The fatal train crash that occurred Wednesday (Jul 24) in northwestern Spain will likely disqualify Spanish state-owned railway operator Renfe from competing in Brazil's upcoming 35.6bn-real (US$15.9bn) Rio-São Paulo-Campinas bullet train tender.
"All bidders must submit a document stating that they have not participated in a highspeed train project which has recorded a fatal accident in the past five years, which resulted from faulty operation of the train system," the tender documents published by national ground transport agency ANTT read.
A train operated by Renfe derailed near the city of Santiago de Compostela on Wednesday, claiming the lives of 80 people and injuring another 130 passengers, as of Thursday (Jul 25) evening.
An official probe has yet to be carried out, but most likely the accident was caused by the train approaching a curve at way above the speed limit, according to early reports from local press. It is not clear yet why the train was going that fast.
SPANISH BID
Brazil's project, currently the largest railway project underway in Latin America, entails building and operating 511km of a high speed train route - also known as the EF-222 line - with stations at Campinas, São Paulo, Guarulhos and São José dos Campos in São Paulo state, and Rio de Janeiro and Volta Redonda-Barra Mansa, in Rio de Janeiro state.
Spain's development minister, Ana Paster, confirmed in May that a government consortium would participate in the tender. The group, which expected Renfe to team up with railway infrastructure authority Adif and transport engineering and consultancy agency Ineco, was considered among the best placed to win the contract.
The announcement followed a December agreement between EPL and Ineco, which involved developing a macro-strategy of deploying a high speed system that included addressing technological implications and social and environmental issues.
BULLET TRAIN SPELL
Firms affiliated with China's national railway operator, China Railways, have already been disqualified due to an accident on its Yongtaiwen Railway in 2011, which resulted in over 30 fatalities.
Also, a number of other high-profile bidders such as Alstom, Bombardier, CAF, and Mitsui are being investigated for the formation of an alleged cartel. Whether this will affect their participation in the competition has not been determined.
Numerous other companies have been eyeing the project. Among them are Korea's Hyundai and Samsung, US-based Bechtel, Germany's Siemens, and Japan's Hitachi, Mitsubishi, Toshiba.
Parties interested in bidding for phase one works must deliver proposals by August 13 and bids will be opened on São Paulo's Bovespa stock exchange on September 19, According to the project's tender schedule.