Santa Teresa Tram

The Santa Teresa Tram, or Tramway (Portuguese: Bonde de Santa Teresa, IPA: [bõˈdʒi dʒi ˈsɐ̃tɐ teˈɾezɐ]), is a historic tram line in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It connects the city's centre with the primarily residential, inner-city neighbourhood of Santa Teresa, in the hills immediately southwest of downtown. It is mainly maintained as a tourist attraction and is nowadays considered a heritage tramway system, having been designated a national historic monument in 1985. The line has a very unusual gauge: 1,100 mm (3 ft 7+5⁄16 in). The main line is 6.0 kilometres (3.7 miles) long.

Having run continuously since its opening in 1877 (except for a 2011–15 suspension), it is one of the oldest street railway lines in the world. It has been electrically powered since 1896, being the oldest electric railway in all of Latin America. For many years it was also the only remaining metropolitan tram system in Brazil. The only other original tram systems in the country to have survived past 1971 are the Campos do Jordão interurban tram/light rail line, which continues to operate today, and the Itatinga line (near Bertioga), a rural and non-public tram line which had ceased operation as a tramway by 2017. All other cities closed their systems by 1971 (Santos being the last), but since that time, three towns, Belém, Campinas and Santos, have reinstated trams as heritage services. Rio de Janeiro opened a modern light rail/tram system in 2016.

All service on the line was suspended starting in August 2011 as a result of a serious accident, but limited service resumed in July 2015 with new tramcars and with passengers no longer allowed to stand on the running boards. Following studies after the 2011 suspension, it was decided to buy new trams that would be replicas of the previous vintage fleet, and an order for 14 such cars was placed in 2012. Rebuilding of the line then commenced, and was continuing in late 2014, at which time reopening was scheduled for 2015, in time for the 2016 Summer Olympics. In July 2015, limited service resumed between Carioca Station and Largo do Curvelo, and was extended from the latter point to Largo do Guimarães in December 2015, making the length of route in operation about 2 km (1.2 mi). Service on a branch off of the main line, known as the Paula Mattos branch, remained suspended indefinitely at that time.

Work continued slowly, and at times intermittently, on restoration of additional sections of the main route to Dois Irmãos. In February 2018, just five trips per day were extended from Largo Guimarães to Praça Odylo, and then on 22 October 2018 all service was extended to Largo do França. The full 6-kilometre (4 mi) route between Largo da Carioca and Dois Irmãos was finally restored to operation and passenger service in January 2019. Work to reopen the Paula Mattos branch began in 2024, and service on the branch was restored in January 2025.