International Railway Journal - August 2007 - (Page 14)

News analysis HS offers hope in South America High-speed rail is firmly back on the agenda in South America’s two largest countries, reports Theodor Gevert. Argentina is at an advanced stage of negotiation for a project to build its first line and Brazil could invite bids for its first high-speed line before the end of the year. home minister, Ms Dilma Rouseff, is studying the fares to be charged. International lenders, such as the World Bank, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and the International Development Bank (IDB), normally give preference to projects that are at least partially protected against political interference. This means that an independent body, such as the National Land Transport Agency (ANTT), and not a federal ministry, should conduct the bidding. According to Valec, the government authority charged with supervising construction, the plan is for a 42-year concession consisting of seven secretary of the state of Rio de Janeiro. Other groups and companies interested in bidding include a Japanese consortium of Mitsui, Kawasaki, Mitsubishi, and JBIC, a Korean group, and possibly a Spanish group. Valec says a request for bids could be issued late this year, with a view to opening the first line linking São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro in 2015. According to Valec, the proposal is for trains designed for 855 passengers, operating at 15-minute headways and covering the 403km journey in 85 minutes, and charging a fare of about $US 60.00. Valec is now seeking the necessary environmental approvals. The fact that both countries are looking seriously at highspeed rail confirms a trend by both governments to take a greater interest in rail. It also represents a major shift in policy, where the emphasis up to now has been on freight and urban passenger rail. Only a handful of long-distance passenger trains survive in either country, surrendering the market to road and air. There is certainly a need for the introduction of good regional services to connect major cities with towns up to 200km away. High-speed rail could be the catalyst to revive South America’s passenger railways. IRJ P RESIDENT Néstor Kirchner of Argentina says that Alstom-led consortium Veloxia will be given the contract to build South America’s first highspeed railway provided the financial part of the consortium’s proposal is satisfactory. Once approved, Veloxia will have 36 months to build the railway at a cost of $US 1.32 billion. Veloxia will be responsible for civil works, track, electrification, telecommunications, and signalling, plus a fleet of eight double-deck trains each with a capacity of 509 passengers. According to Mr Ricardo Jaime, Argentina’s transport secretary, the high-speed project will have two parts. A 310km double-track electrified railway will be built between Buenos Aires and Rosario, with a top speed of 250 to 300km/h. The journey time will be 90 minutes compared with four hours by longdistance bus and six hours by train. The second part of the project will involve upgrading the existing 394km Rosario Cordoba line for 160km/h operation using diesel trains. In the meantime, the national government is to take over provincially-owned longdistance passenger operator Ferrobaires. At present, Ferrobaires carries about 1.5 million passengers annually, considerably less than the 2.2 million it carried in 1996. The government says it will not abandon any services. The provincial government says heavy investment is needed to improve services and this can’t be financed through fare increases. The takeover makes it legally easier to upgrade the 400km line linking Buenos Aires with the Atlantic resort of Mar del Plata for high-speed operation. Until recently, this line had the most frequent long-distance service in Argentina. Brazil has added an 1800km high-speed network to its national transport plan consisting of a triangle linking Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Belo Horizonte, plus a line High-speed rail could be the catalyst to revive South America’s passenger railways. from São Paulo to Curitiba. The plan specifies intermediate cities that must also be served, and says the lines must be built by private enterprise. Two of the potential bidders for the high-speed project, Alstom and the Italian civil engineering company Impregilo (which is part of an Italian-Brazilian consortium), have objected to some of the clauses in the plan. They reject the proposal that the winner of the tender is whoever promises to pay the highest percentage of gross revenues to the government. Instead, they want the government to give preference to the group that promises the highest investment over the shortest period. They also object strongly to the government’s plan to set the fares. The problem is that two of the main federal ministers involved in the project insist the government has total control over the project, including setting fares and local industry’s participation in the supply of equipment. Indeed, the federal years for construction and 35 years of operation. Valec says investors would get their money back in 11 years. However, potential investors say they want a 30-year concession that can be renewed automatically for another 30 years, as has been the norm in Brazil for railfreight concessions. Nevertheless, the highspeed project has powerful backers, including Rouseff and another federal government minister, the mayor of Rio de Janeiro, and the transport High-speed on the agenda in Buenos Aires T HE fact that Argentina and Brazil are pushing ahead with plans to build the first high-speed railways in South America will provide plenty of food for discussion for delegates attending the 21st congress of the Pan American Railway Congress Association (ACPF) which opens in Buenos Aires on August 30. The first conference session is devoted to high-speed rail. ACPF mark its 100th anniversary this year, so a passenger revival in South America would be a great way to celebrate it. Three of the sessions will address technical innovation in track, rolling stock, and signalling. Another session will look at financing mechanisms for railway projects with particular reference to public-private partnerships. 14 IRJ August 2007

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of International Railway Journal - August 2007

Contents This month News Market News Transit News News Analysis Voith Goes For Maxima Impact First Gauge-Changeable Loco Under Test Power Surge China Feels the Need For Speed A Firm Foundation For Chinese High-Speed Testing Times on the Betuwe Route Tough Tests For Mass Transit Software A Measure of Success Rendezvous Full Contact List Advertisers Index The Last Word

International Railway Journal - August 2007

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