Rail transport in Brazil
Encyclopedia
Rail transport in Brazil began in the 19th century and there were many different railway companies. The railways were nationalised under RFFSA
(Rede Ferroviária Federal, Sociedade Anônima) in 1957. Between 1999 and 2007, RFFSA was broken up and services are now operated by a variety of private and public operators, including América Latina Logística, Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos
and SuperVia
.
The rail system in Brazil
operates on four rail gauge
s:
A 12 km section of the former gauge Estrada de Ferro Oeste de Minas
is retained as a heritage railway
.
Metros
operating, and under construction:
Steam-powered, horsedrawn and electric tramways operated in Brazil from 1859 until 1989, new systems were introduced in the 1980s and 90s in Rio de Janeiro
and Campinas
with no success, nevertheless, that may change soon as studies are being conducted to introduce tramway systems in Goiânia
, and Curitiba
now plans a "light metro" to replace "bus rapid transit
(BRT)" in a major corridor, and in Cariri, the Cariri MetroTram that will run between Crato and Juazeiro do Norte
is under construction.
History:
Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world and had a hundred tram systems, almost as the other Latin American countries combined. It had one of the world's first tramways: a 1859 system in Rio de Janeiro predates street railway experiments in all European countries except France. Trams still operate in Rio today, over 130 years later. Brazil has one of the first steam-powered street railways and had the world's first steam locomotive designed specifically to work on the street. It had one of the world's first electric trams, Rio de Janeiro had electric streetcars before London, Paris, Rome, Madrid, Lisbon and any other city in Latin America. Niterói, Brazil, may have been the first place where the trams were successfully fed by storage batteries. Brazil had the largest collection of American streetcars built outside the United States, and had the world's largest foreign-owned street railway empire.
Five trams were still operating in 1989, the Santa Teresa and Corcovado lines in Rio de Janeiro; the Campos do Jordão line near São Paulo; the Itatinga line near Bertioga; and the tourist tram in Campinas. A sixth line, the Tirirical tram near São Luís, ceased operation in 1983 but may be reactivated.
Currently, there are vintage tramways
operating in:
, Rio de Janeiro
and Campinas
. This would cost US$15 billion. These lines will use standard gauge
.
, a deal was signed between Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela to develop an electrified long distance passenger railway link between these countries. A minor hurdle is the use of both 50 Hz and 60 Hz railway electrification system
s. There is also a confusion of gauges to overcome.
via Cascavel
to Paranaguá
for agricultural products is proposed.
lines are possibly proposed to be converted to standard gauge
.
iron ore trains in the world, and these run on metre gauge
track. It was difficult to obtain metre gauge diesel locomotive
s of sufficient power for this work. The solution was to buy second-hand standard gauge
locomotives and fit them with new metre gauge bogie
s. The number of axles was increased to keep within the axle load
limit.
RFFSA
The Rede Ferroviária Federal, Sociedade Anônima was the state-owned national railway company of Brazil. It was created in 1957, and dissolved between 1999–2007.-Constituent Railways:...
(Rede Ferroviária Federal, Sociedade Anônima) in 1957. Between 1999 and 2007, RFFSA was broken up and services are now operated by a variety of private and public operators, including América Latina Logística, Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos
Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos
Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos is a commuter rail company owned by the São Paulo State Secretariat for Metropolitan Transports. It was created in 1992 from several railroads that already existed in Greater São Paulo, Brazil....
and SuperVia
SuperVia
SuperVia is a Brazilian train operator founded in Rio de Janeiro in November 1998. It carries around 126 million passengers a year on a railroad network comprising 89 stations in 11 cities: Rio de Janeiro, Duque de Caxias, Nova Iguaçu, Nilópolis, Mesquita, Queimados, São João de Meriti, Belford...
.
Track gauge
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
operates on four rail gauge
Rail gauge
Track gauge or rail gauge is the distance between the inner sides of the heads of the two load bearing rails that make up a single railway line. Sixty percent of the world's railways use a standard gauge of . Wider gauges are called broad gauge; smaller gauges, narrow gauge. Break-of-gauge refers...
s:
- Broad gaugeBroad gaugeBroad-gauge railways use a track gauge greater than the standard gauge of .- List :For list see: List of broad gauges, by gauge and country- History :...
