Hello!
Rio's subway system is small but very confusing due to lots of differences in it's operation in workdays, holidays, etc. So, I decided to try and write a little guide to help new users adapt to the system. This is the first part of the guide, covering the subway itself. I'll post a second part covering the integrated buses in a few days. Please feel free to tell me what you think of the guide and how it can be improved!
INTRODUCTION
============
This guide is an UNOFFICIAL guide. It is not intended to be the definitive guide to the Rio de Janeiro's subway system (called Metro), and focus mainly in allowing tourists to get around the city unsing the system hassle-free.
As the Metro is expanding, this guide may (and will) be outdated in the future. While I will try to remember to update it accordingly, please feel free to send me a PM asking for changes or corrections if they are needed, or even to suggest structural changes that can make it more intelligible and useful.
As a complement, I suggest you take a look in the official Metro Rio site (in english) at http://www.metrorio.com.br/en/
OVERVIEW
=========
Rio's Metro is a relatively new subway system (inaugurated in 1979 with only 5 stations at that time) and, as such, still very small compared to other subway systems. Today (July 2012) , the Metro have two lines with a total of 35 stations. On the other hand, for several reasons, the Metro have a lot of peculiarities that can make it really confusing for new users, specially people that don't speak portuguese. Make these peculiarities easier to understand is the main focus of this guide.
Before starting, it is important to define some terms, so we can use them later in the text without confusion. I'll try to adapt the names from the portuguese official names, trying to be as faithful as possible to the original names:
* Subway line: one of the two lines of the subway system itself. Some stations are in the surface and others in the underground, but all will be referred to as "subway lines"
* Surface Subway Bus: a subway-owned BUS line that complements the subway, with it's price included in the subway fare
* Express subway Bus line: a subway-owned BUS line that complements the subway, but needs an additional fare
* Express integrated bus line: A non-subway owned BUS line that have special fares when used together with the subway
In this guide, we will NOT get into details of the last category (the Express Integrated bus lines) because there are lots of them, and they are not really part of the subway system - they only have discounts when used in conjunction with the subway. It would be impossible to gather all the information needed and keep it updated. But we will try to cover ALL the other categories, as well as it's specifics and details.
THE SUBWAY ITSELF
=================
Rio's subway is a relatively small, two-lines subway, as shown in the diagram below (PDF):
www.metrorio.com.br/imagens/diagrama.pdf
For now, let's ignore the BLUE lines and focus on the ORANGE and GREEN ones. They are:
LINE ONE: With an ORANGE (sometimes RED) color code, it goes from Ipanema (the heart of "Zona Sul", or south zone, the touristic area of Rio) to Tijuca (a North Zone neighborhood closer to downtown).
LINE TWO: coded in GREEN. In the workdays it goes from Botafogo (South Zone too) to Pavuna (a more distant neighborhood, well outside the turistic area and in the outskirts of the city). In the weekends and holydays this line works partially, from Estácio (downtown) to Pavuna, as we will discuss below.
The subway system is open from 5AM to midnight from monday to saturday, and from 7AM to 11PM on sundays. All the stations close at the same time (at the closing time above depending on the day) and do not allow any new passenger to enter the station after that.
THE FARE
The fare is fixed for each trip, no matter where you get in or out of the trains (you can see the fare here: http://www.metrorio.com.br/en/ - as the time of this writing, July 2012, it is R$ 3,20). The system works with proximity cards. You can buy by the trip ("unitary card") or buy a prepaid card with any ammount of credit from R$ 10,00 up to R$ 500,00. The "unitary card" MUST be used in the day you bought it or in the next two days, or it will be invalidated! The prepaid card can be used at will, with no expire date for the credits.
My suggestion is to calculate how many trips you believe you will need and buy a prepaid card with the necessary credit. But don't put more money than you need, as there are NO REFUNDS! Anyway, you can refill it later if you need. On the other hand, the card itself is free and you can keep it as a souvenir when you go back home.
