Teleférico do Alemão was a

gondola lift A gondola lift is a means of cable transport and type of aerial lift which is supported and propelled by cables from above. It consists of a loop of steel wire rope that is strung between two stations, sometimes over intermediate suppo ...

service operating in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, Brazil. The service opened on 7 July 2011 and closed in September 2016, following the withdrawal of state funding. The line operated between and

Complexo do Alemão Complexo do Alemão (, ''German's Complex'') is a group of favelas (low-income historically informal neighborhoods) in the North Zone of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. History An article published by ''O Globo'' in 2007 revealed the origin of Complexo ...

, with a total of six stations along the route. The duration of a single ride from start to finish was 16 minutes. The service, announced as part of PAC 2 (the Brazilian federal funding program for infrastructure) consisted of a 2.1 mile gondola line running above the

group of

favela Favela () is an umbrella name for several types of impoverished neighborhoods in Brazil. The term, which means slum or ghetto, was first used in the Slum of Providência in the center of Rio de Janeiro in the late 19th century, which was b ...

s, and cost 210 million Brazilian reais to build. The decision to fund the construction of the line saw heavy criticism, with local media describing it as a vanity project, with the money potentially being better spent elsewhere. The system received 9000 riders daily whilst in operation.

History

The service was inaugurated by Brazilian President

Dilma Rousseff Dilma Vana Rousseff (; born 14 December 1947) is a Brazilian economist and politician who served as the 36th president of Brazil from 2011 until her impeachment and removal from office on 31 August 2016. She is the only woman to have held the ...

, Rio de Janeiro State Governor

Sérgio Cabral Filho Sérgio de Oliveira Cabral Santos Filho (born January 27, 1963) is a Brazilian politician and journalist who served as the governor of Rio de Janeiro from 2007 to 2014. A member of MDB, he previously served as the president of the Legislativ ...

and Rio de Janeiro City Mayor

Eduardo Paes Eduardo da Costa Paes (, born 14 November 1969) is a Brazilian politician who became the mayor of Rio de Janeiro from 2009 to 2012, reelected for a second term from 2013 to 2016 and a third in 2021. He is the city's 13th mayor. On 12 August, ...

on 7 July 2011. Local residents could apply for a card granting them two free trips a day. Services were suspended in 2016 because the state couldn't pay the consortium anymore.

Services

The line consisted of six stations between and Palmeiras Station in the Complexo do Alemão favela. The 152 gondolas took 16 minutes to traverse the 3.5 km route.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Teleferico do Alemao 2011 establishments in Brazil Transport in Rio de Janeiro (city) Aerial tramways in Brazil Transport infrastructure completed in 2011