(Irish gaugeIrish gaugeIrish gauge railways use a track gauge of . It is used in* Ireland * Australia where it is also known as Victorian Broad Gauge* Brazil where it is also known as Bitola larga no Brasil....
): 4,057 km gauge - Narrow gauge (meter gaugeMetre gaugeMetre gauge refers to narrow gauge railways and tramways with a track gauge of . In some African, American and Asian countries it is the main gauge. In Europe it has been used for local railways in France, Germany, and Belgium, most of which were closed down in mid 20th century. Only in Switzerland...
): 23,489 km gauge - Dual gaugeDual gaugeA dual-gauge or mixed-gauge railway has railway track that allows trains of different gauges to use the same track. Generally, a dual-gauge railway consists of three rails, rather than the standard two rails. The two outer rails give the wider gauge, while one of the outer rails and the inner rail...
: 336 km and gauges (three rails) (1999 est.) - Standard gaugeStandard gaugeThe standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
: 202.4 km gauge:- line 5 of the São Paulo MetroSão Paulo MetroThe São Paulo Metro is the principal rapid-transit system in the city of São Paulo and the largest in Brazil. It is also the second largest system in South America and the third largest in Latin America, behind Mexico City and Santiago....
, so that it can use "off the shelfCommercial off-the-shelfIn the United States, Commercially available Off-The-Shelf is a Federal Acquisition Regulation term defining a nondevelopmental item of supply that is both commercial and sold in substantial quantities in the commercial marketplace, and that can be procured or utilized under government contract...
" equipment. - Estrada de Ferro do Amapá in the middle of the Amazon RainforestAmazon RainforestThe Amazon Rainforest , also known in English as Amazonia or the Amazon Jungle, is a moist broadleaf forest that covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America...
also used standard gauge.
- line 5 of the São Paulo Metro
- Total: 27,882 km (1,122 km electrified); note - excludes urban rail
A 12 km section of the former gauge Estrada de Ferro Oeste de Minas
Estrada de Ferro Oeste de Minas
The Estrada de Ferro Oeste de Minas was a narrow gauge railway located in the southeastern Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. At its peak the railway's route totalled...
is retained as a heritage railway
Heritage railway
thumb|right|the Historical [[Khyber train safari|Khyber Railway]] goes through the [[Khyber Pass]], [[Pakistan]]A heritage railway , preserved railway , tourist railway , or tourist railroad is a railway that is run as a tourist attraction, in some cases by volunteers, and...
.
Metros
Rapid transit
A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...
operating, and under construction:
- Belo Horizonte MetroBelo Horizonte MetroThe Belo Horizonte Metro is a metro system serving the city of Belo Horizonte, Brazil. The system has one line which is 28.2 km long, has 19 stations and carries 145,000 passengers per day. The system is operated by Compania Brasiliera de Trens Urbanos...
- Brasília MetroBrasília MetroBrasília Metro is the metro system in Brasília, the capital of Brazil. It is operated by Metro-DF or Companhia do Metropolitano do Distrito Federal, and was opened in 2001...
- Cariri MetroCariri MetroThe Cariri Metro is a light rail transit operated by Metrofor, company that will operate the Fortaleza Metro, stil under construction. The system began operating on December 1, 2009....
- Fortaleza MetroFortaleza MetroThe Fortaleza Metro is the city of Fortaleza's rapid transit system. The system is under construction and is expected to begin operation in 2012....
(under construction) - Maceió MetroMaceió MetroThe Maceió Metro is the principal rapid-transit system in the Brazilian city of Maceió.Design of the Metro connects Maceió with two cities in the metropolitan area, Rio Largo and Satuba...
(under construction) - Porto Alegre MetroPorto Alegre MetroThe Metro de Porto Alegre is operated jointly by the federal government, the state government of Rio Grande do Sul and the city of Porto Alegre through the company Trensurb and has 20 stations, totaling 33.4 km of extension and carries about 170,000 users a day.-...
- Recife MetroRecife MetroThe Recife Metro is operated by CBTU/Metrorec, is currently 28 stations and 39.5 km long.-System Characteristics:...
