Brazil Revives Plans for a Bullet Train from Rio to São Paulo

An article in the "Latin American Herald Tribune" tells about revived plans for a high-speed bullet train project between Rio de Janeiro to São Paulo. The government will accept bids for the $16.5 billion project in two phases. 

First, it will award a contract to the company that manufactures the trains themselves.  Then it will award a contract to the company responsible for building the tracks, stations, and other necessary infrastructure. Bidding will close on April 30, 2013.

There were three previous attempts at a bidding process for a similar project, but all three failed because no company would agree to meet the various demands of the Brazilian government.  

As the article notes: "Experts say the project is complex because it would involve construction of 90.9 kilometers (56 miles) of tunnels and another 107.8 kilometers (67 miles) of bridges and viaducts to traverse the rivers and mountainous terrain that separate São Paulo from Rio de Janeiro."

Source: Brazil Portal