The government of Rio de Janeiro signed an agreement this Tuesday with Supervia, managed by Guarana Urban Mobility Incorporated (Gumi), to begin the transition to a new operator of the State’s urban train system, as informed by the Rio de Janeiro government.
The agreement, signed at the state government headquarters, establishes that the transition will be completed within nine months. After this period, the government will make a new concession to choose the future operator of the urban railway network.
During the transition period, the Rio de Janeiro government will invest 300 million reais to improve the quality of service and attract passengers who, in recent years, migrated to the BRT system, APPs and other modes. The investments also aim to “clean up” the concession, making it more attractive to potential interested parties.
“Today, Supervia is a depreciated asset; nobody is interested. Let’s clean up the house, fix it and invest. The concessionaire gave up on the concession and entered a bottomless hole. We hope to return to the virtuous cycle”, said the governor of Rio de Janeiro, Cláudio Castro, to journalists.
Currently, the concessionaire transports just over 300,000 passengers per day, whereas in the past it reached more than a million people.
The agreement, which still needs to be approved by the Courts, since Supervia is in judicial recovery, also provides for the current concessionaire to maintain operations during the transition period and contribute 150 million reais to settle liabilities with creditors.
The day before, Reuters reported that the Rio de Janeiro government intended to invest 300 million reais in the Supervia concession, according to a source. Gumi is owned by Japan’s Mitsui and has controlled Supervia since 2019.
