BYD Sky Rail gets go-ahead for São Paulo Metro Line 17
BYD SkyRail São Paulo and São Paulo Metro have signed a contract for BYD to provide its SkyRail for the Line 17 (Gold Line) project. This marks BYD’s second major collaborative project in Brazil following the company’s SkyRail line in the city of Salvador.
BYD will provide Line 17 with a complete system, including 14 fleets of 5-vehicle trains, switches, conductive rails, UTO-level signal system, central control system, engineering vehicles, vehicle washing machines, and technical services, including engineering integration, installation, debugging and training.
Designed to solve urban traffic congestion, BYD’s SkyRail is a straddle-type monorail system which promises lower costs, a shorter construction period and greater terrain adaptability when compared to competing technologies.
The first phase of the Line 17 project will extend from São Paulo’s Congonhas Airport to other central parts of the city, connecting business districts, the University of São Paulo, and densely populated areas in the city’s east. At a total length of 17.7km on completion, the Gold Line will connect with Line 1 (Blue), Line 4 (Yellow), Line 5 (Lilac), and Line 9 (Emerald).
Line 17 is designed to reach a daily flow of 250,000 passengers, with vehicle headway close to 80 seconds.