Brazil railway map. Brazilian “Railroad to Nowhere. State of Brazilian Railways
Brazil invests heavily in the development of the transport sector. IN last years The country has increased the number of routes, but travel options remain limited. Brazil's railways are much inferior to European and American ones.
State of Brazilian Railways
The transport system of different regions differs. The southwestern and southern regions are economically developed better than others. Therefore, people there have access to different vehicles. In the Amazon region, in the north of the country, transportation options are limited. The total length of the railway network is 29,000 km. It differs from European standards and needs modernization. There is no international rail transport in Brazil. Therefore, it is impossible to reach this country by train. TO Brazilian border One railway line in Bolivia is suitable: Santa Cruz - Puerto Quijarro. After completing the journey along this route, the passenger approaches the Brazilian border. Then he has to continue his journey by car or bus. The country's railways remained unprofitable for many years.
Today, railway transport within the country is represented mainly by trains for tourists, which are used for excursions. One of the most popular routes goes through the Atlantic Forest. Within the country, passenger transportation occurs, as a rule, using road transport. System railways Brazil is used for cargo transportation. Passenger trains presented commuter trains, as well as several trains running around big cities. The track width does not meet European standards.
Popular trains
There are currently only two passenger trains operating on Brazilian territory. long distance, equipped with carriages with seats. They belong to a large private enterprise in Brazil - VALE S. A. The trains indicated above operate exclusively during the daytime. Investment in the system railway transport Brazil began to receive them only in recent years. Thanks to this, it is planned to open several new routes in the near future. The high-speed line will run between cities such as Campinas, Rio and Sao Paulo. U local residents trains are not in great demand. The railways of Brazil use old trains, the level of service of which leaves much to be desired.
Rail transportation controlled by public and private companies. These include SuperVia, America Latina Logistica, etc. The route map and train schedule can be seen on the website of the Ministry of Transport: www.antt.gov.br.
It turns out that in the 70s, the Hungarian enterprise Ganz-Mavag, widely known in the USSR for its D1 diesel trains, also supplied its products to Brazil. And these were not the rustic “Hungarians” with wooden seats, which were used by residents of, for example, Kazan at that time.
Much more comfortable trains were built in Budapest for Brazil. And high-speed ones. One of these trains is pictured below. In Brazil they were called “Hungarian trains” (Trem Hungaro)
And this is the interior of the Brazilian "Hungarian" (photo below). There was a buffet with a coffee machine, as well as air conditioning in all cars and chairs that could be deployed along the train. In general, an environment that can be called luxurious.
At that time, Brazil was experiencing an economic boom. The country developed, there were more rich people. We also thought about expanding the flow of tourists. In general, there were a lot of plans. People have already seen with their own eyes the Brazil of the future. On this wave, it was decided to order new diesel trains from Hungary so that they would connect the largest Brazilian cities. And why in Hungary? Probably, the fact that even before the war, Hungarian diesel trains were supplied to Argentina, neighboring Brazil, played a role here.
These trains also had generic characteristics inherited from D1. They also had four carriages each. The luggage compartments in motor cars and the cars themselves are long with many windows. Even the front of the head car is similar. Only in D1 it was more massive and rounded.
Brazilian trains no longer had the famous three-axle D1 bogies. Trem Hungaro carts were like this. And the doors weren't automatic. The engines were also different. If the D1 had two diesel engines with 730 hp each, then in the Brazilian version both diesel engines had a power of 800 hp for the narrow gauge and 935 for the wide gauge. More powerful engines provided fairly decent speeds of up to 140 kilometers per hour for wide gauge and 100 kilometers per hour for narrow gauge.
The new trains had stylish round windows in the diesel compartments, as well as in the cafeterias and toilets.
In 1973, 12 four-car trains were delivered to Brazil. Six for 1600mm wide gauge and six for 1000mm narrow gauge. The design and colors of the trains were identical. They differed only in size. The color of the trains was chosen well - a combination of silver gray and blue. 
The Hungarian train was initially considered as the flagship of the Brazilian railways. It began to be used on the country's main route between the two largest cities Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, displacing trains with “Russian” V8 or “Little Joe” electric locomotives on this route. You probably already know why these electric locomotives were called “Russian” in Brazil. The distance between the two largest cities in Brazil is more than four hundred kilometers. The train passed it in five hours.
But over time, design flaws emerged, mainly that the Hungarian train was designed for flat, straight sections of the road. The section between Rio and Sao Paulo has a rather difficult terrain. And the “Hungarians”, having worked there for about two years, were transferred to other areas. Including the Sao Paulo - Santos line, which I already mentioned. The Hungarians could not overcome the Big Ledge on their own. Therefore, two “cogged” Hitachi electric locomotives were attached to them. 
