BRAZILIAN freight operators Brado and Rumo earlier this month operated the first container service on the southern section of the North-South Railway (FNS), which opened in July.

The full 1600mm-gauge North-South Railway runs for 2257km from the port of Itaqui in the northeastern state of Maranhão to the port of Santos near the city of São Paulo in the southeast of Brazil. The line uses existing infrastructure to reach the ports at both ends of the route.

The final 1537km section to be built between Porto Nacional in Tocantins and Estrela d’Oeste in São Paulo was opened by Brazil’s president, Mr Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, in July.

The train hauled by Rumo locomotives with 58 Brado wagons carrying 112 40-foot containers took three days to travel 1511km from Cubatão, São Paulo, to Anápolis, Goiás. 32 of the containers were loaded with material and agricultural pesticides from China, the United States and Europe, while the remaining 80 containers were empty, to be sent to export customers at the Anápolis Dry Port.

“It is a historic moment for Brazilian infrastructure, a long-awaited transport route that will boost the region’s growth”, says Brado CEO, Mr Marcelo Saraiva.

“The arrival of the tracks in the main agricultural and industrial hubs in the states of Goiás and Tocantins promotes job creation and enhances the economic activities of the municipalities,” says Rumo vice-president of expansion and regulation, Mr Guilherme Penin.

The first return trip will carry cotton lint from Bahia to the port of Santos for export.

The railway to the Anápolis Dry Port will serve the cotton, mining, steel and food export markets, including carrying sugar, soybean meal and grains in containers, as well as beef proteins in refrigerated containers. These markets currently require the movement of around 45,000 containers per year, with more than 65% of these destined for the port of Santos.

On the return journey, the line will carry material for industry and agribusiness in the state of Goiás, including imports of agrochemicals, machine parts, automotive parts, equipment and plastics, in addition to consumer goods for the states of Goiás, southern Tocantins, Minas Gerais and the Federal District. These markets require the movement of more than 16,500 containers per year.

Since being awarded a 30-year concession to operate the section between Estrela d'Oeste and Porto Nacional in August 2019, Rumo has invested Reais 4bn ($US 787.1m) in infrastructure works, terminals and rolling stock on the central and southern branches of the FNS.

Rumo has also opened three terminals, built four bridges between Goiás, São Paulo and Minas Gerais, and constructed a connecting yard between the Central and Paulista Networks in the city of Estrela D'Oeste, forming a corridor to the port of Santos.

For detailed data on freight projects in Brazil and around the world, subscribe to IRJ Pro.