CENTER-NORTH CORRIDOR RAILWAY STUDY	BRAZIL

> SECTOR(S) : Rail

> SERVICE(S) : Engineering Consulting, Planning, Economics and Modelling

This study project aimed at confirming the potential market and financial viability of the proposed Center-North Corridor rail line in Brazil. The objective was to provide assurance to potential investors that the estimates of traffic and the future rail revenue are realistic.  CPCS provided support to the policy of the Government of Brazil (GoB) to modernize the national transport system and to reinforce the marketing, management and operation of the main existing multimodal axes, to introduce institutional, administrative, commercial and operational reforms, to improve intra and intermodal integration within the privatization process of the existing railways, and to contribute to the policy of fostering public-private partnerships (PPPs).

The project was designed in the context of the GoB’s long-term objective of opening the generally underdeveloped north-central interior of the country to facilitate economic development. It was also one of the first large projects under the GoB’s new policy toward state enterprise privatization and increasing private sector investments.

The CPCS team of experts assessed the potential for rail to capture the existing road traffic movements throughout the region, the potential for the further regional development via increased access to transport and reduced transport costs, and the impact of movements along the inland waterway system and through coastal shipping that can be both complementary to and competing against the rail transport.  Based on the study, we also recommended a railway gauge connection and construction phasing strategy.