Estação Da Luz
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Luz Station (, ) is a
commuter rail Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter town ...
and
intercity rail Inter-city rail services are Express train, express trains that run services that connect cities over longer distances than Commuter rail, commuter or Regional rail, regional trains. They include rail services that are neither short-distance co ...
station in the Bom Retiro district of
São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...
,
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, serving RFFSA, the intercity rail network of Brazil,
CPTM The Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos (CPTM) () is one of the rapid transit companies serving the city of São Paulo, alongside the São Paulo Metro, Via Quatro and Via Mobilidade, all four forming the largest metropolitan rail transpo ...
Line 7-Ruby, Line 11-Coral and Line 13–Jade (Airport-Express). It has subway connections to
São Paulo Metro The São Paulo Metro (, ), commonly called the ''Metrô'', is one of the rapid transit companies serving the city of São Paulo, alongside the Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos, São Paulo Metropolitan Trains Company (CPTM), Via Quatro ...
Line 1-Blue and
ViaQuatro ViaQuatro is a company belonging to Companhia de Concessões Rodoviárias, being responsible for the operation, maintenance and investments of more than US$2 billion in the Line 4 of São Paulo Metro for 30 years, through the first public-privat ...
Line 4-Yellow via its underground metro station of the same name. It is currently located in Bairro da Luz and was driven between the years of
1895 Events January * January 5 – Dreyfus affair: French officer Alfred Dreyfus is stripped of his army rank and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island (off French Guiana) on what is much later admitted to be a false charge of tr ...
and 1901, designed by the British architect Charles Henry Driver for the São Paulo Railway, a company based in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
and which was responsible for building the first railway line in the state of
São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...
, ligand or
port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...
of Santos à cidade de
Jundiaí Jundiaí is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the state of São Paulo (state), São Paulo, in the Southeast Region, Brazil, Southeast Region of Brazil, located north of São Paulo. The population of the city is 443,221, with an area ...
. The station houses the
Museum of the Portuguese Language The Museum of the Portuguese Language (, ) is an interactive Portuguese language—and Linguistics/Language Development in general—museum in São Paulo, Brazil. It is housed in the Luz Station, Estação da Luz railway station, in the urban dist ...
, established in 2006. The Luz Metro station is also located within the complex.


History

The station was built in the late 19th century with the purpose of being the
headquarters Headquarters (often referred to as HQ) notes the location where most or all of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. The term is used in a wide variety of situations, including private sector corporations, non-profits, mil ...
of the newly founded São Paulo Railway. In the first decades of the 20th century, it was the main entrance to the city, a fact that gave it a major economic relevance, because the majority of the
coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...
from Santos was delivered in the station, along with the imported supplies. At the time of the station's construction in the mid-nineteenth century, the Luz neighborhood was characterized by a large embankment that connected the city's downtown area to the Grande Bridge. It also had a botanical garden, which was enlarged by the
Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
João Teodoro Xavier de Matos, and would serve as the future home of Luz station. Land for the station was earmarked from the Botanical Garden Square, though its exact location was not confirmed until 1865. With the support of construction engineer Daniel Fox, superintendent J.J. Aubertin requested to the governor that the station be constructed on the corner of Rua Brigadeiro Tobias, where the current metro station now stands. He also requested that construction follow the previous plans created by the inspector engineer Vasco de Medeiros; otherwise, the station would be displaced to the other side of the Botanical Garden, and two gates would need to be installed to serve Rua Alegre and Rua Constituição. If the station were to be constructed beside the current subway station, however, the installation of one gate would be sufficient to serve both streets. The initial station building was a small, one-story block. Dispatch facilities, facilities for boarding and arrival, and the residence of the station chief were located inside the station, while buildings for line administration, company engineering, building repairs, and supplies storage were built outside. On 17 March 1888, station expansion was proposed, leading to the construction of the "second" Luz station. Passenger platforms were expanded and the edifice renovated. After construction, another story was added, bringing the station's height to two stories. The edifice was rebuilt in the neoclassical style and an iron cover was installed over the entrance of the building and the platforms. In 1900, Alfredo Moreira Pinto described the second Luz station as follows: This building was maintained until the beginning of the twentieth century, when it was demolished for the construction of the third Luz station. The current building was finished in 1901. The materials for its construction were brought from UK. The station was designed and produced by Walter Macfarlane & Co. Saracen Foundry, Glasgow. The station was assembled in
Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
, then disassembled and sent to São Paulo where it was reassembled. The building was designed by the British
architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
Henry Driver.


Fire

* In 1946, the station caught fire and during the rebuilding process, a new floor was added to the building. Since then, the rail transport in Brazil started to decline, the same happened with the Luz neighbourhood. Both factors led to the degradation of the station. However, in the 1990s, the station was repaired. * On December 21, 2015, the station suffered a major fire that started at the ''Museum of the Portuguese Language''. The fire devastated the station's major building, and claimed one
firefighter A firefighter (or fire fighter or fireman) is a first responder trained in specific emergency response such as firefighting, primarily to control and extinguish fires and respond to emergencies such as hazardous material incidents, medical in ...
life.


