The unbundling project applied to the Açailândia – Barcarena rail link in Brazil: Why didn’t it work?

The objectives of this paper were to assess whether the specific conditions of the Acailândia – Barcarena rail link tendering would have contributed to the abandonment of the first attempt to introduce an unbundling model for Brazilian railways and to examine some prospective contexts in which it might have become viable. The project was evaluated from a financial point of view, within the conditions imposed by the tender notice and considering the peculiarities of the local rail transport market. In this sense, different scenarios were outlined, for which the economic potential of the railway's area of influence, the required demand and the required collection tariffs for the viability of the corridor were estimated. The results indicated that there were mistakes in the tender process design and assembly, which, if corrected, would expand the prospects of success in making the project viable.