A service design project for CPTM's Expresso Turístico, the heritage train connecting São Paulo to Paranapiacaba, Jundiaí and Mogi das Cruzes, proposing to turn the ride into an integrated experience through strategic partnerships.
The project came out of CPTM Mack: Service Design Challenge, a collaborative initiative between the São Paulo metropolitan rail operator and Mackenzie Presbyterian University, developed in the Projeto studio course and run with CPTM's Innovation and Business department. The methodological path was set by the challenge: service safari, persona, user journey, Blue Ocean, stakeholder map, SWOT, Business Canvas and, at the end, the service blueprint.
The diagnosis started from an empathy map of the operator: what it does, hears, sees and needs to do. On one side, a loyal audience drawn by nostalgia and by the guides; on the other, tickets that sell out fast, high maintenance costs for a 1960s fleet, and the constraint of fitting the tourist train into the network without disrupting daily passenger operations.
The strategy was mapped on a Blue Ocean matrix against two direct competitors, Serra Verde Express and Trem de Guararema. The proposed move: eliminate car dependency and convenience fees, reduce purchase complexity, raise integration with the destination, and create three new fronts, route curation, onboard hospitality, and extending the experience into entertainment.
SWOT and Canvas structured the business model around three partners: Nova Ponte Turismo for route planning, Nestlé for onboard service, and LEGO for a set of the heritage train. Revenue opens into tickets and packages, themed snacks, co-branded merchandising and sponsorships, with a digital ticketing platform solving the purchase pain identified in the research.
The final deliverable is a B2B service blueprint running across before, during and after in five lanes (physical evidence, partner journey, frontstage actions, backstage and support processes), separated by the lines of interaction, visibility and internal interaction. Being a state-owned company, the flow incorporates the public tender process and legal validation; the LEGO partnership starts from a submission on the LEGO Ideas platform, with CPTM supplying technical drawings so the set stays faithful to the real train.
CPTM Challenge participation certificate ↗
