Transport infrastructure in Brazil is characterized by strong regional differences and lack of development of the national rail network.[1] Brazil's fast-growing economy, and especially the growth in exports, will place increasing demands on the transport networks.[2] However, sizeable new investments that are expected to address some of the issues are either planned or in progress.[2][3] It is common to travel domestically by air because the price is low.[4] Brazil has the second highest number of airports in the world, after the USA.[5]
Norte Brasil RailwayMap of Brazilian rail network, 2016
The Brazilian railway network has an extension of about 30,000km (18,641mi). It is basically used for transporting ores.[5] Usually, the railway sector was treated in a secondary way in Brazil, due to logistical, economic or political difficulties to install more railways.
The Brazilian railroad system had a great expansion between 1875 and 1920. The heyday of the railway modal was interrupted during the Getúlio Vargas government, which prioritized the road modal. In the 1940s, the railway network was already facing several problems, from low-powered locomotives to uneconomical layouts. In 1957, a state-owned company was created, the National Railroad Network (RFFSA), which started to manage 18 railroads in the Union. Several deficit railways were closed under the promise of state investment in new projects, which did not happen. The actions were centralized in the government until the opening of the market in 1990. So, the National Privatization Plan was instituted, with dozens of concessions being made. However, they ended up concentrating the railways, mainly, in three large business groups, América Latina Logística (ALL), Vale S.A. and MRS Logística. The refurbishment generated an increase in productivity (cargoes transported increased by 30% with the same railway line). However, the main problem was that the reform not only gave away the railway line, but also geographical exclusivity. This resulted in the non-creation of competitive incentives for the expansion and renewal of the existing network. With the State maintaining the opening of new railways a difficult, slow and bureaucratic process, as it maintains the total monopoly of power over this sector, the railways did not expand any further in the country, and the sector was very outdated.[6][7]
In 2021, a New Framework for Railways was created, allowing the construction of railways by authorization, as occurs in the exploration of infrastructure in sectors such as telecommunications, electricity and ports. It's also possible to authorize the exploration of stretches not implemented, idle, or in the process of being returned or deactivated. With the change of rules in the sector, in December 2021, there were already requests to open 15,000km (9,321mi) of new tracks, in 64 requests for implementation of new railways. Nine new railroads had already been authorized by the Federal Government, in 3,506km (2,179mi) of new tracks.[8][9][10]
Brazil had a hundred tramway systems.[27] Currently, there are vintage tramways operating in Belém, Campinas, Campos do Jordão, Itatinga, Rio de Janeiro and Santos.[28][29][30][31][32][33]
Brazil has more than 1,720,700km (1,069,193mi) of roads, of which 213,452km (132,633mi) are paved (12,4%), and about 17,000km (10,563mi) are divided highways, 6,300km (3,915mi) only in the State of São Paulo. Currently it is possible to travel from Rio Grande, in the extreme south of the country, to Brasília (2,580km (1,603mi)) or Casimiro de Abreu, in the state of Rio de Janeiro (2,045km (1,271mi)), only on divided highways. The total of paved roads increased from 35,496km (22,056mi) in 1967 to 215,000km (133,595mi) in 2018.[34] The two most important highways in the country are BR-101 and BR-116.[35]
Although Brazil has the largest duplicated road network in Latin America, it's considered insufficient for the country's needs: in 2021, it was calculated that the ideal amount of duplicated roads would be something around from 35,000km (21,748mi) to 42,000km (26,098mi). The main road axes also have problems because they often have inadequate geometry and constructive characteristics that don't allow quality long-distance flow (non-interference from local traffic and high speed). The Brazilian Federal Government has never implemented a National Highway Plan at the same level as developed countries such as the USA, Japan or European countries, which specifically aimed at inter-regional travel, and which should preferably be served by highways (which would differ from the common duplicated highways by geometric pattern, access control without access to neighboring lots, zero level crossings and returns, prohibition of circulation of non-motorized vehicles such as cyclists, animal traction or human propulsion, as per the Vienna Convention). The Brazilian State, despite some planning efforts, has been guided by a reactive action to the increase in demand (only duplicating some roads with old and inadequate layout) and not by a purposeful vision, directing occupation and economic density in the territory. Another problem is the lack of directing the Union Budget towards infrastructure works: in Brazil there is no law that guarantees funds from the Federal Budget for works on highways and other modes of transport (unlike what happens in sectors such as Education and Health), depending exclusively on the goodwill of the rulers. In the US, for example, the gasoline tax can only be used for transport infrastructure works. Brazil even invested 1.5% of the country's budget in infrastructure in the 1970s, being the time when the most investment was made in highways; but in the 1990s, only 0.1% of the budget was invested in this sector, maintaining an average of 0.5% in the 2000s and 2010, insufficient amounts for the construction of an adequate road network. For comparative purposes, the average investment of the USA and the European Union was 1% between 1995 and 2013, even though they already have a much more advanced road infrastructure than Brazil.[36][37]
The country has a medium rate of car ownership of 471 per 1000 people,[38] however in comparison to the other developing economies of the BRIC group Brazil exceeds India and China.
