The ten Class 3000 four-car multiple units of lightweight stainless steel construction were supplied by Siemens TS and entered revenue service between December 2001 and February 2002. Two units running in multiple can carry up to 2,324 passengers at one time. Ridership averages around 50,000 boardings on workdays when the Siemens trains operate at short headways on the CPTM lines. 14,000 people per hour per direction have already been counted during rush hour. The CPTM system comprises 270 track kilometers and 92 stations in 22 counties and transports over one million passengers daily.

The maintenance contract, which entered into force on September 1, was won in spite of very tough bidding on the part of all other major rolling stock manufacturers and takes full account of the adverse operating conditions that exist in São Paulo, an urban area with 18 million inhabitants. Siemens is to provide all the materials and services for maintenance of the trains (preventive maintenance and repairs), perform services required on the line and in the event of accidents, and repair damage due to vandalism. This contract also calls for the erection of a fully equipped maintenance center as well as modernization of some of the CPTM workshop equipment at the "Presidente Altino" depot in the western section of Greater São Paulo. The quality of the maintenance services will be measured on the basis of availability and reliability of the trains and will have a direct effect on Siemens' remuneration.

The São Paulo contract will enable Siemens TS to further strengthen its position on the service and maintenance market in South America. Maintenance contracts have been running in Argentina for years, for example, in connection with the metro for Buenos Aires and the ore transport line from Tucuman to Rosario.