LatinNews Daily - 01 March 2024

*The government of Brazil’s most populous state, São Paulo, has announced that C2 Mobilidade Sobre Trilhos, a consortium of Brazilian transport company Comporte and a subsidiary of Chinese state-owned company CRRC, will build, operate, and maintain a railway connecting the cities of São Paulo and Campinas. According to a press release from the state government, total investment in the project is estimated at R$14.2bn (US$2.86bn). Speaking at the event in which the concession was confirmed, São Paulo’s Governor Tarcísio de Freitas described the medium-speed rail project as the first of its kind in Brazil. He said that three services will operate on the railway: the Campinas-Jundiaí inter-metropolitan train service, a São Paulo-Campinas express train, and Line 7 of São Paulo’s metropolitan rail network – currently operated by Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos (CPTM), owned by São Paulo state. The government expects the project to generate 10,500 jobs and that the greater connectivity between the cities of São Paulo, Campinas, and Jundiaí would benefit around 15m people residing in 11 municipalities.