The country still has several states where paved access to 100% of the state's municipalities has not yet been reached. Some states have 100% of cities with asphalt access, such as Santa Catarina, which reached this goal in 2014;[39]Paraíba, which reached this goal in 2017,[40] and Alagoas, which reached this goal in 2021 [41] In states like Rio Grande do Sul, in 2020, there were still 54 cities without asphalt access.[42] In Paraná, in 2021, there were still 4 cities without asphalt access.[43] In Minas Gerais, in 2016, there were still 5 cities without asphalt access.[44]
Waterways
Tietê-Paraná Waterway
50,000km navigable (most in areas remote from industry or population) (2012)[5]
Among the main Brazilian waterways, two stand out: Hidrovia Tietê-Paraná (which has a length of 2,400km, 1,600 on the Paraná River and 800km on the Tietê River, draining agricultural production from the states of Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Goiás and part of Rondônia, Tocantins and Minas Gerais) and Hidrovia do Solimões-Amazonas (it has two sections: Solimões, which extends from Tabatinga to Manaus, with approximately 1600km, and Amazonas, which extends from Manaus to Belém, with 1650km. Almost entirely passenger transport from the Amazon plain is done by this waterway, in addition to practically all cargo transportation that is directed to the major regional centers of Belém and Manaus). In Brazil, this transport is still underutilized: the most important waterway stretches, from an economic point of view, are found in the Southeast and South of the country. Its full use still depends on the construction of locks, major dredging works and, mainly, of ports that allow intermodal integration.[45][46][47]
The Brazilian Highway System is a network of trunk roads administered by the Ministry of Transport of Brazil. It is constructed, managed and maintained by the National Department of Transport Infrastructure (DNIT), federal agency linked to the Ministry of Infrastructure, and the public works departments of state governments.
The Estrada de Ferro Central do Brasil was one of the principal railways of Brazil, uniting the states of Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Minas Gerais.
The Tren Suburbano is an electric suburban rail system in Mexico City. It is operated by Ferrocarriles Suburbanos with concessioned trains from Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF). It was designed to complement the extensive Mexico City metro system, Latin America's largest and busiest urban rail network.
The Rede Ferroviária Federal, Sociedade Anônima was the State-owned national railway company of Brazil created from Brazilian Federal Law #3.115 on March 16, 1957, after several railroads were nationalized by the Brazilian government. However, the railroad did not take full effect until September 30, 1957. The RFFSA linked 42 railways together, creating a regional system composed of 22 railroads. The goal of the RFFSA was to promote and advance the railroad sector of Brazil, creating a north-south-east-west rail network in all five regions of Brazil. But it failed and the RFFSA only served four of the five regions with a north-south rail network win 19 units of the federation of Brazil. By 1999, freight service of the railroad was liquidated and privatized, with the passenger service of the railroad liquidations occurring in 2007.
The Porto Alegre Metro is a transit system operated jointly by the federal government, the state government of Rio Grande do Sul and the city of Porto Alegre through the company Trensurb in Brasil. It has 22 stations, totaling 43.8 kilometers (27.2 mi) of route, and carries about 175,000 users a day.
Belo Horizonte Metro is a rapid transit system serving the city of Belo Horizonte, in the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil. The system has one 28.1-kilometre (17.5 mi) line which serves 19 stations. The Metro carried 54.4 million passengers in 2019, or approximately 150,000 passengers per day. The system is operated by Comporte Participações. Two more lines are planned.
The Recife Metro is a rapid transit system serving the Metropolitan Region of Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil. It is operated by the federally-owned Companhia Brasileira de Trens Urbanos (CBTU) and currently serves 29 stations, along 39.5 kilometers (24.5 mi) of track. The system is complemented by two diesel-powered light rail lines with seven additional stations. In 2018, the combined system carried 102,089,000 passengers.
