The ghost subway stations in the city of Rio de Janeiro

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Rio de Janeiro subway system was inaugurated in 1979. According to many, the service could be much better, with more stations. What few people know is that there are two secret stations in the city, which never had their construction work completed and today are completely inoperative, unused.

The oldest of these two ghost stations is in the existing Carioca station downtown. Yes, there is a station there; however, this second platform, which is now unused, is 15 meters below the current stop.

The plan in the 1980s and 1990s was for this station, now a ghost, to accommodate passengers and cars from Line 2 transferring to Line 1 trains; however, due to lack of resources, the work stopped and remained stopped. Over time, both Lines 1 and 2 began to have platforms at the only station in Largo da Carioca that was actually used.

“Governor Sérgio Cabral decided that rather than finishing the work on Line 2 in the Center, to build a shortcut, called Line 1A, which put Line 2 trains on the tracks of Line 1. This decision by the ex-governor was embarrassing also for the concessionaire Metrô Rio, which had committed to take Line 2 to Carioca. It was the cheapest way. It saved a lot of money, but its operation worsened considerably. The issue also became embarrassing for Metrô Rio. Omitting the Line 2 platform to the press and the general public has always been convenient for the governments and the concessionaire,” said Miguel Gonzalez from the blog Metrô do Rio (Unofficial).

Miguel Gonzalez adds: “The work should have been done and completed since 1981. Less than 100 people have visited the Line 2 platform since the work stopped. But Line 2 should be receiving some 70,000 people at rush hour. The trains of Line 2 should be circulating with 8 cars, providing greater comfort and speed to Rio’s population and reaching other downtown districts. Why hasn’t the Public Prosecutor’s Office ever forced the State to complete this work? In short, we will continue to spread the word until Line 2 is completed in its Downtown axis.”

Another station also froze in time. In Botafogo, South Zone, near the Rio Sul Shopping Mall, the Morro de São João station was supposed to be in operation. However, it was yet another platform that became a ghost.

In 1988, Promon Engenharia prepared a study for the construction of the São João station, allowing direct access to the Rio Sul Shopping Mall. In that same year, the Companhia do Metropolitano conducted a feasibility study for the implementation of the Morro de São João station, with access from Álvaro Ramos street.

“Brascan, owner of the Rio Sul Shopping Center, negotiated the construction of the Morro de São João Station with the state. The expansion works of Line 1 to Ipanema and Line 2 to Praça XV were interrupted due to Central Bank Resolution 1469, which did not allow the increase in state and municipal debts. On the Botafogo – General Osório stretch, the work was attacked on 7 different fronts, with the highlight being the extraction of 90,000 m³ of rock and the concreting of 10,000 m³,” says Miguel Gonzalez.

In the years that ensued, both the Rio Sul Shopping Mall and nearby residents fought for the station to be put to use. In 2007, the State of Rio de Janeiro renewed the 30-year concession with Metrô Rio. The concessionaire had the option to finish the Morro de São João Station, but no obligation.

Two years later, in 2009, a petition requesting the construction of the station with 20,000 signatures was delivered to the State Government. Brascan announced that it would build Morro de São João Station in 6 months and Jaime Lerne’s architectural firm designed the underground walkways that will connect the shopping mall to the station.

However, the station remains closed, a ghost.