- Rio de Janeiro MetroRio de Janeiro MetroThe Rio de Janeiro Metro is a mass-transit underground railway network that serves the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Founded in 1979 with five stations operating on one line, it now covers 47 km divided into two lines and 35 stations...
(Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan AreaSuperViaSuperVia is a Brazilian train operator founded in Rio de Janeiro in November 1998. It carries around 126 million passengers a year on a railroad network comprising 89 stations in 11 cities: Rio de Janeiro, Duque de Caxias, Nova Iguaçu, Nilópolis, Mesquita, Queimados, São João de Meriti, Belford...
) - Salvador MetroSalvador MetroThe Salvador Metro is a currently under-construction metro project for the city of Salvador, Brazil. The city has the Line 1 , began operation in 2012. The Line 2...
(under construction) - São Paulo MetroSão Paulo MetroThe São Paulo Metro is the principal rapid-transit system in the city of São Paulo and the largest in Brazil. It is also the second largest system in South America and the third largest in Latin America, behind Mexico City and Santiago....
(São Paulo Metropolitan Area) - Teresina MetroTeresina MetroThe Teresina Metro in Teresina, the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Piauí, is operated by CMTP...
Tramways
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
and Campinas
Campinas
Campinas is a city and municipality located in the coastal interior of the state of São Paulo, Brazil. is the administrative center of the meso-region of the same name, with 3,783,597 inhabitants as of the 2010 Census, consisting of 49 cities....
with no success, nevertheless, that may change soon as studies are being conducted to introduce tramway systems in Goiânia
Goiânia
-Climate:The city has a tropical wet and dry climate with an average temperature of . There's a wet season, from October to April, and a dry one, from May to September. Annual rainfall is around 1,520 mm....
, and Curitiba
Curitiba
Curitiba is the capital of the Brazilian state of Paraná. It is the largest city with the biggest economy of both Paraná and southern Brazil. The population of Curitiba numbers approximately 1.75 million people and the latest GDP figures for the city surpass US$61 billion according to...
now plans a "light metro" to replace "bus rapid transit
Bus rapid transit
Bus rapid transit is a term applied to a variety of public transportation systems using buses to provide faster, more efficient service than an ordinary bus line. Often this is achieved by making improvements to existing infrastructure, vehicles and scheduling...
(BRT)" in a major corridor, and in Cariri, the Cariri MetroTram that will run between Crato and Juazeiro do Norte
Juazeiro do Norte
Juazeiro do Norte is a city in the state of Ceará state in northeastern Brazil. It is located 528 km south of the state capital Fortaleza in the arid sertão...
is under construction.
History:
Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world and had a hundred tram systems, almost as the other Latin American countries combined. It had one of the world's first tramways: a 1859 system in Rio de Janeiro predates street railway experiments in all European countries except France. Trams still operate in Rio today, over 130 years later. Brazil has one of the first steam-powered street railways and had the world's first steam locomotive designed specifically to work on the street. It had one of the world's first electric trams, Rio de Janeiro had electric streetcars before London, Paris, Rome, Madrid, Lisbon and any other city in Latin America. Niterói, Brazil, may have been the first place where the trams were successfully fed by storage batteries. Brazil had the largest collection of American streetcars built outside the United States, and had the world's largest foreign-owned street railway empire.
Five trams were still operating in 1989, the Santa Teresa and Corcovado lines in Rio de Janeiro; the Campos do Jordão line near São Paulo; the Itatinga line near Bertioga; and the tourist tram in Campinas. A sixth line, the Tirirical tram near São Luís, ceased operation in 1983 but may be reactivated.
Currently, there are vintage tramways
Heritage streetcar
Heritage streetcars or heritage trams are a development of the heritage railways that are becoming popular across the world. As with modern streetcar systems, the vehicles are referred to as trams or tramcars in the United Kingdom, Australasia and certain other places , but as streetcars or...
operating in:
- CampinasCampinasCampinas is a city and municipality located in the coastal interior of the state of São Paulo, Brazil. is the administrative center of the meso-region of the same name, with 3,783,597 inhabitants as of the 2010 Census, consisting of 49 cities....
– Heritage Tram - Campos do JordãoCampos do JordãoCampos do Jordão is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population in 2003 was 47,903 and the area is 290.27 km². The elevation is 1,628 m....
