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Article: HS project in the fast lane: with major investment in passenger rail around Sao Paulo, political enthusiasm for the long-mooted high-speed line to Rio de Janeiro has waned in recent times. As regional editor Theodor Gevert explains, it is now firmly back on the agenda.(Brazil)
- Article from:
- International Railway Journal
- Article date:
- November 1, 2008
- Author:
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WHAT makes a country decide to invest in high-speed rail? Often the answer is that there is an excess of demand over capacity on the existing railway. This is not the case in Brazil--the existing railway between Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, Brazil's two largest cities, has no passenger trains; but part of it is expected to see increased frequency of freight trains to 30-minute headways in both directions throughout the day.
This effectively means there will be no passenger capacity at all on the existing route. In 2007 Brazil's airline system was on the verge of collapse. Sao Paulo's two main airports, Congonhas and Cumbica (Guarulhos) are overloaded. Expanding ...