Mafersa S.A. is a Brazilian manufacturer of passenger rail cars, buses and

trolleybus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or trol ...

es, and related components. It was founded in 1944 and was located in the city of

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

.Bushell, Chris (Ed.) (1997). ''Jane's Urban Transport Systems 1997-98'', p. 451. Coulsdon, Surrey (UK):

Jane's Information Group Jane's Information Group, now styled Janes, is a global open-source intelligence company specialising in military, national security, aerospace and transport topics, whose name derives from British author Fred T. Jane. History Jane's Informatio ...

. . At the end of 1997 it became a subsidiary of

Alstom Alstom SA is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer operating worldwide in rail transport markets, active in the fields of passenger transportation, signalling, and locomotives, with products including the AGV, TGV, Eurostar, Avelia ...

. Most of its customers were in Brazil. However, export orders included, in 1990–92, 38 stainless-steel push-pull

commuter rail Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are con ...

cars for the

Virginia Railway Express Virginia Railway Express (VRE) is a commuter rail service that connects outlying small cities of Northern Virginia to Union Station in Washington, D.C. It operates two lines which run during weekday rush hour only: the Fredericksburg Line from ...

Bushell, Chris (Ed.) (1991). ''Jane's Urban Transport Systems 1991'', p. 409. Coulsdon, Surrey (UK): Jane's Information Group. . (10 control cars ab-equipped trailersand 28 trailers) Middleton, William D.; and Sebree, Mac (1994). ''North American Commuter Rail 1994'', pp. 16 and 47. Pasadena (CA), US:

Pentrex Pentrex Media Group, LLC, is an American producer and seller of railfan-related videos and DVDs. It was founded in 1984 and was originally headquartered in Pasadena, California, Pasadena, California.

. ISSN 0160-6913. and 256

metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...

-car bodyshells for the

Chicago Transit Authority The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is the operator of mass transit in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and some of its surrounding suburbs, including the trains of the Chicago 'L' and CTA bus service. In , the system had a ridership of , o ...

(as a subcontractor to Morrison-Knudsen). In the mid-1980s the company built more than 270

cars for

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

and more than 400 for

, and these were built under license from the

Budd Company The Budd Company was a 20th-century metal fabricator, a major supplier of body components to the automobile industry, and a manufacturer of stainless steel passenger rail cars, airframes, missile and space vehicles, and various defense products ...

.Bushell, Chris; and Stonham, Peter (Eds.) (1984). ''Jane's Urban Transport Systems 1984'', p. 18. London: Jane's Publishing Company. . In addition to building new rail vehicles, Mafersa also carried out overhauls of existing rail cars. In 1997, Mafersa was acquired by Alstom. A subsidiary of Alstom keeping the same name, Mafersa SA, continued producing rail vehicle components (such as wheels and

axle An axle or axletree is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to the vehicle, with the wheels rotating around the axle. In the former case, bearing ...

s), while manufacturing of rail cars also continued but now under the name, "Alstom Transporte do Brazil S.A."Pattison, Tony (Ed.) (1999). ''Jane's Urban Transport Systems 1999-2000'', p. 440. Coulsdon, Surrey (UK): Jane's Information Group. . Alstom sold the technology and license of Mafersa SA to MWL Brasil Rodas & Eixos Ltda. in November 1999, and this company continued making rail-vehicle components, initially under the Mafersa name.Pattison, Tony (Ed.) (2002). ''Jane's Urban Transport Systems 2002-2003'', p. 471. Coulsdon, Surrey (UK): Jane's Information Group. .

Buses

Mafersa entered the field of bus manufacturing in 1985, with development of a bus chassis and a

monocoque Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell". First used for boats, ...

(or integral) trolleybus.Bushell, Chris (Ed.) (1989). ''Jane's Urban Transport Systems 1989'', p. 451. Coulsdon, Surrey (UK):

. . Production of

es lasted only from 1986 until 1988 and was relatively small, totalling only 85 vehicles, of which 84 were two-axle vehicles and one was

articulated An articulated vehicle is a vehicle which has a permanent or semi-permanent pivot joint in its construction, allowing it to turn more sharply. There are many kinds, from heavy equipment to buses, trams and trains. Steam locomotives were someti ...

.Murray, Alan (2000). ''World Trolleybus Encyclopaedia'', p. 95. Yateley, Hampshire, UK: Trolleybooks. . Between the start of production in 1985/86 and 1988 more than 600 diesel buses had been delivered to various cities.

References

External links

MWL Brasil website
{{Authority control Manufacturing companies based in São Paulo Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of Brazil Rolling stock manufacturers of Brazil Electric vehicle manufacturers of Brazil Trolleybus manufacturers Alstom 1944 establishments in Brazil Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1944 1997 mergers and acquisitions Bus manufacturers of Brazil Budd Company

Buses

See also

References

External links