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Transportation |
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[Back]
Roads
Rail
Ports
Air
From
its earliest colonial history, transportation has always
been a challenge for Brazil because of its size and
topography. In the last 30 years this challenge has
finally been met: a systematic approach has been adopted
to plan and implement a national system of integrated
surface transport -- road, rail, and water.
Roads
Although
road transportation is often more expensive than other
modes, it is virtually unmatched as a fast means of
moving comparatively small amounts of cargo and passengers
over short distances. This is one of the main reasons
why road transportation is the most widely used mode
in Brazil. In 1996, 64 percent of all cargo and 96 percent
of all passengers were transported by road. However,
the domination of this mode of transportation is certain
to be undermined by several factors, such as enhanced
port efficiency, privatization of railroads, and investment
in waterways. Brazilian highways are of modern design.
Practically all the state capitals are linked by paved
roads. São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and other major
cities have modern metropolitan expressways. Of Brazil's
1.0 million miles of roads (1.6 million km), around
nine percent are paved. The federal government has jurisdiction
over 35 percent of the paved road system. Part of the
federal highway network has been privatized and the
government plans to privatize 2,351 miles (3,784 km)
in 1998, followed by a further 1,255 miles (2,020 km)
in 1999.
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Rail
As
the most appropriate method of moving non-perishable
cargo over long distances, rail is the second most important
transportation mode in Brazil. In 1996, slightly over
20 percent of the nation's cargo, but only one percent
of its passenger traffic, were transported by rail.
The situation is set to change, however, as a result
of the recent privatization of the entire federal rail
network and the scheduled privatization of the São
Paulo state railroad company. Rail transportation as
a share of total volume is expected to rise 10 percent
by the year 2001. The total length of the nation's rail
network, main and branch lines is 18,330 miles (29,500
km).
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Ports
Until
now Brazil's long coastline and vast waterways in most
of the hinterland have not been fully exploited for
waterborne transport. In 1996, only 11.5 percent of
cargo and an insignificant proportion of passengers
were transported by ship. This situation will change
in the next five years, owing to significant public
investment over the last two years for the integration
of road, rail, and water transportation to reinforce
the trend toward inter-modality. The low cost of water
transportation will enhance its importance to integrated
intermodal systems, as can already be seen in the transportation
of vehicles to the North and Northeast regions and electronic
goods from Manaus to the Southeast region. Moreover,
integration of the MERCOSUL region will depend heavily
on inland waterways and investment is now underway.
Brazil has 46 organized ports, 24 of which ocean ports.
Among the busiest are Santos, Rio de Janeiro, and Porto
Alegre.
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Air
Brazil's
physical characteristics and the requirements of fast
economic growth led (starting in the 1930's) to the
establishment of a vast network of air services. Today
the availability of air transportation far exceeds demand.
Occupancy rates in 1996 were only 48 percent for cargo
flights and 56 percent for passengers flights; only
0.3 percent of cargo and two percent of passengers were
transported by air.
In
1996, 37 foreign-owned airlines flew to Brazil and 22
locally-owned airlines operated in the country. Of the
latter, five operated domestic and international routes
with 151 aircraft including 21 cargo planes, and 17
operated regional routes with 182 aircraft. There are
some 500 air taxi companies and 305 specialized operators
offering services such as crop spraying and training.
Of the 62 civilian public airports, 22 are international.
The busiest international airports are Guarulhos in
São Paulo and Tom Jobim-Galeão in Rio
de Janeiro.
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