Railway transport is considered the ideal means for great distances and for cargo in bulk, like grain and ore. Brazil, a country of continental dimensions, a great agricultural producer, and a country of great mineral riches, however, seems to have ignored this fact for decades, having let its railway lines, which once totaled 38,000 kilometers in length, to fall to decadence.
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What about the different gauges used in Latin America? Throughout North America (US,Canada and Mexico) the standart gauge is used, making economic integration far easier. Will those new lines being built in Brazil use that standard gauge?
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Mr. McKnight written by Guest,
April 29, 2006
Having just returned from Espirito Santo last December, I am very happy for Brazil's future in both the oil and train transport sectors and wish Brazil every sucess and congratulations in producing more oil than they use. Robert McKnight
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Ease of movement written by greywolf,
May 20, 2006
When I first arrived in Brazil last year for a project, I was surprised by the lack of railways, after being used to an encompassing railway grid in Europe and in my home country, Israel. Not only goods, but people can travel by rail more efficiently, cheaper and more safely than by road. I'm glad to see that the Railways are returning to the picture of Brazilian commerce and travel.
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Ease of movement written by greywolf,
May 20, 2006
When I first arrived in Brazil last year for a project, I was surprised by the lack of railways, after being used to an encompassing railway grid in Europe and in my home country, Israel. Not only goods, but people can travel by rail more efficiently, cheaper and more safely than by road. I'm glad to see that the Railways are returning to the picture of Brazilian commerce and travel.
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Mr. Thomas's Web Pages written by D.E. Thomas,
January 06, 2007
"Not only goods, but people can travel by rail more efficiently, cheaper and more safely than by road."
Not necessarily. Most goods that are transported by rail have to be transshipped to trucks or other means of road transport at some point during transit. The cost of time and money to do this may offset any savings that are alleged to come from rail transport. Similarly, even the fastest rail transport system has difficulty competing with private cars, buses, and planes for door-to-door transit times.
Even in places like Japan and France, high-speed rail survives only because of massive government subsidies. In developing countries like Brazil, the taxes required to develop a suitable infrastructure would most likely destroy the economy and benefit very few. (Most likely, the system would never be satisfactorily developed to be of practical use to many people.)
Brazil would better serve itself investing in better roads which can be used by nearly every major means of transport--truck, bus and car. There may be a useful role for railroads, but there are no large highly developed countries where railroads are the most important means of transport of either passengers or freight.
Railway transport is considered the ideal means for great distances and for cargo in bulk, like grain and ore. Brazil, a country of continental dimensions, a great agricultural producer, and a country of great mineral riches, however, seems to have ignored this fact for decades, having let its railway lines, which once totaled 38,000 kilometers in length, to fall to decadence. 
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