SuperVia Trens Urbanos is a rapid transit and commuter rail company operator, founded in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) in November 1998. It carries around 750,000 passengers a day on a railroad network comprising 104 stations in 12 cities: Rio de Janeiro, Duque de Caxias, Guapimirim, Nova Iguaçu, Nilópolis, Mesquita, Queimados, São João de Meriti, Belford Roxo, Japeri, Paracambi and Magé.
The Argentine railway network consisted of a 47,000 km (29,204 mi) network at the end of the Second World War and was, in its time, one of the most extensive and prosperous in the world. However, with the increase in highway construction, there followed a sharp decline in railway profitability, leading to the break-up in 1993 of Ferrocarriles Argentinos (FA), the state railroad corporation. During the period following privatisation, private and provincial railway companies were created and resurrected some of the major passenger routes that FA once operated.
Rail transport in Brazil began in the 19th century and there were many different railway companies. The railways were nationalized under RFFSA in 1957. Between 1999 and 2007, RFFSA was broken up and services are now operated by a variety of private and public operators, including Rumo Logística, Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos and SuperVia.
Transport in São Paulo plays a key role in the daily lives of the people of São Paulo and offers various methods of public transport that are offered in the city, including a complex bus system run by SPTrans, and various subway and railway lines. A contactless smartcard is used to pay fares for the buses, subway, and railway systems. São Paulo also has three airports.
Maceió Urban Rail is the 32.1-kilometre (19.9 mi) metre gauge diesel commuter rail line that serves the city of Maceió, Alagoas, Brazil. The line connects Maceió with two cities in the metropolitan area, Satuba and Rio Largo.
The Sistema de Trens Urbanos de João Pessoa is the metropolitan train system of the João Pessoa Metropolitan Region. It is operated by the Companhia Brasileira de Trens Urbanos (CBTU) through the Superintendência de Trens Urbanos de João Pessoa.
Jardim Romano is a train station on CPTM Line 12-Sapphire, located in the city of São Paulo.
The Sistema de Trens Urbanos de Natal is the metropolitan train system of the Natal Metropolitan Region in Brazil. It is operated by the Companhia Brasileira de Trens Urbanos (CBTU).
Rapid transit in Brazil consists of seven metro systems, one hybrid metro-suburban system, and several tram/light rail systems.
The São Paulo Metropolitan Train is a public transit rail system implanted in Greater São Paulo, serving 23 of its 39 municipalities. It has 273 km (170 mi) of length, 7 lines and 94 stations, transporting approximately 3 million passengers per day. Currently, it is operated by the state-owned company Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos (CPTM), but two of the lines were auctioned to ViaMobilidade, which began operating their administrations in January 2022.
The CPTM Series 2000 is a class of electric multiple units part of the São Paulo Metropolitan Trains rolling stock.
↑ "VLT do Cariri". Metrô de Fortaleza (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 26 December 2021.
↑ "VLT de Sobral". Metrô de Fortaleza (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 26 December 2021.
↑ "Malha Viária: Belo Horizonte". Companhia Brasileira de Trens Urbanos - CBTU (in Portuguese). 20 July 2020. Archived from the original on 7 February 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
↑ "Malha Viária: João Pessoa". Companhia Brasileira de Trens Urbanos - CBTU (in Portuguese). 1 June 2021. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
↑ "Malha Viária: Maceió". Companhia Brasileira de Trens Urbanos - CBTU (in Portuguese). 20 July 2020. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
↑ "Quem Somos". CCR Metrô Bahia (in Portuguese). Retrieved 26 December 2021.
↑ "Estrutura | Raio-x". Companhia do Metropolitano do Distrito Federal (in Portuguese). 20 October 2021. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
↑ "Estações e Sistema". Empresa de Trens Urbanos de Porto Alegre - Trensurb (in Portuguese). Retrieved 26 December 2021.
↑ "Sistema metroviário". Metrô de Fortaleza (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 26 December 2021.
↑ "Malha Viária: Natal". Companhia Brasileira de Trens Urbanos - CBTU (in Portuguese). March 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
↑ "Malha Viária: Recife". Companhia Brasileira de Trens Urbanos - CBTU (in Portuguese). Retrieved 26 December 2021.
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