The study envisages passenger trains sharing tracks with freight services. The first phase of the project will involve rehabilitating the 40km line between Curitiba, Almirante Tamandaré, Itaperuçu and Rio Branco do Sul with work expected to initially focus on the 20km stretch to Almirante Tamandaré. This service is expected to carry 31,800 passengers per direction on 53 trips between 05.00 and 00.00, offering a 54-minute total journey time, and should help to alleviate congestion on the single-carriageway highway between the two cities.
The plan also considers rehabilitating the 21km line east from the town of Piraquara running via the municipality of Pinhais to central Curitiba. More than 45,000 people already travel between these cities every day.
Consisting of 29 municipalities, the Curitiba Metropolitan Region is the eighth most populous metropolitan region in Brazil, with 3,223,836 inhabitants, or 30.86% of the state’s population. CBTU already operates diesel passenger services in state capitals in the northeast region of Brazil, such as Natal (Rio Grande do Norte), Maceió (Alagoas) and João Pessoa (Paraíba).
CBTU technical director Mr Sérgio Sampaio expects the group to identify whether the plans are feasible within the next six to nine months and the level of investment required.
