The Salvador Metro (, commonly called or ) is a rapid transit system serving Salvador, the state capital of Bahia and the fifth largest city in Brazil. The current system is long and has 22 stations, which began partial public service on June 11, 2014. The system also has a station at the Salvador Bahia Airport in Lauro de Freitas. The system is operated by CCR Metrô Bahia.

Additionally, Salvador was served by a railway line known as the Suburban Line (Calçada-Paripe) that did not connect with the Metro. This suburban line will soon become an LRT line integrated to the of the Metro.

The construction of the SMSL was carried out in an expansion divided in six stages that integrated the traditional center of the city to Pirajá (and later, in 2023, Campinas and the district of Águas Claras) and to the neighboring municipality of Lauro de Freitas through Line 1 and Line 2 respectively, totaling and 22 stations.

The Metro connects to other transport systems such as the Salvador BRT, which is a bus rapid transit system which shares the Lapa station with the Metro, and the and 34 station LRT line, which is currently being built to replace the suburban train, extend it, and predicted to be concluded by August 12, 2028, and will encounter the Metro at Águas Claras and Bairro da Paz stations.

History The result of the political fighting and contract conflicts caused the project to suffer multiple delays from its original completion date of 2003. In final form, the Bahia state government has taken over responsibility for finishing the line in 2013. When the service starts, it operated on the , five stop Lapa–Retiro portion of Line 1 between 12.00 and 16.00. Trains operated every ten minutes, and passenger travel were free. On game days, however, only football fans with game tickets were allowed in.

Nearly a decade have gone by after that first opening, and in Bahia's capital, circumstances have undergone a major shift.

On June 14 of this year, the Pirajá–Campinas section of Line 1 has opened, bringing the line's total length to , including of elevated track and of tunnel, with nine stations.

Starting in February 2015, construction on Line 2 was carried out. On December 5, 2016, the first of the Acesso Norte–Rodoviária extend opened. With the conclusion of the Mussurunga–Airport section on April 26, 2018, Line 2 includes twelve stations and is now long. Both lines' services operate from 5:00 to 0:00, with service frequency modified according to demand.

Background

The project is a Build, Operate, and Transfer (BOT) scheme for the operation of the urban transportation system in Salvador, and includes the supply and installation of rolling stock and signaling equipment, and commercial operation of the system for the 25-year concession. Each train, consisting of four cars, has the capacity to carry 1,250 passengers.

Currently, the urban transportation system in Salvador is underdeveloped and largely road-based, causing significant congestion and delays. This level of road-based transport has significant impacts on the local economy and environment. For this reason the municipality and the state, together with the World Bank, have been involved since 1992 in the design and implementation of a transportation strategy. The international standard gauge is 3 kV overhead power supply, and was built by a consortium of Siemens, Camargo Corrêa, and Andrade Gutierrez of Brazil.

This project is an integral part of the strategy that aims to improve the quality of public transportation in the area by connecting currently excluded low-income neighborhoods, and by furthering the development of a fully integrated urban transportation system.

Salvador Metro is one of the systems of urban mobility that were deployed for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The connection of Line 2 with Line 1 of Salvador Metro contributes to connect the International Airport to Downtown Salvador and the Fonte Nova Stadium. The new Line 2 of Salvador Metro integrates the metro stations of the Rótula do Abacaxi and the beach city of Lauro de Freitas in the metropolitan area, passing through the Salvador International Airport, with the Airport metro station.

Operations

Route

The current route of Line 1 begins at the underground Lapa station, and runs for in Metro tunnels, before emerging to the surface. Brotas station (which serves the Itaipava Arena Fonte Nova stadium) is elevated, while Accesso Norte Station and Retiro stations are at-grade.

With Line 1 fully operational over its whole course from Lapa to Rodoviária , it is long (with underground, elevated, with the rest at grade), and serves ten stations.

A new bus station for Salvador has begun the operations by 20th of January 2026. With this modification, the Rodoviária station, located on Tancredo Neves avenue, got a new name: Iguatemi station. Also, Águas Claras station has changed to Rodoviária station, where the new bus station is built near the BR-324 federal highway.

Stations

The following lists the current, and planned, stations of the Salvador Metro, by their opening date:

Station Line Opening date Notes Lapa 1 11 June 2014 Access by Bus Terminal of Lapa ("Terminal Rodoviário da Lapa"), in operation Campo da Pólvora 1 11 June 2014 Access by two sides of Dom Pedro II Square ("Praça Dom Pedro II"), in operation Brotas 1 11 June 2014 Access by Av. Mario Leal Ferreira or by Rua das Pitangueiras, in operation Bonocô 1 13 November 2015 In operation Accesso Norte 1 & 2 11 June 2014 Access by walkway of Shopping Bela Vista and BR-324 Highway, in operation Retiro 1 25 August 2014 Access by Baixa de Santo Antônio Street, in operation Bom Juá 1 23 April 2015 in operation Pirajá 1 22 December 2015 In operation Detran 2 5 December 2016 In operation Iguatemi 2 5 December 2016 In operation Pernambués 2 23 May 2017 In operation Imbuí 2 23 May 2017 In operation CAB 2 23 May 2017 In operation Pituaçu 2 23 May 2017 In operation Flamboyant 2 11 September 2017 In operation Tamburugy 2 11 September 2017 In operation Bairro da Paz 2 11 September 2017 In operation Mussurunga 2 11 September 2017 In operation Aeroporto 2 26 April 2018 In operation Campinas 1 14 June 2023 In operation Rodoviária 1 26 December 2023 In operation Lauro de Freitas 2 Planned Campo Grande1Planned

Gallery

Network map

See also List of metro systems Rapid transit in Brazil

References

External links

CCR Metrô Bahia – official website Transalvador Salvador at UrbanRail.net