With half a million people expected to descend on Rio for the Summer Olympics, a crucial subway line linking the distant Olympic Park to the city’s tourist areas has finally started operating Monday.

CCTV’s Lucrecia Franco reports.

The line will transport Olympic visitors between Rio’s upscale tourist zones, the iconic Ipanema, Copacabana beaches, and Barra da Tijuca, which is the home of the Olympic Park that will host most of the sporting venues.

The $3 billion transit project faced skyrocketing costs and engineering challenges. It is 16 kilometers long and it took six years to complete.

During the Games, Line4 will be available only to those that have credentials for the Olympics or ticket holders, reducing an estimated two-hour car drive to less than 15 minutes.

“We are going to have three hundred thousand people using the line every day and we are going to take out from the streets more than 2,000 cars every hour, so it will be good for the environment, the city and for everybody,” Rodrigo Vieira, Rio transport secretary said.

David Wallechinsky on Rio preparation

For more information on Rio’s Olympic preparation, CCTV America’s Elaine Reyes interviewed David Wallechinsky, president of International Society of Olympic Historians.