Norte Sul Railroad: Know everything about the project!

Designed to be the main railroad in the country, integrating the extreme regions of the country (north to south), the Norte Sul Railroad is still in projection. The idea of creating this railroad came up in 1985, under the government of President José Sarney. In its first forecasts, it was estimated that the railroad would be about 1550 km long, and its route would encompass several cities and states, starting from the city of Açailândia (MA) and arriving at Anápolis (GO).

Since the beginning of the project, several revisions and new projections have been outlined, but the decision to build the Norte Sul Railroad has always been maintained, even with the constant political changes in the country. The first works carried out for the construction of this railroad started two years after the creation of the project, in 1987. The completion of the first works was carried out only nine years later, in 1996, when the railroad started to carry out its first operations.

North South Railroad Division

As it is one of the main railroads in the country, if not the main one, the extension of the Norte Sul Railroad, already built and also the projected part, is divided into several sections, managed by different logistics companies that obtained the subconcessions of parts of the lines by auctions carried out over the years.

According to data from the company VALEC, one of the main state-owned companies that works in the construction of railroads and the elaboration of railroad projects, the total extension of the Norte Sul Railroad can be divided into seven sections, with only two of them currently in operation. Another part of the line has almost all the works completed, while four of them go through the study and planning phases. Below we will show you what are the main points of the division, by whom they are managed, which investments and much more.

Section Açailândia (MA) - Porto Nacional (TO)

The northern tip of the country from the North South Railroad is also called the North Section. It is part of a specific division where there are three main sections, one of which is one. 

The Açailândia (MA) - Porto Nacional (TO) section is the first part of this railroad that had its sub-concession granted through an auction held in 2007. It is also the first section in operation of the Norte Sul Railroad that continues to operate and operate until the nowadays.

Currently, this part of the railroad is about 720 km long and passes through several cities in the states of Mato Grosso and Tocantins. At the time of the auction, the stretch Açailândia - Porto Nacional had not yet been fully concluded, which has been happening over the years. In that year, the company VALE SA won the auction for the subconcession of the track for R $ 1.478 billion, and later it would create a specific sector for the management of the track, called Ferrovia Norte Sul SA, controlled by the company's logistics sector, the VLI (Integrated Logistic Value).

Central Section and South Section

As we said, the main division of the road is based on three sections. The central section and the southern section of the Norte Sul Railroad encompass a long track of the track, about 1,537 km long, with the division made as follows: Central Section - Porto Nacional (TO) to Anápolis (GO), with 855 km long and South Section - Ouro Verde de Goiás (GO) - Estrela d'Oeste (SP), with 682 km long. 

Both stretches were awarded to the company RUMO in a historic auction that took place in 2019, the first auction of the line in 10 years, since what happened in 2007 when VALE bought the northern section of the Norte Sul Railroad. RUMO logistics is currently the main railroad investment company, with approximately 13 thousand km of railroad line, just under half of the totality of the entire Brazilian railroad network, which currently has a mileage of around 29 thousand km.

The auction that took place last year was a dispute between the company and VLI logistics, with the winning bid in the amount of R $ 2.719 billion. This concession is very important for the company, as it will allow a series of connections with other lines with concessions owned by RUMO.

The Central Section of the line, which covers the city of Porto Nacional (TO) and ends the section in Anápolis (GO), has its entire extension completed and in operation, and is responsible for the transport of small volumes of cargo, according to the Federal Government Investment Partnership Program. The southern section, until the time of obtaining the concession, had about 95% of the works completed, and is not yet in operation.

According to the government's PPI, the concession was granted for the next 30 years to the company RUMO, and the projection is that by the year 2050 around 22 million cargoes will be handled within the line, with an investment planned in the R$ 2.724 billion. This entire route is fundamental for the expansion of the transfer and for greater possibilities of product outlets, mainly agricultural, to different regions of the country. The southern section that has the cities of Goiás (GO) as far as Estrela d'Oeste (SP) as main route is of paramount importance for the company, especially because the line that leaves the city of São Paulo and reaches the Santista port is also domain of the company RUMO.

Other stretches of the north-south railroad

To finalize this composition, there are four more main sections, all of which are still in the study and planning stages. These are the excerpts:

• Barcarena (PA) - Açailândia (MA), 477 km long;
• Estrela d'Oeste (SP) - Panorama (SP), 264 km long;
• Panorama (SP) - Chapecó (SC), 950.8 km long;
• Chapecó (SC) - Rio Grande (RS), 832.9 km long.

North south railroad investments

The table that we will show below, prepared by the Integrated Planning and Budgeting System (SIOP), based on the Federal Government's Integrated Financial Administration System (SIAFI), can elucidate you on the values of the investments made in the Norte Sul Railroad in recent years. Check out:

Railroad Scales on the Via

As with any railroad line, the presence of railroad scales is essential for measuring the weight of the wagons, verifying that the weighing is adequate for the railroad track standards. Precisely for this reason, the company MASSA has already positioned its railroad scale on the Norte Sul Railroad, more precisely in the city of Goiás, in one of the most important sections of the road. This is a scale of movement, that is, it allows the weighing of the wagons and the train to be done even with it in motion, with 99.8% efficiency. Still in the North South we have BFDs installed in the Porto Franco transfer yard and also in Açailândia.

Conclusion

Throughout the article we covered important points about the stretches and also a little of the history of the Norte Sul Railroad. This railroad was designed to be the main Brazilian railroad, connecting the country's extremes and interconnecting other existing railroads. We realized that, precisely because of its importance, the railroad continues to evolve and increase its projection, so that it reaches more and more Brazilian states and cities, connecting and transporting fundamental loads to supply these regions and Brazilian ports. 

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