Can you imagine traveling from Guarulhos to downtown São Paulo in just 30 minutes? That is the promise of Line 19-Celeste, which will connect the Anhangabaú Valley to Bosque Maia in the metropolitan area. With 17.6 kilometers of underground tracks, the new line could serve more than 630,000 passengers per day.
The idea of connecting the two municipalities via the subway is not new. Although the first promises emerged in the 1970s, the project was postponed for decades due to budgetary issues and disputes over the route. Will the dream of a subway to Guarulhos finally get off the ground?
Check out the route of Line 19-Celeste
The project includes a maintenance yard and 15 stations, which will also benefit the capital’s North Zone. According to official documents from the São Paulo Metro, the planned stops will be: Bosque Maia, Guarulhos-Centro, Vila Augusta, Dutra, and Itapegica (in Guarulhos); Jardim Julieta, Vila Sabrina, Cerejeiras, Santo Eduardo, Vila Maria, Catumbi, Silva Teles, Cerealista, São Bento, and Anhangabaú (in São Paulo).
The branch line will connect with Lines 1 (Blue), 2 (Green), and 3 (Red), reinforcing the transformative role of Line 19 (Celeste) in São Paulo’s intercity transportation. The trip from downtown Guarulhos to Anhangabaú is estimated to take 35 minutes, reducing travel time by up to an hour compared to taking a bus along the Dutra Highway or the Marginal.
The project will be carried out in three phases. Initially, construction will extend the subway to Guarulhos, with five stations between Bosque Maia and Itapegica. The intermediate section will connect Jardim Julieta to Vila Maria, including the installation of a train yard in Vila Medeiros. Finally, Line 19-Celeste will run from Catumbi Station to Anhangabaú, definitively connecting the metropolitan region to downtown São Paulo.
Stalemate on the Guarulhos subway: Court of Auditors demands explanations
According to the São Paulo Metro, the line is expected to be fully completed between 2030 and 2032. The bidding process for the first section of the project, with a budget of R$ 5 million, took place in 2025 and was won by the Agis-Ohla-Cetenco consortium.
This June, however, the São Paulo State Court of Auditors (TCE-SP) requested explanations from the company regarding a possible conflict of interest. The challenge stems from the hiring of a former director of Engineering and Planning at the state-owned company by one of the firms in the consortium.
Paulo Sérgio Amalfi Meca worked at Metrô until 2025, where he was directly involved in the creation of the Line 19-Celeste project. For this reason, the future of the new subway in Guarulhos remains uncertain until the state-owned company issues an official response.
