Time for a bullet update

Not really a fast train in another BRIC country

In my post at the end of last year I was very skeptical about the bullet train engineering and auctioning process. So where are we now? The April 29 date for receiving the documentation of bidders war postponed to the end of July, when it was cancelled.

The current situation is now that the bidding is to be divided into two parts: technology and operator in the first part and construction in the second part.

The two phases of bidding are to start in September or October (whatever that means) but the schedule is to remain unchanged with construction beginning in 2013 and the whole project not costing more than 20bn USD. At the rate the USD is falling, I may even believe the latter part... but 2013 is just around the corner - especially if the bidding gets delayed for another year.

But after that it can get accelerated - biddings for the World Cup can already be kept in partial secrecy so that the evil press and public doesn't snoop around too much. Why not expand to the bullet train?

BTW: No bids have been received yet - must be one hell of an interesting project in the Country of the Future.

Bullet Train Delayed

High-Speed Train Route Proposal (From Wolters Kluwer)

A very typically Brazilian story - the bullet train Brazil wanted to partially build in time for the Olympics in 2016, and be completely finished by 2017 (see the entry from Wolters Kluwer above), has been delayed.

The 20bn USD project was supposed to have all bids in by Nov 20 and the decision by Dec 16 has now been postponed to April 29 to allow "all interested companies to participate". Also, according to the auctioning body, this delay will not delay construction... really? So they will just work 6 months faster?

I do not want to sound negative, but

a) The project will never be finished on time, Brazil has a great history of announcing and then not delivering - especially this bullet train has been a company fantasy for decades (just like the maglev in Germany)

b) The project will cost a fortune - 20bn will never be enough

c) The route will run a completely different route

If Brazil is lucky, the project will be completed by the 2020 Expo... for which a site also still has to be found.

Invest in Infrastructure

Ok, it's more an advertisement than news, and it is German, but the main two points are:

1. Invest in Infrastructure in Brazil

2. The government in Brasilia has noticed this too - there will be a World Cup and Olympics... or so they hope.

But read my lips: There will be no bullet train by 2014 and none by 2016 between SP and Rio... the bullet train is the oldest promise of wanting to be the country of the future - I had heard it when I still lived here in the early 90s...

Read more here.