Four years after the end of the 2016 Olympics, Brazil will have its first High Speed Rail (HSR) system in full operation. It is what the National Land Transport Agency (ANTT – Agência Nacional de Transportes Terrestres), under the Ministry of Transport, expects. With an estimated cost of $17 billion, the opening of the bidding auction and the project contract signature for the HSR might occur on May 29 and November 7, 2013, according to the ANTT’s press office. With connection between the cities of Campinas (state of São Paulo) and Rio de Janeiro, the first line of the Brazilian super train may have features inspired by projects considered references in the use of technology, such as the French TGV, and will operate at up to 350 km/h over the approximately 510 kilometers of distance between the two cities.
The ANTT’s press office said that the start of works of the so-called superstructure of the HSR track for the stretch Rio de Janeiro-Campinas should occur in 2016, with a deadline of completion of five years and a 40-year concession. The track should offer three service options: express, nonstop service between Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo; long-distance regional, with six stops between Campinas and Rio de Janeiro; short-distance regional, with two stops between the cities of Campinas and São José dos Campos. The works will be divided into three stages, ranging from the HSR maintenance to the rail infrastructure for the complete installation of the system.
Meet models from other countries
Regarding the models of high speed rail in other countries, the professor of transportation engineering at UFRJ Hostilio Ratton says there are three main types: electric trains, tilting trains and maglev trains. While the first one, known as bullet train and used in countries like France, Spain, China and Japan – the first to operate, in the 1960s – has great geometric precision and can reach almost 600 km/h, the second one, also called “arrow train”, operates through a different system, with dynamic suspension. It can travel on tracks with more modest geometric characteristics, possibly even existing, where slower trains also can travel. Examples of this technology are the Italian Pendolino and Acela, from the United States, both in commercial operation, which can reach close to 300 km/h, Ratton notes.
Unlike the other two systems, the maglev train does not walk on tracks, but fluctuates at low altitudes, and is still in the experimental stage, especially in Germany, China and Japan, where it reached speeds close to 500 km/h. The engine is divided between the vehicle and the track, causing the train to move due to the alternation of magnetic poles. The pole of the track down the vehicle is equal to the vehicle, which causes it to float, while the pole in front is different, attracting and moving the train, explains the professor of transportation engineering.
According to Ratton, the high speed rails are more suitable for medium-distance travels, from 200 to a maximum of 1,000 kilometers, and Brazil’s HSR should be planned within this expectation, with the strong possibility of adopting the same technology used in the French TGV. The institutional model designed for the deployment of the high-speed rail in Brazil is comprehensive regarding the technological issue. The notice to bid, in its current version, leaves open the technology option. As far as can be seen, the systems deployed or in deployment are going towards trains like the TGV. China is building 15,000 km of tracks for such type, he notes.
Seja o primeiro a comentar