SÃO Paulo state’s Secretariat for Partnerships in Investment (SPI) published on March 31 the tender for companies interested in bidding for a 30-year concession for the construction of the North Axis of the InterCity Train (TIC) project, which will connect the city of São Paulo to Campinas.

The concession will include implementation of the civil works and systems including track upgrading, construction of new stations and electrification, acquisition of rolling stock and operation and maintenance. The project is estimated to cost Reais 12.8bn ($US 2.52bn).

The closing date for bids is November 28. Bidders will then have 240 days to submit their proposals.

Three services will be offered:

  • the InterCity Train (TIC) between São Paulo and Campinas with an intermediate stop in Jundiaí - the 101km trip is expected to take approximately one hour
  • Line 7/Ruby commuter rail service, currently operated by São Paulo Metropolitan Trains (CPTM), which will operate over 56.9km of upgraded tracks between Barra Funda and Jundiaí, and
  • the Inter-Metropolitan Train (TIM) which will run from Jundiaí to Campinas with stops in Louveira, Vinhedo and Valinhos, covering a distance of 44.4km.

Fares on the express TIC service will be around Reais 64. However, fares for Line 7/Ruby will not change.

Rolling stock

The bid includes the acquisition of 15 electric regional 1600mm-gauge trains with a maximum speed of 140km/h. The express service is expected to operate at an average speed of 120km/h.

The concessionaire will be able to choose between single-deck six-car trains, which can operate in multiple up to a maximum length of 300m with a capacity of up to 1100 passengers, or 150m-long double-deck trains each with 860 seats.

The EMUs can be made of aluminium or stainless steel. They must have open gangways between cars, and toilets, some of which must be accessible to passengers with reduced mobility. Seats can be configured in a 2+2 or 3+2 arrangement and all of them must have folding armrests. The trains should have a mixture of airline-style seats with retractable tables or seating bays with a table, and there must space for luggage.

Each seat will have a 127V power socket and a USB-A port, in addition to a 220V power socket in each saloon.

The future concessionaire will be allocated the current fleet of 30 series 9500 trains to operate Line 7/Ruby. These trains were manufactured by Rotem and will be refurbished.

The concessionaire will also acquire seven more trains similar to the 9500 series that will operate on both Line 7/Ruby and the new Inter-Metropolitan train service.

All trains must be able to run not only on the concessioned line, but also on CPTM and ViaMobilidade lines (lines 8 and 9) in São Paulo, which are electrified at 3kV dc.

A delegation led by São Paulo state governor, Mrs Tárcisio de Freitas, visited Britain, France and Spain in the last week of March to present the project to potential bidders.

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