Latin America's largest metro mobility project begins passenger service with Alstom's driverless Metropolis trains and a station 47.8 metres underground.
São Paulo has opened the first section of its long-awaited Line 6-Orange metro, ending an 18-year journey from conception to passenger service. The 5.2 km segment between João Paulo I and Perdizes began carrying passengers on July 2, 2026, with free trial service running on weekdays.
The line is Latin America's largest metro mobility project currently under construction. When fully complete, it will stretch 15.3 km with 15 stations, connecting Brasilândia in the city's northwest to the São Joaquim interchange in the centre in just 23 minutes — a journey that currently takes over an hour by bus.
South America's Deepest Station
The Água Branca station, at 47.8 metres below street level, is now South America's deepest metro station, surpassing São Paulo's own previous record holder — Santa Cruz station on Line 5 at 41.5 metres. The extreme depth was required to tunnel beneath the Tietê river floodplain and existing rail infrastructure.
Driverless Trains by Alstom
Alstom is supplying a fleet of 22 six-car Metropolis trains, manufactured at its plant in Taubaté in São Paulo state. Each train can carry up to 2,044 passengers and reach speeds of 90 km/h. Twelve trains have already been delivered.
The line is designed for fully autonomous operation — driverless, without staff on board — with train intervals as short as 75 to 90 seconds at peak capacity. During the current trial phase, trains run in manual mode at reduced speed. Full driverless service is expected once the complete line opens.
The University Line
Nicknamed the 'university line,' Line 6-Orange will connect seven higher education institutions along its route, including stops near Avenida Paulista, one of the city's most important commercial and cultural corridors. The complete line will interchange with Line 1 at São Joaquim, Line 4 at Higienópolis-Mackenzie, and Lines 7 and 8 at Água Branca.
At full operation, the line is projected to serve 633,000 passengers per day — roughly half the entire daily ridership of Bangalore's Namma Metro network.
What It Means for Bangalore
São Paulo's experience mirrors Bangalore's own metro expansion trajectory. Both cities face the challenge of building underground metro infrastructure through dense urban cores, and both are adopting driverless train technology — Namma Metro's Yellow Line already operates with CBTC-based driverless trains from Alstom's partner CRRC-Titagarh. The São Paulo project also demonstrates the long timelines that major metro expansions require: Line 6 was first proposed in 2008, construction began in 2015, faced multiple delays including contractor changes, and took until 2026 to open its first segment.
The current trial service on Line 6 runs Monday to Friday between 10:00 AM and 3:00 PM, with free rides for all passengers. Two additional stations are expected to open by December 2026, with the full 15-station line targeted for completion in 2027.