Vol. 18 No. 2
February, 1988
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Make Tomorrow Happen
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CPCS Studies Brazil Rail Project By James Forbes
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Unobstructed
View: A ride along the rial line in the Brazilian state of Parana offers travellers a spectacular view
of the countryside.
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Guarapuava Brazil - A team of railway experts from Canadian Pacific
Consulting Services (CPCS) is carrying out a feasibility study of a 740-kilometre railway improvement
and construction project in Brazil. The project is estimated to cost US$500 million.
The project involves upgrading 490 kilometres of existing railway, construction of 250 kilometres of new track, and
construction of silos and bulk facilities for handling soya, wheat, and corn harvested in the rich agricultural
regions of the state of Parana, just north of Argentina and east of Paraguay.
ENTHUSIASTIC
"Parana is a thriving frontier country of farmland on a rolling landscape. It reminds me of the Canadian
Prairies", said Glen Fisher, president of CPCS.
"The Brazilians are as enthusiastic about the project, which they call Ferroeste, as we Canadians were about
building the transcontinental CPR line 100 years ago".
Members of the CPCS team include four former CP Rail people: Dave Page, formerly engineer of motive power,
mechanical department, Montreal; Colin Taylor, formerly division engineer, Medicine Hat; Don Gillstrom, formerly
assistant energy engineer, operation and maintenance, Montreal; and Peter Josefchak, formerly assistant
superintendent, Alberta South division, Medicine Hat.
Mr. Page is now a CPCS vice-president; Mr. Taylor a senor consultant; and Mr. Gillstrom and Mr.
Josefchak are both consultants.
OPPORTUNITIES
The CPCS team began studying the project in July 1987. They applied CP Rail's own experience of shipping 25 billion
tonne-kilometres of cereals during the 1986-87 crop year and concluded that the Parana rail
system could be upgraded and extended to economically handle approximately 3.75 billion tonne-kilometres
of cereals a year.
The study was funded by the Canadian International Development Agency.
In December, 1987, two delegations of Brazilians, led by the governor of the state of Parana, Alvaro Dias, visited
Canada on a fact-finding tour of CP Rail operations and grain-handling facilities across
the country.
"The Brazilians have most of the materials, rolling stock, and equipment needed for the project", Mr.
Fisher said. "But there are some railway products not available in Brazil, such as certain locomotive parts,
communications equipment, and end-of-train monitoring devices, which could be sourced in Canada. This
could be a $100 million trade opportunity for Canadian companies".
Governor Meets
President: Alvaro Dias, governor of the State of Parana, Brazil, met R.S. Allison, president, CP Rail, at the
start of a fact-finding tour of CP Rail operations and grain handling facilities across Canada. Flanking
the two men are Glen Fisher, (left) president and chief executive officer, CPCS, and Joseh de Carvalho, secretary,
industry and commerce, State of Parana
This CP Rail News article is copyright
1988 by the Canadian Pacific Railway and is reprinted here with
their permission. All photographs, logos, and trademarks are the property of the Canadian Pacific Railway
Company.
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