Cultural influence

The station is a remnant from the period when the coffee was a major source of income to the city. For many years, the station's clock tower dominated the city landscape, and for a time, served as the basis for clock adjustment in the city. It was destroyed in a fire in 1946 but was replaced five years later. At its height, in the early 20th century, when the Luz neighbourhood was an important part of the city, the station was part of an architectonic block that was a major reference inside the city. The station helped to build the city's image. The station, along with the nearby São Paulo Picture Gallery, marks the boundaries of the Bom Retiro and Campos Elíseos districts. Until the 1970s, a monument to Ramos de Azevedo, the architect responsible for designing many buildings in the area, including the Picture Gallery, stood near the station. The monument was later removed during the construction of the
São Paulo Metro The São Paulo Metro (, ), commonly called the ''Metrô'', is one of the rapid transit companies serving the city of São Paulo, alongside the Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos, São Paulo Metropolitan Trains Company (CPTM), Via Quatro ...
.


Services

Until 2010, Luz station served as * terminus for CPTM's Line 10-Turquoise. However, after the completion of track improvement works, the line was extended to Brás station. As a result, a platform was left vacant in Luz, allowing Line 7 to now use two platforms - one for boarding and another for disembarking. Luz station has the second-highest traffic level of all stations on São Paulo's metro-rail network, serving 147,000 passengers per day. Only Brás station, with 150,000 passengers, is more frequented. Several improvement works were undertaken during the station's recent history, including the construction of an underground transfer gallery below the CPTM tracks. Even so, however, there are concerns that the current Luz station will soon become inadequate as passenger loads grow. This would be exacerbated by planned increases in train frequency at Luz thanks to the future deactivation of Julio Prestes station on Line 8–Diamond and the installation of
communications-based train control Communications-based train control (CBTC) is a railway signaling system that uses telecommunications between the train and track equipment for traffic management and infrastructure control. CBTC allows a train's position to be known more accura ...
on Line 11. The current Luz station is under railway heritage protection, meaning that it cannot be expanded in the future.


Touristic Express

Since 2009, Luz has been the terminus of the Touristic Express line, a touristic line that makes trips from Luz to Paranapiacaba and Jundiai. It uses diesel locomotives which carry a maximum of 170 people and travel at maximum speeds of . The Express connects tourists to São Paulo's "Fruit Circuit", which is a region known for its rural tourism and fruit production. Stations are located in the region's largest cities, namely Atibaia,
Indaiatuba Indaiatuba is a municipality in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of Campinas. The population is 256,223 (2020 est.) in an area of . The elevation is . The city's name derives from the Tupi language, which roug ...
,
Itatiba Itatiba is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the state of São Paulo (state), São Paulo in Brazil, approximately 80 km from the State Capital. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of Campinas. The population in 2022 was 121 590 in ...
,
Jarinu Jarinu is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population is 30,617 (2020 est.) in an area of 208 km2. The elevation is 755 m. History The municipality was created by state law in 1948. Media In telecommunications, th ...
,
Jundiaí Jundiaí is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the state of São Paulo (state), São Paulo, in the Southeast Region, Brazil, Southeast Region of Brazil, located north of São Paulo. The population of the city is 443,221, with an area ...
, Louveira, Morungaba,
Valinhos Valinhos () is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality (''município'') in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. It is the birthplace of Adoniran Barbosa. Valinhos is famous for its purple fig, the theme of its annual Fig Fest. It is part of the Met ...
,
Vinhedo Vinhedo () is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the states of Brazil, state of São Paulo (state), São Paulo in Brazil. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of Campinas. The population in 2020 was 80,111 and its area is . It has a po ...
, and the district of Paranapiacaba.


Gallery

File:Guilherme Gaensly - Estação da Luz, c. 1900.jpg, Station in 1900 File:LUZ 010 n.jpg, Interior File:Estação da Luz 8.jpg, Interior of the station


See also

*
Museum of the Portuguese Language The Museum of the Portuguese Language (, ) is an interactive Portuguese language—and Linguistics/Language Development in general—museum in São Paulo, Brazil. It is housed in the Luz Station, Estação da Luz railway station, in the urban dist ...
* São Paulo Railway *
São Paulo Metro The São Paulo Metro (, ), commonly called the ''Metrô'', is one of the rapid transit companies serving the city of São Paulo, alongside the Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos, São Paulo Metropolitan Trains Company (CPTM), Via Quatro ...
* Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos


Notes


References

* Jorge, Clóvis de Athayde. ''Luz – Notícias e reflexões''. Departamento do Patrimônio Histórico. 1988 * Elias, Maria Beatriz de Campos (dir.). ''Um século de Luz''. Editora Scipione. 2001 * Toledo, Benedito Lima de. ''São Paulo: Três cidades em um século''. Editora Cosac e Naify. 2003. {{Authority control Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos stations Railway stations in São Paulo Railway stations in Brazil opened in 1867 Tourist attractions in São Paulo Charles Henry Driver buildings National heritage sites of São Paulo (state) 2015 disasters in Brazil 2010s fires in South America 2015 disasters in South America 2015 fires Museum fires Fires in Brazil Museums in Brazil Burned buildings and structures in Brazil