Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 31 Dec – The state secretary for transport of the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro Wednesday announced the acquisition of four more trains from a Chinese consortium after in 2009 it bought 30 trains, the Brazilian press reported.

The state secretary for transport, Júlio Lopes, said that in this new contract the State had managed to negotiate the same price paid in 2009 for the new trains along with an extension of the technical guarantee on all 34 trains, starting on the delivery date.

The trains are equipped with air conditioning and a passenger information system, closed circuit TV and sound system, as well as integration between carriages, and cost US$5.5 million each.

The acquisitions are part of the State Transport Programme 2, which aims to boost the fleet and improve the quality of the service provided to the population and were financed by the World Bank.

On the same occasion, the state secretary also announced that by the 2016 Olympic Games the system operated by SuperVia, the rail transport concession holder, would undergo significant changes due to the arrival of the latest generation trains.

Lopes said that the government of the State of Rio de Janeiro planned to buy a further 60 trains, using its own funding, via an international public tender due to be launched in March or April, 2011. (macauhub)