They ended their careers as work trains, carrying workers from Santos to some factory. Familiar fate. In the same way, the career of the Hungarian six-car DP ended in Russia, which in better days walked on the Moscow-Leningrad line, and in the end transported miners to Tula region.
And the Hungarians in Brazil also had problems with spare parts. They were made in a socialist country, the standards there were different from those familiar to Brazilians. After all, almost all railway equipment in Brazil was American. It was difficult to make spare parts locally, and transporting them from Hungary was expensive and time-consuming.
Narrow gauge trains were much luckier. Their age was longer because they were used on more direct sections of the path. This train was used on the Porto Alegre - Uruguayana line.
The last refuge of the narrow-gauge Hungarians was the metro of the rather large (800 thousand population) city of Terezin. This “metro” has no underground sections and consists of one line twelve kilometers long. Most likely, these trains were refurbished, replacing everything that was possible. Engines, transmissions and car interiors.
If you want to learn more about the history of Brazilian railways, then go to the website http://vfco.brazilia.jor.br/ Although it is in Portuguese, Google translate translates from Portuguese into Russian “almost clearly”. All materials for this post are taken from there.
Traction of heavy trains on Brazilian railways
A.L. LOUVISHIS, Candidate of Technical Sciences
The TOTAL length of Brazil's railways in 2009 was about 30 thousand km, of which 2000 km were electrified. A special feature of the railways is the different gauges: narrow - 1000 mm (23842 km), wide - 1600 mm (6045 km), with three rails, allowing the use of rolling stock with both 1600 mm and 1000 mm gauge (510 km), and also 1435 mm (202.4 km). The long-term plans of Brazil's railways involve the construction of new 1600 mm gauge lines, the continuation of the construction of high-speed lines with a gauge of 1435 mm, and the possible conversion of part of the 1600 mm to 1435 mm gauge lines. The country's railways mainly transport freight, with only a few suburban roads and main lines used for passenger transport. The main cargo transported is iron ore. Much attention is paid to the issues of iron ore mining and its export in modern Brazil. In accordance with the twenty-year state program for the development of the mining industry until 2030, developed by the Ministry of Mines and Energy of Brazil, over 20 years it is planned to double iron ore production, bringing it to 1000 million tons.
This will require investment in track infrastructure, signaling systems and rolling stock. In 2011, the state plans to invest 14.9 billion reais in the construction of 6228 km of new roads with a gauge of 1600 mm. The Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD) company plans to invest $2.9 billion in 2012 to expand the port of Ponta de Madeira. It is expected that a new pier will be built at the port and the EFC railway section will be extended by 115 km.
CVRD owns major iron ore deposits in Brazil. The company's rail transportation is carried out by four railways with a total length of more than 10 thousand km: Estrada dc Ferro Vitoria a Minas (EFVM) 905 km long with a 1000 mm gauge, Estrada de Ferro Carajas (EFC) 892 km long with a 1600 mm gauge, Ferrovia Centro-Atlantica (FCA) with a length of over 8000 km with a gauge of 1000 mm and Ferrovia Notre Sul (FNS) with a length of 200 km with a gauge of 1600 mm (another 520 km of this road are under construction.
Iron ore is transported mainly via EFVM and EFC roads. The EFVM road links iron ore deposits in Minae State with the port of Tubarao on Atlantic Ocean. The road is narrow gauge, the permissible axle load is 25 tons, the guide slope in the cargo direction is 3%. The road has been in operation since 1904. In 2010, the road transported 342 thousand tons of iron ore per day. During the year, its cargo turnover amounted to 78.9 billion tons km net, the road also transported 1 million passengers. The railway fleet in 2010 consisted of 331 diesel locomotives and 18,967 cars.
The EFC road is a relatively new road, put into operation in 1985. It connects the Carajas field with the port of Ponta da Madeira in the state of Maranhão near the city of Sao Luis. The permissible axial load is 32.5 g, the guide slope in the freight direction is 4%o, the minimum curve radius is 860 m. In 2010, the road transported more than 313 thousand tons of iron ore per day, and for the year its freight turnover amounted to 90, 4 billion tons km net. About 313 thousand passengers were also transported. The railway fleet in 2010 consisted of 220 diesel locomotives and 10,701 cars.
