Companies from eight countries, including China, South Korea, Japan, Germany, Spain, France, Italy and Canada, have until 29 November 2010 to submit their bids and the winning consortium will be announced on 16 December 2010. The construction of the line should start at the end of 2011.

The winning bidder will be the one offering the lowest fares as the government set a fare tariff ceiling of maximum BRL 0.49 (USD 0.28) per mile. The estimate cost of the construction is BRL 33.1 (USD 18.7) billion.

The successful bidder will win the right to build the railway and to operate it for 40 years.

The schedule calls for the railway to be completed by 2017, although the government had previously aimed to open the line before the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. The government now anticipates the line will be partially open before the games.

The contract includes construction of nine stations: downtown Rio de Janeiro and Tom Jobim International Airport, Guarulhos, downtown Sao Paulo and Sao Paulo International Airport, downtown Campinas and Viracopos Airport. Two other stations will have their building sites defined by the winning consortium and will be installed in the Paraiba Valleys of Sao Paulo and Rio.

The government also established new company High Speed Rail Étaves SA, which will have a minority stake in the consortium that will build and operate the new railway line. The company will be linked to the Ministry of Transport of Brazil and will be responsible for adapting new high speed railway technology in Brazil and also for supervising the work.

More information on www.transportes.gov.br (Portuguese).

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