DCM: 'CPTM has become a business counter for the PSDB government'

247 – A report by Joaquim de Carvalho, the Diary of the Center of the World It points to evidence of how CPTM (São Paulo Metropolitan Train Company) became a hostage of giants like Siemens and Alstom, and says that the São Paulo state-owned company turned into a business hub for the PSDB (Brazilian Social Democracy Party) government. Read more:

While the press reports on the formation of a cartel for the supply of equipment and services to companies in the so-called metro-rail system of the State of São Paulo, the São Paulo state-owned company CPTM went on a buying spree, using taxpayer money.

On July 3, 2013, the State Official Gazette published the notice of approval for tender number 8085132011. With this publication, it is known that CPTM will purchase 65 trains from two international consortia for the amount of R$ 1,8 billion.

This is one of the largest acquisitions in the history of the company, which was born from the merger of the state-owned companies Fepasa, from São Paulo, and CBTU, from the federal government, in 1992, following a program that the government of then-President Fernando Collor generically called streamlining the public sector.

Unlike what happened with other public companies, CPTM remained under the control of the state government. "It wasn't privatized, but private companies, and worse, foreign giants, are the ones calling the shots," says Rogério Centofanti, a psychologist by training and advisor to the Union of Railway Workers in the Sorocabana Zone, who has worked in this area for over 30 years.

"It's as if the state owns the cow, but the ones milking it are companies like Siemens, Alstom, and CAF," adds Éverson Craveiro, president of the Union.

This symbiosis began in 1997 when, under the administration of Mário Covas, the state government accepted the donation of 48 trains from Renfe, the Spanish state-owned railway company.

According to Craveiro, it was a poisoned chalice. "The trains had air conditioning and background music, but by European standards, they were no longer usable; they were going to become scrap metal," says the union president.

But, as in the story of Troy, the enemies were hidden. Soon the bill came due. In the donation agreement, the state government agreed to an exclusivity clause: the train refurbishment would be the responsibility of Renfe. And refurbishment was necessary.

According to Craveiro, the state spent almost the same amount as the cost of a new train. And it allowed foreign companies to enter the São Paulo railway yard, which until then had been mostly occupied by national companies, among which Mafersa stood out.

Craveiro himself reported the case to the courts through a class-action lawsuit, which was dismissed due to the existence of another similar lawsuit, this one signed by a congressman, Caldini Crespo, currently with the DEM party.

Caldini Crespo had a lawsuit against the state, but strangely, for years he exerted political influence over CPTM and the Metro, appointing protégés to the boards of directors of both companies.

After twice running for mayor of Sorocaba, the birthplace of the railroad, Crespo left the scene without managing to get elected, despite million-dollar campaigns.

His lawsuit against the state also came to nothing, as did an investigation opened at the time by the State Court of Auditors, which today has among its advisors Robson Marinho, former Chief of Staff of the Covas government and accused by Swiss justice as the holder of an account used to receive bribes from Alstom.

“CPTM has become a business counter for the PSDB government,” says Centofanti, before going into detail about the most recent purchase, worth R$ 1,8 billion. In the tender, CPTM valued the price of a train at R$ 23,7 million, but the cheapest bid was R$ 26,2 million, offered by the IESA/Hyundai consortium.

It was a higher price than the reference price, but the lowest among three proposals submitted. Even so, the consortium sold only thirty of the 65 trains ordered by CPTM.

The majority – 35 trains – went to the consortium between the Spanish company CAF and the French company Alstom, which will charge R$ 28,9 million per train.

If the bidding process hadn't been divided into two lots, CPTM — using São Paulo taxpayers' money, it should be repeated — would have purchased all the trains for approximately R$ 1,5 billion.
But, due to the strange rules of the tender, the bill will come to R$ 1,8 billion. Where will this difference of R$ 300 million go?

IESA/Hyundai could have won the entire order, as it participated in the bidding for both lots. Interestingly, in one lot, the thirty-train lot, it submitted a lower price and came in first. In the other, the 35-train lot, it submitted a higher price than CAF/Alstom, coming in second.

This suggests that there was collusion between the companies, but CPTM, controlled by the São Paulo state government, instead of suspending the purchase due to suspected cartel activity, approved the bidding process anyway.

It is also scandalous that, three years ago, CPTM, using São Paulo taxpayers' money, bought nine trains from Alstom for an even higher price: R$ 31,6 million each.

According to the union, these trains have not yet run because they are not adapted to the outdated railway line in Greater São Paulo.

They are in the courtyard of the Presidente Altino station, where, until a few months ago, the union occupied a small building. They were evicted from there after the complaints made by Craveiro.

Among other things, he said that the foreign trains that the state buys are not suitable for the CPTM lines. “Infrastructure work is necessary. When we put these trains into operation, it's like putting a Ferrari engine in a Volkswagen Beetle. It breaks down. This is the reason for so many breakdowns and accidents in the system,” says Craveiro.

At the last session of the Transportation CPI held in the São Paulo City Council, a bureaucrat from the state government, Rosimeire Salgado, coordinator of Collective Transportation at the Metropolitan Transportation Secretariat, under whose umbrella CPTM falls, admitted that the company needs greater energy capacity to run the trains properly.

To achieve this, construction work is necessary, but it involves civil and engineering projects, activities outside the scope of giants like Alstom, Siemens, and CAF.

Rosimeire attributed the lack of adaptation works on the CPTM lines to a lack of resources – this is one of the reasons why the trains here shake more than popcorn in a pan, while in Europe they glide like skates on ice.

“It’s R$ 66 million for maintenance work,” said Rosimeire. It may seem like a small amount compared to what is spent on bringing in foreign trains, but it’s enough to make companies that operate on the fringes of the giants very happy.

This is the case of Tejofran, which until the PSDB party came to power in the state only provided cleaning services in public buildings. Today, one of its most prosperous businesses is train maintenance. Trains for CPTM (São Paulo Metropolitan Train Company).

Tejofran belongs to Antônio Dias Felipe, nicknamed "the Portuguese." When he was governor, Covas would get angry when journalists asked him about his friendship with "the Portuguese" and linked it to Tejofran's government contracts.

These were contracts where Tejofran provided the cleaning staff and brooms, and the state provided the money. Besides cleaning, Tejofran, after almost twenty years of PSDB government, now wields pliers and screwdrivers for more complex and therefore more expensive railway services. But it remains difficult to question the state government about Tejofran.

At the meeting of the Transportation CPI (Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry) of the City Council, Mário Covas's son, councilman Zuzinha, followed everything. He is not a member of the commission, but he sat in a chair nearby and watched the council members in charge of questioning the state bureaucrats.

Tejofran was not mentioned even once. Coincidence or not, Zuzinha is Português's godson. It was at Tejofran that he began his professional career, formally hired as a lawyer. Português was the godfather at his wedding.

“It’s time to clean up these promiscuous relationships. Someone benefits from this, and it’s not the passenger, who pays dearly for a bad service,” says Centofanti, the Sancho Panza of the fight for the moralization of the state-owned company.

The latest in his and Craveiro's crusade, the Don Quixote: they joined other unions to form the São Paulo Train Users Association. More accusations are coming. But who cares?