A perfect astrological hell involves mobility in Rio.
After at least 600 people were left without Supervia trains, on Tuesday the 28th an accident with four deaths caused a monstrous traffic jam on the Yellow Line; meanwhile, Mayor Eduardo Paes is criticized by the Engineering Club for the demolition of the Perimetral elevated highway, considered premature; in the middle of a 40-degree summer, while receiving tourists from all over the world and preparing for the World Cup, Rio de Janeiro is experiencing scenes of chaos in its urban mobility system; will it improve?
247 - This morning and over the past four days, Brazil's most beautiful city has plunged into a perfect nightmare in its transportation system. After approximately one million people were left without trains in the northern suburbs on Wednesday the 22nd, Tuesday the 28th began with thousands of vehicles stuck in traffic on the main connecting road to the western zone, the Linha Amarela. Four people died when a truck crashed into a pedestrian overpass, which collapsed.
Meanwhile, the central region has been in turmoil since the turn of the year due to the demolition of the Perimetral elevated highway, a personal decision by Mayor Eduardo Paes considered hasty by the Engineering Club. In this context, the city's subway rivals São Paulo's in overcrowding during rush hour.
Mayor Eduardo Paes is at the center of criticism for the chaos in the transportation system. The city's Engineering Club stated that traffic problems in the central region worsened after the demolition of the Perimetral elevated highway began without alternative routes being opened beforehand. The mayor responded with a letter to the organization, claiming that conditions were not right for opening tunnels and lanes with the elevated highway in operation. To the public, Paes sought to appear sympathetic.
No one will miss the Perimetral highway.
When trains operated by Supervia, part of the Odebrecht group, had their service interrupted by the derailment that occurred on Wednesday the 22nd, there was no room for easy explanations. At least 600 people were left without their main means of transportation for 12 consecutive hours. Now, the consumer protection agency (Procon) and the Public Prosecutor's Office are considering increasing exemplary fines against the company.
Supervia operates locomotives and wagons that have been in circulation since the 1950s. Promises of modernization have not yet translated into effective improvements in services.
With its transportation disasters, Brazil's main tourist destination throughout the year, and especially in the summer, is suffering from the ills of poor planning and deficient infrastructure. This is all aggravated by temperatures reaching 50 degrees Celsius in some neighborhoods, making emergency situations even more difficult, situations that, judging by the events of recent days, are becoming routine.