Brazil Postpones Bullet Train Bids for Third Time Brazil's transport minister says the country has again postponed taking bids on building a long-promised high-speed railway linking Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Cesar Borges said Monday the call for bids that was meant to close Friday has been postponed until the second half of next year because it appeared only one company would be bidding. Borges says the government has spoken with companies interested in bidding on the $16.5 billion project and they have asked for more time to form consortiums. Brazil first attempted the process in January 2010 so the project would be finished in time for the 2016 Olympics in Rio, but it already was postponed twice. The rail line would run 511 kilometers (315 miles) from Rio to the Sao Paulo suburb of Campinas.