French company says that express train between Rio and SP is feasible
On Tuesday (5), the President of Alstom do Brazil, Philippe Deleur, said that the express train connecting Campinas, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro is feasible, although it depends on significant works of ground preparation. He participated in a round-table of the Committee on Transportation at the Chamber, which discussed the implementation of that new kind of transportation in Brazil with a French delegation.
The Brazilian government is concluding the feasibility studies on the express train, so that it is able to establish a bidding process on the technology to be used. In April 2008, a Japanese committee was already at the Chamber to discuss that subject.
For Deputy Hugo Leal (PSC-RJ), who is the 3rd Vice-President of the Committee, the project should receive only private resources to be concluded by the 2014 World Cup. “It is a commercial exploitation of a new transportation system, whose technology Brazil does not own, so it is for the account and of the risk of those who will operate it. What the government can do is to adequate infrastructure. “Investments are impossible”, he said.
Advantages
The President of Alstom do Brasil, Philippe Delleur, said that, in addition to enabling the transportation of passengers to the centers of large cities, express trains have other advantages. “The people on the trains can work, eat, and carry out activities which would not be possible in other means of transportation. Moreover, no other transportation can be compared to them, regarding energy consume and environment protection”, he affirmed.
Alstom is responsible for 70% of express trains circulating in the world. Their trains develop speeds that are higher than 300 km/h. In 2007, the record of 574.8 km/h was reached.
The president of the National Railway Transportation Agency of France, Pascal Lupo, said that, in addition to being a safe transportation, the express train broadens the possibility of making businesses, are a clean technology and favor the integration with other transportation systems.
For the president of the Committee, Deputy Jaime Martins (PR/MG), that train will discourage the population’s concentration in the cities, since people will be able to live in further locations and, despite that, spend less commuting time.
Report - Sílvia Mugnatto
Editing - Wilson Silveira
Translation - Positive Idiomas Ltda