It is operated by the federally-owned Companhia Brasileira de Trens Urbanos (CBTU) and currently serves 29 stations, along 39.5 kilometers (24.5 mi) of track.

The stations were designed to include various non-written means of identification, as the Northeast Region has a substantial rate of illiteracy (13.9% as of 2019).

After completion of the expansion of the network that occurred from February 2005 to March 2009, the metro grew to its current 39.5 kilometers (24.5 mi) in length.

[1] A 31.5 km (19.6 mi) long meter gauge (1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in)) light rail network (Brazilian Portuguese: Veículo Leve sobre Trilhos, VLT) is integrated with the metro system.

Terminology varies, with the CBTU and media referring to it both as the VLT and as the Linha Diesel ('Diesel line'), the name of the former heavy rail service.