As to going across the Andes, Peru has two railways that were built in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The “Ferrocarril Central” goes to 4800 m.a.s.l. and the “Ferrocarril del Sur” to 4300 m.a.s.l.
For the record, the longest rail tunnel in the world (although it’s not yet operational) is the Gotthard Base Tunnel, which runs under the Alps for 57 km (35 mi). It’s probably worth noting, though, that the project has been plagued with cost overruns.
There is no reason that this railway can’t be used for manufactured goods as well as raw material. Brazil being able to both import and export to Asia without paying Panama canal shipping fees is a huge benefit to Brazil. It would also presumably save time over shipping to Asia via the Panama Canal.
I think the energy to run such a railway would be enormous-if the line is electrified, where is the electricity to come from? Diesel locomotives would work-but i fail to see how such a line could compete with bulk freighters/ore carrying ships. Wouldn’t it make more sense to convert the ore to steel (in Brazil), then ship the finished product?
Yes it would be diesel. The problem you are having is you are still thinking of this project in purely economic terms and not strategic ones.
The Panama Canal is already beyond maximum capacity and the current expansion will not greatly improve that. China’s political stability 100 percent depends on maintaining their current insane growth rates. As soon as they have a recession things are going to go pear shaped. This is why they are spending so much money on infrastructure mega projects and building empty (for now) housing.
So they are looking at this railway and the potential Nicaragua canal as ways to expand the trade flow between Asia and Europe and the US East coast to get around the bottleneck of the Panama Canal. They are trying to ensure both a constant flow of new resources, and a constant stream of new markets for Chinese products for 20-50 years to come. That’s the advantage of a single party system that doesn’t need to compete for every four year election cycle, they can think this far ahead.
Perhaps. But China’s economic growth is levelling off now. If the goal is to avoid a recession, they don’t have 20 years to spend building railroads or canals thru jungles.
The cost in lives and the health risk to workers makes it an unacceptable project for me. Not that China gives a shit, but the Amazon is one of those places where nearly everything preys on you: wildlife, insects, fungi, microbes, you name it. There are no preventive medical measures for any of this. Additionally, you get to deal with malaria, schisto, typhoid, yellow fever, dengue, and a host of others. And then there is the damage to the forest, as someone mentioned, and the pollution of the river system.
Sure but they’ve been continuously spending on infrastructure for the last 20 years already so things they started 10 years ago are paying off now. Here’s a list: