THE governor of the Brazillian state of São Paulo Mr Geraldo Ackmin officially launched construction on São Paulo metro Line 6 at a ceremony in the north of the city on April 13.

BRAZILIAN intermodal operator Brado Logistics is planning a Reais 150m ($US 46.8m) investment to expand its operations to Brazil's north-south railway corridor, which is owned by Vale.

A group of international investors has expressed an interest in financing a Reais 16bn ($US 5.1bn) port and rail project to create an export channel for minerals and agricultural products from the northern Brazillian state of Pará to the coastal city of Colares.

Passenger operation is due to begin this month on the first phase of a light rail network in the Brazillian port city of Santos. Keith Barrow previews Brazil's first modern electric LRT system.

ALSTOM has secured a five-year contract worth around €2m from Trensurb, the operator of the metro network in Porto Alegre, to provide preventive maintenance services for the 15 Metropolis trains it recently delivered for Line 1 as part of the FrotaPoa consortium with CAF Brazil.

THE president of Alstom Transport, Mr Henri Poupart-Lafarge, inaugurated the company's new €15m Citadis LRV production line at Taubaté in the Brazilian state of São Paulo on March 3.

COSAN Logistics has been granted approval by Brazil's anti-trust regulator Cade to proceed with a takeover of the country's largest railway operator Latin American Logistics (ALL) through its Rumo Logistics subsidiary, which is expected to create a logistics company worth Reais 11bn ($US 3.85bn).

THE Brazilian Railway Industry Association (Abifer) says that Brazilian rail vehicles industry production increased substantially in 2014, with the industrial sector producing and delivering 4703 freight wagons, which was more than double the 2280 produced in 2013, and 374 passenger coaches, an increase of 70% from 219 in 2013. Locomotive production remained static at 80 units.

THE first of 15 six-car trains being supplied by CNR Changchun Railway Vehicles, China, for Rio de Janeiro metro Line 4 was unloaded at the city's port on January 27.

TRENSURB, the metro operator in the Brazilian city of Porto Alegre, has taken delivery of the last of 15 four-car Metropolis EMUs being supplied by the FrotaPoa consortium of Alstom and CAF Brazil under a contract signed in 2012.