– Interurban Tramway - ItatingaItatingaItatinga is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population in 2004 is 16,306 and the area is 982.28 km². The elevation is 845 m. Its name comes from the Tupi language and means "white stone"....
– Non-public Tramway - Rio de JaneiroRio de JaneiroRio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
– Santa Teresa Tram - SantosSantos (São Paulo)-Sister cities: Shimonoseki, Japan Nagasaki, Japan Funchal, Portugal Trieste, Italy Coimbra, Portugal Ansião, Portugal Arouca, Portugal Ushuaia, Argentina Havana, Cuba Taizhou. China Ningbo. China Constanţa, Romania Ulsan, South Korea Colón, Panama* Cadiz, Spain...
– Heritage Tramway - BelémBelémBelém is a Brazilian city, the capital and largest city of state of Pará, in the country's north region. It is the entrance gate to the Amazon with a busy port, airport and bus/coach station...
– Heritage Tramway
Future developments
High-speed rail
In September 2008, Brazil's Transportation Ministry announced a high-speed train project for the world cup connecting São PauloSão Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
, Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
and Campinas
Campinas
Campinas is a city and municipality located in the coastal interior of the state of São Paulo, Brazil. is the administrative center of the meso-region of the same name, with 3,783,597 inhabitants as of the 2010 Census, consisting of 49 cities....
. This would cost US$15 billion. These lines will use standard gauge
Standard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
.
International link
On 2008-08-23August 2008 in rail transport
- August 1 – August 2 :August 1* – Officials in China hold two opening ceremonies, one in Beijing and another in Tianjin, to officially open the Beijing–Tianjin Intercity Railwayway line. The opening makes the new line the first in the world to regularly host trains traveling up to...
, a deal was signed between Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela to develop an electrified long distance passenger railway link between these countries. A minor hurdle is the use of both 50 Hz and 60 Hz railway electrification system
Railway electrification system
A railway electrification system supplies electrical energy to railway locomotives and multiple units as well as trams so that they can operate without having an on-board prime mover. There are several different electrification systems in use throughout the world...
s. There is also a confusion of gauges to overcome.
New freight line
A new metre gauge line from MaracajuMaracaju
Maracaju is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul, in the southwest. Its population was 28,236 and its area is 5,299 km². Its elevation is 421m.- References :...
via Cascavel
Cascavel
Cascavel is a city and municipality in western Paraná state, Brazil. The population is 296.975 inhabitants.The city is on a plateau 781 meters above sea level...
to Paranaguá
Paranaguá
Paranaguá is a city in the state of Paraná in Brazil. Founded in 1648, it is Paraná's oldest city.It is known for its excellent port facilities, being the sea port for Curitiba, the capital of Paraná....
for agricultural products is proposed.
Gauge conversion
All Irish gaugeIrish gauge
Irish gauge railways use a track gauge of . It is used in* Ireland * Australia where it is also known as Victorian Broad Gauge* Brazil where it is also known as Bitola larga no Brasil....
lines are possibly proposed to be converted to standard gauge
Standard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
.
