Rail network

Rail Network in Brazil in 2020: What is it and how does it work?

How and where to transport large loads over a long distances? Certainly, some answers to this question can be found, but the one that is most effective is through the railways. transportation system based on trains passing through previously arranged tracks, the railway network in Brazil and in the world is overland transport with greater capacity to carry cargo. 

This loading model is common in highly industrialized regions, such as Europe, the Pacific Rim and in other populous places, such as India, for example. In developing countries, as the case of Brazil, the railways were left aside for the greater growth of the highways, as you will see in the course of this article.

Given this scenario, do not waste time and find out right now everything about the railway network in Brazil and around the world. Continue reading and learn more about the history of the railroads, how they arrived in Brazil and their implementation, reasons why the railroads have been passed over in relation to the highways in the past and also how this scenario may change in the coming years. 

Rail network 

Rail network

The creation and use of the first railroads are directly linked to the First Industrial Revolution, which took place between the 18th and 19th centuries in England. Initially, the locomotives used were powered by steam, generated by burning coal and reached a speed of up to 70 km / h (110 mph).

Due to its great innovation, the railway networks quickly spread to other places in the world. It is necessary to point out that, with the exception of the United Kingdom, which was the place where the system was created, the other countries had the United States as the main financier of the creation of railways.

Another factor of great prominence in the use of the railway network and locomotives for the transportation of cargo and people is the fact that the cost per ton transported is low. Despite this, the amounts spent for the construction and maintenance of the railway lines are a little high. 

Currently, it is possible to find rail transport on all continents on the planet, but as previously mentioned, at different levels of development. To give an idea, there are models trains that can reach up to 250 km / h when transporting cargo or people, such as TGV, for example. 

Railway network in Brazil 

Railway network in Brazil

The history of the railway network in Brazil begins in the middle of the 19th century, more precisely in 1854 with the inauguration of the railway that connected the Port of Mauá, in Guanabara Bay, Serra da Estrela, on the way to Petrópolis. This work was carried out by the Imperial Railways Company, having a length of 14.5 km.

In the following years, railroads also began to be created in the Recôncavo Baiano, Northeast and, in the vast majority, in the state of São Paulo, which was undergoing rapid development due to the coffee economy that had been established in the region. Unfortunately, many of these railways lacked the least amount of planning, being created only to satisfy the commercial interests of that moment.  

After that, in the period between 1870 and 1920, Brazil witnessed the peak of the development of its railway network, reaching the mark of growth of 6,000 km per decade. Even with this progress, from 1920, as the creation and evolution of technologies applied to automobiles, the railroads entered a stage of stagnation, having marks of this stagnation process until today, as you will see in the next topic of the article.

At present, the Southeast Region of Brazil concentrates some of the cities (47%) of the country’s railroad tracks, even though the North and Central West Regions together concentrate at 8%.

Why doesn't Brazil use the railways? 

Why doesn't Brazil use the railways?

The beginning of the stoppage of the railway network in Brazil was marked by the government of President Juscelino Kubitschek, which prioritized the opening of highways and the establishment of automobile multinationals plants in the country. As a result, the railways were increasingly abandoned, in many cases becoming unusable.  

In addition to this fact, for several specialists in the field, one of the main obstacles to railway development in the country is the lack of continuity in the country's logistics planning projects. This is because the construction of a railway is a long-term project, which requires continuation, which rarely happens in Brazil because of the changes in government, which often values the abandonment of old projects in the name of renewing the agenda.

The term of railway concessions in Brazil is also considered a problem. Currently, this period lasts only 30 years, which is very short when we think that the planning of a railway can last 60, 70 years. This makes it impossible for companies to become the concessionaires of the lines.  

New directions 

New directions

The year 2020 started with significant changes when we consider rail transport. The Ministry of Infrastructure, through Minister Tarcísio Freitas, announced that the participation of the railroads in the Brazilian transport matrix should increase from 15% to 30% in six years. 

In this same speech, the minister also announced the bidding for projects on three railroads, which together with other government actions, intend to reduce the flow of trucks on the highways and also reduce freight costs, in addition to providing a “revolution in Brazilian agribusiness”.

In addition to all these new features, the government also promises an investment of U$ 6 billion to expand the entire railway network in Brazil, including the implementation of more railway scales, which make a difference to reduce the risk of accidents. Learn more about this subject by clicking here

Conclusion

In general, the history of railways in Brazil is very similar to that of other countries that are also in development, where highways are privileged in relation to the railway network. Even so, the last few years have shown a sign of change in this scenario, with a greater search for transportation by rail.

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5 comments

  1. Gilberto Alves Macedo
    26 de August de 2020 at 09:53

    Sou Engenheiro Civil desde 1982. Tive na Faculdade um histórico sobre as ferrovias e seu declínio. Sou do tempo que embarcava em trem de leito do Rio – São Paulo – Rio, de Barbacena – Rio – Barbacena. Conheci pessoalmente o sistema ferroviário da Europa e dos EUA. Sou apaixonado pelo transporte ferroviário, e gostaria de viajar do Rio para o norte e nordeste, e gostaria de ver realizado a viagem em trens rápidos do Rio para as capitais mais próximas conforme planejado por tantos governos. Só precisamos de ação dos governantes. Ainda espero ver este sonho realizado.

    1. Dafne
      10 de July de 2021 at 11:08

      Gilberto, você poderia passar mais informações a respeito disso?

  2. Eli
    7 de November de 2020 at 13:22

    Poderia me falar um pouco como é o sistema da Europa?

    1. https://massa.ind.br/malha-ferroviaria-da-europa/
      3 de January de 2021 at 11:02

      https://massa.ind.br/malha-ferroviaria-da-europa/

      amigo dá uma olhadinha no link acima e vai te ajudar a aumentar o desejo da ferrovia no brasil

  3. Altina
    26 de June de 2021 at 06:12

    Não sei precisamente em que ano, mas sei que foi após 1963. Viajei de Volta Redonda a São Paulo num trem elétrico super confortável.
    Lamentei muito quando isso não foi mais possível. Considerei um atraso e não um avanço do nosso país.

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