BRAZIL: Governor of São Paulo Tarcísio de Freitas presided over a ceremony on May 29 in Campinas to authorise signature of the contract for the Trem Intercidades Eixo Norte (North Axis Intercity Train) project linking São Paulo with Campinas.
Present at the event were São Paulo government officials as well as Mayor of Campinas Dário Saadi, plus executives from the consortium that was sole bidder for the contract. Formal signature of the 30-year concession is expected on June 3.
The contract paves the way for the C2 Mobilidade sobre Trilhos consortium led by local transport group Comporte Participações (60%), partnered with the Hong Kong subsidiary of Chinese supplier CRRC (40%), to commence detailed planning work for financing, land expropriation and the transfer of staff. The concession term will begin in 2026, when construction work to modernise the 101 km São Paulo – Jundiaí – Campinas route for inter-city passenger services is expected to start.
Around R$14∙2bn will be invested in the 1 600 mm gauge route to achieve a 64 min journey time for 140 km/h inter-city services which are expected to commence test running in 2031. Inter-city services drawn from a fleet of 15 trainsets will make intermediate calls at Jundiaí. A commercial launch is planned for the following year.
The Intermetropolitano service between Jundiaí and Campinas, with stops at Louveira, Vinhedo and Valinhos. is expected to start in 2029, with a fleet of seven trainsets covering the 44 km in 33 min. The concessionaire will also take over operation of suburban Line 7-Rubi on the 57 km route between Barra Funda in São Paulo and Jundíai from state-owned suburban operator CPTM.
The governor said that ‘today is the day to celebrate the legacy of the Campinas – São Paulo inter-city train, which is one of the most important projects of this administration … we will shorten travel time, bringing comfort, improving mobility and reducing emissions with all the benefits that we can have in a project of this magnitude.’
The combination of services on TIC Eixo Norte is expected to benefit around 15 million people in 11 municipalities and generate more than 10 500 direct and indirect jobs.
In April the Union of São Paulo Railway Workers had obtained an injunction suspending signature of the concession contract with the C2 Mobilidade sobre Trilhos consortium and the state government. This was overruled on April 25 when the Court of Justice of São Paulo accepted an appeal from the São Paulo Attorney General’s Office, arguing that the union’s allegations were weak. Judge Maria Laura Traves also noted that failure to comply with the timetable for the concession would lead to losses from the public purse.
