Brazil has announced investments of around USD 65.5 Billion (EUR 53 Billion) into the modernisation of its road and railway networks in the attempt of stimulating economy.
Investments will focus on building 10,000 km. As a result of the programme, Brazil “will finally have an infrastructure that’s compatible with its size”, President Dilma Rousseff said. Construction, maintenance and operation contracts will be offered in concession to private companies as a result of various tenders.
Brazil is planning to invest BRL13.7 Billion (USD 6.7 Billion) to lay four railway lines in the south of the country. The projects will form part of Brazilian Government’s BRL 200 Billion (USD 98.3 Billion) investment plan to expand the rail network by one third of the existing length by 2025. The proposed railway lines include a link between the city of Panorama in Sao Paulo state and the Rio Grande port in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Another branch will be constructed to connect to the southern city of Uruguaiana, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul.
It will also provide an east-west link from Chapeco to the port of Itajai and a link between the cities of Maracaju, in the Mato Grosso do Sul state and Toledo, in the state of Parana.
The Brazilian government is considering completing research for the project by the end of 2013 before moving ahead with construction.
In 2012, the Federal Government of Brazil set up a company called High-Speed Transport Company (Empresa de Transporte Ferroviário de Alta Velocidade – ETAV) to coordinate the high-speed project Sao Paulo-Río de Janeiro-Campinas, 511 km. This is the fourth attempt to launch a tender for the high-speed line.
The first task of the new company will be to tender the first contracts for the new line in the first semester of next year. The high-speed project, to be launched in 2019, includes investments of EUR 12.7 Billion. Experts in the field and companies with experience in building high-speed lines are somehow sceptical on the reliability and profitability of a high-speed line: the EUR 12.7 Billion investment seems too small for such a project and the cost for one ticket, estimated at BRL 200 (EUR 73) is too much for the current financial possibilities of the Brazilians.
However, the evolution of railway passenger transport projects is very interesting. Brazil as one of the BRIC states (next to Russia, India and China) is among the most dynamic rail markets in the world, also driven by the upcoming 2014 FIFA World Championship. In 2016, the city of Rio de Janeiro, the largest urban agglomeration and metropolitan area in South America will host the Summer Olympics. These two very important sports events will facilitate the development of many railway passenger transport projects.
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