The "unitary" must be bought in the booths in each station, with the cashier. The prepaid cards can be bought in the booths, but can be bought in automatic vending machines too, always inside the stations. The machines have several language options, so it can be easier to buy the card from the machine if you don't speak any portuguese. The machine accepts only cash, and as in the entire country, only Reais. The booth accepts only cash, too.
ENTERING THE PLATFORM
To enter the platform, you need to use a turnstile. You will see that each platform have several turnstiles in each side. Here is a picture of one of them:
Some of them have green arrows like the one pictured here - these are the ones you should use when entering or exiting the subway. The others will have a red "X" - and therefore are the turnstiles to the opposite direction and you can't pass through these.
To be able to pass the turnstile when entering, you need to use your card. If you have an "unitary" card, it must be inserted in the turnstile before passing. If, on the other hand, you have a prepaid one, it is NOT to be inserted, but just to be touched to the sensor in the turnstile. In both cases a green arrow will lit up (not the one pictured above, another, smaller, one, on the top of the turnstile) and you can pass - or, in case of problems (an invalid card or with insufficient credits for example), a red "X" will lit. There's a display in the turnstile that will show what the problem is or, in the case of the prepaid card, how much credit you still have when you pass. Here is a picture of the top of the turnstile with these elements:
To get OUT of the stations, just go through the turnstile - you can pass freely when you are going out and, differently from the London tube for example, you don't need to touch the card when exiting the station as the fare is always the same.
THE LINES
Now the lines themselves. Before going any further, take another look at the diagram (PDF):
www.metrorio.com.br/imagens/diagrama.pdf
Ignore, for now, the blue lines, and try to focus in the green and orange ones:
* The orange line is LINE ONE, and it works ALWAYS like it's in the map: from IPANEMA to SAENS PENA. The "Uruguai" station is NOT operational yet. To go in Ipanema direction, you will need to get the train heading "ZONA SUL". To go in the Saens Pena direction, you get it heading "Zona Norte". This line is probably the one you will use almost all the time, since 90¨of the points of interest are in it's path. But keep reading, since you will see that the other line CAN be used in some cases, and to some places (like Maracana and the Zoo) you will NEED to use it.
* The Green one (LINE TWO), on the other hand, works differently in the WEEKDAYS and in the WEEKENDS/HOLYDAYS, and here starts the confusion. In the weekdays, LINE TWO goes from Botafogo to Pavuna, as you can see in the diagram. But note that in the Sao Cristovão station you have another (vertical) line that connects it to Estácio station. This segment DO NOT WORK IN THE WORKDAYS. But in the WEEKENDS and HOLIDAYS, the train goes from São Cristóvão directly to Estácio, and the line ends there - the LINE TWO train DO NOT GO to Botafogo in this case. Additionaly, the "Cidade Nova" station is closed in the weekends and holidays, as it is served only by line two. In either case, when going in Pavuna direction you will get the train heading Zona Norte, and when going to Botafogo (Workdays) or Estacio (Weekends and holidays) you will get the train heading Zona Sul.
So, to be clear:
* Line One goes ALWAYS from Ipanema (Zona Sul) to Saens Pena (Zona Norte)
* Line Two depends. In the Workdays, it goes from Botafogo (Zona Sul) to Pavuna (Zona Norte). In the weekends and holidays, it goes from Estácio (not technically Zona Sul, but this is the direction you will take the train) to Pavuna (Zona Norte). Note that Estacio station have TWO LEVELS, one for each line.
And how do you tell apart the Line One and Line Two trains? The trains, in the weekdays, have a led display above all the doors saying "Ipanema - Saens Pena" IN RED for the line 1 trains, and "Botafogo - Pavuna" IN GREEN for the line 2 trains. This is the only way to tell apart the trains in the stations where the two lines overlap (from Botafogo to Central), since they pass in the SAME TRACKS and SAME PLATFORMS. PAY ATTENTION, or you can get the wrong train and go in the wrong direction! In the weekends and holydays these displays are OFF, since the Line One and Line Two trains do not overlap. So, in the weekends, if you are in ANY station from Ipanema to Saens Pena all the trains will be Line One trains (since the Line Two trains go only from Pavuna to Estacio). The same stands to the trains from Estacio to Pavuna - they are all LINE TWO trains.
