Suburban train line to improve mobility in São Paulo

The city of São Paulo and its metropolitan region is the most populous in Brazil, with 21 million inhabitants. It is currently faced with very rapid urban expansion. Its rail transport system is almost at full capacity and needs to be upgraded and extended in order to meet increasing mobility demand. The State of São Paulo has made this extension a priority in its 2012-2015 investment plan.

It is in this context that it called on AFD to support the construction of the new Line 13 of the Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos (CPTM). The project promotes long-term cooperation between France and the State of São Paulo and, in particular, strengthens relations with the Île-de-France Region. Finally, this partnership strengthens AFD’s action in Brazil for the development of urban transport, a field it already operates in via its projects with Curitiba Municipality and the State of Rio de Janeiro.

The project aims to build 10.3 km of new rail infrastructure, starting at the city of Guarulhos and its international airport and terminating at Engenheiro Goulart Station, which allows a connection to downtown São Paulo. Line n° 13 will be connected to the future automated shuttles for Guarulhos Airport, which will connect the various terminals in 2015. It will comprise 8 km of viaduct line and a new 2.3 km line at ground level, and will stop at 3 stations with one train every 8 minutes at peak times. It will be equipped with modern air-conditioned motor-coach trains and will make a major contribution to improving the intermodal interchanges, integration and network interconnections of public transport.

AFD’s financing concerns the civil engineering operations and project management, as well as capacity building, which will promote French experience and expertise in this field.

• The commissioning of Line 13 will improve mobility between two very densely populated towns where a significant proportion of the city’s economic activity is located. It will thereby contribute to supporting growth in the metropolitan region of São Paulo.
• The project will improve access to employment and public facilities (health, education, leisure), particularly for the most disadvantaged populations.
• The improved service quality (comfort, speed, cleanliness, sustainability) and passenger safety (modern and functional facilities improving accessibility), as well as the contribution to reducing particle and greenhouse gas emissions and noise, will also have positive impacts on the quality of life of residents.