HSR should operate in Brazil in 2018

The secretary of the National Policy of the Ministry of Transport, Marcelo Perrupato e Silva, says that the next decade will be the one for transport investments in Brazil. He says the country has everything to attract private resources and, finally, have a “modern”, “21st century” structure. But he remembers that the country has challenges and it needs to “improve its foundations.”

How do you see the quality of the passenger transport by bus, train and boat in Brazil?

MARCELO PERRUPATO E SILVA: The bus transportation is better than the plane transportation, it is more comfortable. The modern buses completely recycle their seats, something that does not occur with the planes. The problem is the delay.

But how do you assess the situation of accidents on the roads?

PERRUPATO: This will be a strong priority of the ministry. We sent in late May a group of experts to the United States to study traffic safety, to see what solutions can be adopted here. We must remember that, with some exceptions, mainly in Sao Paulo, our roads were designed for vehicles that go up to 80 km/h. We have to review it, and have a modern structure.

And how do you assess the situation of river transport, the only unregulated in Brazil?

PERRUPATO: This is very regionalized, we cannot open navigation channels as Europe did. We have to take advantage of our basins and harmonize with the hydroelectric use. But we are going to make a strategic waterway plan; we hire a Dutch consultant that is just waiting for the water of the Amazon to lower a bit to start its studies.

What about the quality of the vessels?

PERRUPATO: We are thinking seriously about the quality of the vessels. We will ensure that the Merchant Marine Fund gives a little more priority to this.

And what about the rail transport?

PERRUPATO: We are with the High Speed Rail project, because two megacities like Rio and São Paulo must have such a connection. Let’s see if we bid the technology of this train until the end of the year, then we will bid the works.

When should the train be running?

PERRUPATO: That is difficult to predict. Now we no longer have the pressure of the World Cup and the Olympics, but the demand between the two cities is for the population. I think it may be operating in 2018, maybe some stretches can start before that.

Are there other projects for passengers?

PERRUPATO: We are studying other connections by train, which can be of high or medium speed, until 200 km/h, between São Paulo and Belo Horizonte, São Paulo and Curitiba, Campinas and Triângulo Mineiro. We want to hire the first study, between São Paulo and Belo Horizonte, perhaps later this year, and then do the other on equal footing. We do not have haste. Each study should take a year, and then we will decide if the better would be high or medium speed. If would be medium, the train can share infrastructure with freight trains, as in China. If the train has up to 200km/h, it competes with the bus; above that, with airplanes.

Experts complain about the low investments in the industry…

PERRUPATO: In the next decade Brazil has a unique window of opportunity. Investors will look at here. The National Transport Logistics Plan (PNLT) plans to invest $147.81 billion in ten years, $14.78 billion per year. Thus, we reach 0.6% to 0.7% of GDP.

But how to get to this value if the investment is 0.4% of GDP?

PERRUPATO: This will be gradual and with private investments. I believe that the ideal is to reach 1% of GDP, but I do not know when this will happen, unfortunately we do not have the savings of 1.4 billion Chinese.

The ministry has a policy continuity. Why so little progress?

PERRUPATO: You have to understand that in the beginning we had a lot of budget constraints.  Now we have more space. And we must do good projects, based on reliable studies.

But when will the user feel a real improvement in transportation?

PERRUPATO: You must have a little patience. We need good foundation to build solid buildings, and the foundations were not good. We want quality, and this can only be obtained with credibility, even to attract investment.