Metro Cercadas

Metro Cercadas (Portuguese: Urbanos Cercadas) is a commuter rail system serving the city of Cercadas, Herendoland. The network dates back to the opening of the first railway line in Herendoland in 1871, although the current network was not formed until a reorganisation of commuter rail lines in 1952.

The system consists of a total of nine lines, A, B, C, L, M, P, R, S and T. Five of the nine lines either originate or serve the central underground loop railway of the system, the Central Loop, before branching off to the suburban areas of Cercadas.

History
In 1871, the first railway line between Cercadas and Turiz was opened by the Herendish National Railways, which included stops for regional services. However, as Cercadas began to rapidly urbanise and expand, the railway network also entered a wave of expansion, adding new spur lines that connected populated areas with the rest of the city.

Shortly after World War II ended, the population of Cercadas had climbed to 600,000 within decades that the Herendish government was unable to cope with demand. To reduce overcrowding problems in the downtown area, the Herendish National Railways submitted a proposal to create a new commuter rail network and a central underground loop line to reduce congestion at Cercadas Central in 1945. The proposal was approved and works began in 1946.

On February 8, 1952, the first phase of the Central Loop tunnel between Cercadas Central and Museum was officially opened to railway traffic under the new Metro Cercadas system. Upon opening, three commuter rail lines were created, the Coast, Longras and Sirgueiros lines, and was operated by diesel-powered (later electric) class 3400 trains.

The Central Loop tunnel was completed on July 19, 1976, with the opening of Toita Square station. By the end of the 1970s, five lines were in operation and new double-deck rolling stock were already procured and in service from 1975. These new trainsets were known as the class S74.

In the 1990s and early 2000s, the older portions of the Central Loop which were 40-50 years old underwent refurbishment after the state of the infrastructure began to deteriorate. The Metro Cercadas platforms at Cercadas Central were also moved underground in 1996.

The entire Metro Cercadas brand was transferred to Transport for Cercadas (TFC) in October 2001. The following year, all lines on the Metro were renamed by letter rather than by terminus, although the letter still denoted the terminus of the line, in preparation for the opening of Line A.

The first new commuter rail project since the Central Loop tunnel was the creation of Line A and the construction of a new railway line to Cercadas Ferdinand Magellan Airport. Construction began in 1999 and the line opened to the public on May 21, 2004. The second and newest expansion was the creation of Line R and the Racecourse Rail Link, which not only linked Carrazede to Serralva, but also served the Carrazede Racecourse, which was previously underserved by shuttle buses. Line R opened on September 9, 2006, temporarily with class S01 trainsets before class C03 trains entered service.

In May 2023, after more than a decade of failed proposals, the Herendish government approved funding for TFC’s proposal to extend the existing Line R northwards and introduce new service patterns in the north-west suburbs of Cercadas, with construction beginning that August. The three-station extension is now slated to be completed in 2027, two years ahead of schedule.

Rolling stock
Metro Cercadas operates a fleet of both single-deck and double-deck electric multiple units.