Confused yet? Yes, it looks very, very confusing, but it's not that hard to understand. You will get used to it!
Another thing about the Subway Lines is: how do you transfer from one to another? It depends:
* In the workdays, when Line Two goes from Botafogo to Pavuna, the transfer can be made in any station from Botafogo to Central (where the two lines overlap, as you can see in the diagram).
* In the weekends and holydays, when Line Two works from Estacio to Pavuna, the ONLY station where you can change lines is Estacio (since Line Two ends there). In this case you will need to use the stairs (the platform have indications of how to get to the other line). ALL the trains going from Ipanema to Saens Pena (and going through Zona Sul and Downtown) will be LINE 1 trains, since LINE TWO - as said before - goes to Estacio and stops there.
EXAMPLES
So, let's use some examples to make it easier to understand:
Example 1: Let's say you are in the Siqueira Campos station (Copacabana) and wants to go to Cinelandia (downtown). All you will need to do is get a LINE 1 train heading Zona Norte, and go directly to Cinelandia. To get back, you just get another LINE 1 train, but heading Zona Sul.
Example 2: You are again at Siqueira Campos, in a workday, and wants to go to Maracana. You will need to get a Line 1 Train heading Zona Norte, get out of the train in any station from Botafogo to Central (try to use the ones with central platforms) and then get the Line 2 train heading Zona Norte - and get out at Maracana station. To get back, you should get the LINE 2 train heading Zona Sul, bet out of the train in any station from Central to Botafogo, and get the LINE 1 train heading Zona Sul.
Example 3: You are at Botafogo in a weekend, and wants to go to Maracana. You will need to get ANY train heading ZONA NORTE (since in the weekends all the trains in this station are LINE ONE trains, you will not see any indication above the doors), get out at Estacio, use the stairs to change platforms (to a different level), and then get the LINE TWO train heading ZONA NORTE. To get back, get a LINE TWO train heading ZONA SUL, get out at Estacio, change platforms, and get a LINE ONE train heading Zona Sul.
You got it by now, I hope! As I said, it looks confusing - and it is! But if you have a map, plan ahead and pay attention to which train you are going into, you will be fine!
NOTES
Just some last notes about the Subway itself:
1) In the rush hours, the trains can (and will) be VERY packed. When I say packed, I mean it! So, from around 8AM to 10AM, and from around 5PM to 8PM, keep in mind that, depending on the direction you are going, you will be in a very, very crowded train. In the morning, the trains are more packed when heading ZONA SUL (until Downtown) - the trains heading ZONA NORTE are crowded, but not full. In the evening, it's the oposite, since everyone is going back home. As a tourist, you will probably be always in the less crowded direction, since you will probably use the trains going North in the morning and South in the evening. Anyway, expect full platforms and trains and keep in mind that it will be difficult to use the system with wheelchairs or baby trollers at these times.
2) As EVERY city in the world, be wise and don't let your wallet in your back pocket, your backpack unattended, or anything that can be pickpocketed, even in empty trains. The subway system is VERY safe, but exactly as in London, Paris or New York, pickpocketers are searching for opportunity. Don't give them the opportunity they want!
3) From 6AM to 9AM and from 5PM to 8PM one of the cars of each train is EXCLUSIVELY FOR WOMEN. This will ALWAYS be the SECOND TO LAST car. The floor and the car itself will be marked with a pink sign and a message explaining that that car is women-only. This is to avoid misbehaviour from the men to the women in the packed cars. If you're travelling in a women-only group, try to use these wagons in the rush hours since they are normally not as packed as the other ones.
In the next post I'll cover the "Surface Subway Bus" and "Express Subway Bus". But please feel free to correct, suggest or just give a feedback about this little guide.