Railway links with adjacent countries
| Uruguay Rail transport in Uruguay The Uruguayan railway network has approximately 2900 km of lines, all of gauge 1435 mm, diesel traction and only 11 km of double track... - yes - break-of-gauge Break-of-gauge With railways, a break-of-gauge occurs where a line of one gauge meets a line of a different gauge. Trains and rolling stock cannot run through without some form of conversion between gauges, and freight and passengers must otherwise be transloaded... (Brazil) / (Uruguay) Argentina Rail transport in Argentina The Argentine railway network comprised of track at the end of the Second World War and was, in its time, one of the most extensive and prosperous in South America. However, with the increase in highway construction, there followed a sharp decline in railway profitability, leading to the break-up... - yes - break-of-gauge Break-of-gauge With railways, a break-of-gauge occurs where a line of one gauge meets a line of a different gauge. Trains and rolling stock cannot run through without some form of conversion between gauges, and freight and passengers must otherwise be transloaded... (Brazil)/ (Argentina) Paraguay Rail transport in Paraguay The Rail system in Paraguay consisted primarily of a 376 km main line of standard gauge between Asunción and Encarnación . The infrastructure was administered by Ferrocarriles del Paraguay S.A. , corporation established in 2002... - no Bolivia Rail transport in Bolivia The Bolivian rail network has had a peculiar development throughout its history, owing to losses of land, prestige and credit rating due to the failure of the War of the Pacific, railway development came late to Bolivia. The demand for mineral wealth and communication to the inland city of La Paz,... - yes - gauge both countries |
Peru Rail transport in Peru Rail transport in Peru has never consisted of a true network, primarily comprising separate lines running inland from the coast.Many of the lines owe their origins to contracts granted to United States entrepreneurs Henry Meiggs and W. R. Grace and Company but the mountainous nature of Peru made... - no Colombia Rail transport in Colombia The Colombia railway network has a total length of 3,304 km. There are 150 km of standard gauge connecting Cerrejón coal mines to maritime port of Puerto Bolivar at Bahia de Portete, and 3,154 km of narrow gauge of which 2,611 km are in use... - no Venezuela - no Guyana - no Suriname - no French Guiana - no |
Heaviest trains
Brazil has some of the heaviestHeaviest trains
The heaviest trains in the world are freight trains hauling bulk commodities such as coal and iron ore. One might distinguish between regular operations, and occasional record breaking runs...
iron ore trains in the world, and these run on metre gauge
Metre gauge
Metre gauge refers to narrow gauge railways and tramways with a track gauge of . In some African, American and Asian countries it is the main gauge. In Europe it has been used for local railways in France, Germany, and Belgium, most of which were closed down in mid 20th century. Only in Switzerland...
track. It was difficult to obtain metre gauge diesel locomotive
Diesel locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine, a reciprocating engine operating on the Diesel cycle as invented by Dr. Rudolf Diesel...
s of sufficient power for this work. The solution was to buy second-hand standard gauge
Standard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
locomotives and fit them with new metre gauge bogie
Bogie
A bogie is a wheeled wagon or trolley. In mechanics terms, a bogie is a chassis or framework carrying wheels, attached to a vehicle. It can be fixed in place, as on a cargo truck, mounted on a swivel, as on a railway carriage/car or locomotive, or sprung as in the suspension of a caterpillar...
s. The number of axles was increased to keep within the axle load
Axle load
The axle load of a wheeled vehicle is the total weight felt by the roadway for all wheels connected to a given axle. Viewed another way, it is the fraction of total vehicle weight resting on a given axle...
limit.
Railway companies
Pre-1957 companies - this list is incomplete- Estrada de Ferro Central do BrasilEstrada de Ferro Central do BrasilThe Estrada de Ferro Central do Brasil was one of the principal railways of Brazil, uniting the states of Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Minas Gerais.-Origins:...
, nationalised 1957 - Estrada de Ferro Oeste de MinasEstrada de Ferro Oeste de MinasThe Estrada de Ferro Oeste de Minas was a narrow gauge railway located in the southeastern Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. At its peak the railway's route totalled...
, a part of this railway still operates as a heritage railway - Estrada de Ferro Rio d'Ouro (Portuguese Wikipedia article)
- Estrada de Ferro Santos-JundiaíEstrada de Ferro Santos-JundiaíEstrada de Ferro Santos-Jundiaí was a gauge railway line in São Paulo, Brazil.On 1946-09-13, the São Paulo Railway was nationalised by the federal government, and passed to be managed by the Brazilian Ministry of Transportation and Public Works...
, nationalised 1957 - Estrada de Ferro Sorocabana (Portuguese Wikipedia article)
- São Paulo RailwaySão Paulo RailwaySão Paulo Railway was a privately owned British railway company in Brazil, which operated the gauge railway from the seaport at Santos via São Paulo to Jundiaí...
, nationalised 1946, renamed Estrada de Ferro Santos-Jundiaí 1948
State ownership
- RFFSARFFSAThe Rede Ferroviária Federal, Sociedade Anônima was the state-owned national railway company of Brazil. It was created in 1957, and dissolved between 1999–2007.-Constituent Railways:...
(Rede Ferroviária Federal, Sociedade Anônima). Created in 1957 and dissolved between 1999 and 2007.