According to a document published by the government of the state of São Paulo and submitted to the public consultation stage, the total investment of the São Paulo Interrailway West Axis City project, which connects the city of São Paulo and Sorocaba, is expected to be 11.9 billion reais (about 2.1 billion US dollars), with a total length of about 100 kilometers and a construction period of 96 months (eight years), with the contract signed and scheduled to be completed in 2026, the first round of investment will be launched in the same year, and the goal is to be completed and opened to traffic in 2033.

According to a document published by the Secretariat of the Brazilian Investment Partnership (SPI), a total of R$11.9 billion (US$2.1 billion) will be invested in the project on the western axis of the intercity railway. The project will start to be funded in the first year of the franchise; From 2029 onwards, the scale of investment will increase significantly; and reach a peak of 3.5 billion reais (about 6 US dollars) in 2031.

Unlike the Intercity Railway North Axis Project (Ruby Line 7), this project does not involve the takeover of existing operating lines, so the concessionaire will need to move forward with the design, permit application and construction of the contract at an early stage.

Funds are mainly allocated in four key areas: R$2.1 billion was invested in the construction of engineering structures, which became the largest investment; R$1.8 billion for earthworks and drainage systems; The train fleet (17 trains) has a procurement budget of R$1.4 billion; The cost of land acquisition and demolition is about R$1.1 billion.

The investment in engineering structures is mainly used for the construction of bridges, viaducts and tunnels along the route, which has become the highest investment part of the whole project because the design of the line requires a large number of such facilities; Investments in earthworks and drainage systems include earthworks, support works, and drainage system construction, and a large number of areas require geometric correction of railway tracks, which also leads to high construction costs.

The future concessionaire will need to order 17 new trains to operate the West Axis service of the intercity railway, along with new maintenance vehicles. The IPP Secretariat has flexible requirements for train equipment, allowing for solutions that have never been seen before in Brazil, such as double-decker trains or push-pull trains.

The new car has access to each other, and other essential facilities include toilets, multimedia systems, Wi-Fi, USB charging ports, power sockets and air conditioning systems. To ensure compatibility with the São Paulo Intercity Railway's CPTM rail network, the trains will use 1,600 mm broad gauge, a 3.0 kV DC traction system (if this technology is chosen) and an ETCS standardized signaling system.

In 2024, the São Paulo Intercity Railway North Axis project was successfully signed, starting a new journey for CRRC and local partners to jointly build a benchmark project for full life cycle solutions. Other Chinese enterprises also actively participated, such as: China General Signal won the bid for the general contracting project of signal system supply and integration installation of the project, and Poly Huaxin won the bid for the general contracting project of communication system and integrated monitoring system supply and installation of the project; Tianjin Rail Transit Group provided overseas consulting for it.(This article is from the official website of Seetao www.seetao.com. Reprinting without permission is strictly prohibited. Please indicate Seetao.com + original link when reprinting) Seetao.com Strategy Column Editor/Sun Fengjuan