Brasília metro tender covers 15 new trains

The government of Brazil's Federal District (GDF) launched a tender on 6 July 2026 for 15 new four-car electric trains for Brasília's metro operator, Companhia do Metropolitano do Distrito Federal (Metrô-DF). The contract is estimated at around R$1 billion (about US$195 million), with bids due on 15 September. Governor Celina Leão signed the service order authorising the procurement on 3 July, after roughly two years of technical studies, according to Metrô-DF president Handerson Cabral.

What the tender covers

The procurement is an open, in-person competition awarded on lowest price alone. The winning company or consortium will be responsible for the full cycle, from design and development through manufacturing, testing and operational delivery of the trains, which will form a new Série 3000.

Each unit is specified as an A+B+B+A formation with all cars motorised, supplied at 750 V DC from third rail, with a maximum speed of 100 km/h and a minimum design life of 30 years. The trains will have air-conditioning, onboard monitoring, digital passenger information displays, dynamic line maps, and fire detection and suppression equipment. The package also includes spare parts, specialised maintenance tools, a driver training simulator, and on-site and remote technical support.

At launch, the GDF planned to sign the contract in the second half of 2026, start manufacturing in 2027 and receive the first trains within about two years, in 2028.

• Fleet: 15 four-car trains (Série 3000)
• Estimated value: around R$1 billion
• Traction supply: 750 V DC third rail
• Maximum speed: 100 km/h
• Bid deadline: 15 September 2026

A fleet under strain

Brasília's metro opened to revenue service in 2001 and today runs two lines, Green and Orange, sharing a common trunk from the city centre before splitting towards Ceilândia and Samambaia. The network covers about 42 km and 27 stations on broad gauge (1,600 mm).

The nominal fleet of 32 trains comprises 20 Série 1000 units delivered from the late 1990s and 12 Alstom Série 2000 units delivered from 2010. Availability has become critical: by mid-2026 only 19 trains were available at peak, against 22 required, with four units considered beyond economic repair and others awaiting heavy maintenance. Operating reliability fell to 89.01% in 2025, against a 97% target.

The new trains form part of a wider fleet plan of about R$900 million that also includes a complete overhaul of the 20 Série 1000 units. Metrô-DF says that, combined with network expansion, the fleet renewal could lift daily ridership from 160,000-180,000 passengers to as many as 450,000 within five years.

CBTC readiness and network expansion

The new trains must be compatible with CBTC (communications-based train control), a system Metrô-DF does not yet use. CBTC relies on continuous bidirectional radio communication between trains and wayside equipment to establish moving-block separation, allowing shorter headways than conventional fixed-block signalling. The specification also refers to compatibility with high levels of automation. A complete replacement of the signalling and control system is planned separately, with an estimated budget of R$600-800 million.

On infrastructure, the Samambaia extension of about 3.6 km and two stations (35 and 36), a R$319 million project started in February 2025, was 23% complete in April 2026. In Ceilândia, a R$844.5 million contract was signed in September 2026 with the AGIS Construção-Carioca-Cetenco consortium for a 2.3 km extension beyond Terminal Ceilândia with two stations (28 and 29), over 45 months from the service order.

Industrial context

The tender comes amid tension in Brazil's rolling stock market over Chinese competition. In Salvador, CRRC Changchun won a 10-train tender after initially being disqualified, with a bid of R$490.4 million against Alstom's R$614.4 million. Alstom, CAF, CRRC and Brazil's Marcopolo were cited as active players in the market, although no bidders for Brasília had been disclosed.

The Brazilian Railway Industry Association (Abifer) welcomed the choice of an in-person rather than purely electronic process. Its president, Vicente Abate, said that given the sums and sophistication of the equipment involved, full transparency over the origin of bids had to be guaranteed.

Update (October 2026)

Bids were not opened on 15 September. On 3 September, the Federal District Court of Accounts (TCDF) issued a precautionary measure suspending the tender, published in the Federal District Official Gazette (DODF) on 8 September. The court cited aspects requiring clarification; the case is confidential and the grounds have not been published. Metrô-DF said it would answer the court's questions and make any necessary adjustments, and the tender can only resume after a new TCDF ruling. On 16 September, Governor Leão publicly urged the court to release the process. She also announced a separate signalling upgrade tender and about R$80 million for traction power works. No new bid date had been set at the time of writing.

Sources: Metrópoles, 3 July and 8 September 2026; Jornal de Brasília, 3 July 2026; Correio Braziliense, 3 July, 8 September and 16 September 2026, and June 2026; Via Trolebus, June and 7 July 2026; Abifer, 9 July 2026; Metrô-CPTM, April, 9 September and 12 September 2026; Revista Ferroviária, April 2026; Agência Brasília, 27 September 2024.