transporte, ViaTrolebus, Agencia Brasil, Brasil de Fato, Diario de Noticias.
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