Latin America’s first high speed railway is set to be built in Brazil, and Halcrow has played a key role in making it happen.
The company has delivered a feasibility study for a line between Rio de Janeiro and Campinas, via Sao Paulo, covering demand, alignment, technical feasibility, business review and operations. Now the scheme has been given the go-ahead, and work on the 515km route is set to begin in 2010.
Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Campinas is the most important economic region of Brazil, and the Brazil TAV high speed rail line will provide an important connection between the three metropolitan regions. It currently takes five hours to travel between São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro by bus. The high speed railway will reduce the journey time to just 90 minutes.
Intermediate stations in Vale do Paraíba Paulista and Vale do Paraíba Fluminense, and stations at international airports, are also planned.
Halcrow’s feasibility study examined a wide range of economic and operational factors, as well as looking at possible routes for the new rail line. We supervised demand studies (conducted by Sinergia), which included looking at existing market, data collection (including surveying the opinions of more than 19,000 people), creating and applying a highly sophisticated state-of-the-art demand model, and forecasting the revenue that could be obtained by running both passenger and freight services.
Halcrow also conducted alignment studies by digital mapping and collecting and processing relevant information from areas under study, then developed and optimised the alignment, reviewing thousands of alternative routes through to the use of quantum systems.
The study also covered operational issues, including timetabling, energy consumption and commercial specifications, as well as an overview of high-speed rail technology describing the experience in other countries and different rolling stock currently in use.
Information gained from the demand, alignment and operations studies then went into an economic and financial model that was specially produced for this project, and the economic and financial results were used to analyse alternative concession models for the service.
The tendering process for the project is expected to be completed in early 2010, and construction should be finished within six years.