Ore transportation is continuously increasing. In 2010, EFVM transported 124.8 million tons, EFC increased transportation from 70 million tons in 2005 to 114.6 million tons in 2010. Total iron ore exports from Brazil amounted to 310 million in 2010 . T.
On the EFVM and EGS roads, diesel traction with heavy trains is used. Previously, EFVM operated trains consisting of two or three trains of 80 cars each, driven by two 3,600 hp diesel locomotives. every. In recent years, trains consisting of four couplings (320 cars, weight about 32 thousand tons) have been used. The train is driven by three 4000 hp diesel locomotives equipped with the Locotrol system. During regular operation of a train consisting of 312 cars, the locomotives are distributed along the length of the train as follows: two diesel locomotives in front, then 104 cars, then two more diesel locomotives and 208 cars. The train is controlled by one driver located in the front diesel locomotive. The characteristics of EFVM and EFC diesel locomotives are given in the table.
In recent years, the EFC has used trains consisting of 330 cars, 3.9 km long, weighing 42,980 tons to transport iron ore. The trains are pulled by four diesel locomotives distributed along the train. Until recently, the most powerful diesel locomotives were the C44-9WM (4390 hp) and SD70M (4300 hp). After the commissioning of diesel locomotives ES58AG with asynchronous traction motors, the train weighing 43,000 tons will be able to be pulled by three diesel locomotives.
The EFVM and EFC diesel locomotive fleets use modernized diesel locomotives manufactured by General Motors and General Electric. With minor modifications, diesel locomotives are used on the EFC, which has a track width of 1600 mm and a permissible axle load of 32.5 tons. It is more difficult to use American diesel locomotives on the EFVM road with a track width of 1000 mm and a permissible axle load of 25 g - you need to distribute the weight of the diesel locomotive over large quantity axles and use lower power traction motors.
The most used diesel locomotives at EFVM are BB40-9M and DDM45. The DDM45 diesel locomotive is a converted General Motors SD40-2 diesel locomotive. The weight of the six-axle diesel locomotive SD40-2 is 167 tons, the axle load exceeds 25 tons. When using two four-axle bogies, the axle load is 21 tons. The engine power of the SD40-2 diesel locomotive is about 375 kW. The locomotive's DDM45 engines were redesigned by General Motors and have a power of 330 kW. The engines were manufactured at Brazilian diesel locomotive factories.
The B B 40-9WM diesel locomotive is a converted General Electric Dash 9-40C diesel locomotive. Its weight is 154 tons, that is, the pressure on the axle exceeds 25 tons. When using four biaxial bogies, the pressure on the axle is less than 20 tons. The power of the traction engine of the Dash 9-40C diesel locomotive is about 500 kW. The locomotive's VB 40-9WM engines have a power of 370 kW and are manufactured in Brazil.
The most powerful diesel locomotives operating on the EFVM, EFC and FCA railways are the C44-9WM diesel locomotives. These diesel locomotives have a power of 4400 hp. They are equipped with the new GEVO 12 diesel engine and DC motors. So far, EGS is inferior to EFVM and FCA in terms of the number of diesel locomotives, although it is superior in power and age (see figure). Most EFVM diesel locomotives have a power of 4000 HP. s., and EFC - 4400 hp. EFC has now purchased 70 General Electric 5,800 hp ES58ACi diesel locomotives equipped with asynchronous traction drive.
The EFVM, part of the Vale consortium, carries heavy trains in the northeast of the country, the EFC operates in the southeast, and the FCA operates conventional trains across 7 states, connecting the northeast, southeast and central-west regions. In 2010, the road's freight turnover amounted to 11.4 billion tons km net. The locomotive fleet consisted of 500 diesel locomotives, the carriage fleet - of 12 thousand cars.
The major railways in Brazil, in addition to those already listed, are ALL (America Latina Logistica) and MRS Logistica. ALL operates a network of lines in the south of Brazil and the north of Argentina. The Brazilian part, with a total length of lines of about 12 thousand km, covers the states with the most developed industry. Until recently, the most powerful diesel locomotives in the company's locomotive fleet were the C44-9W diesel locomotives. This is a General Electric-built Brazilian version of the Dash 9-44CW diesel locomotive. The power of the C44-9W diesel locomotive is 4390 hp. (3273 kW), starting thrust force - 632 kN.
Recently, 10 44ACL diesel locomotives built at the General Electric plant in Brazil have appeared in the railway fleet. New 12-cylinder diesel engines for diesel locomotives will be delivered to Brazil from the plant in Grove City (USA). Diesel locomotive 44ACi with a power of 4400 hp. with asynchronous traction motors consumes less fuel than other diesel locomotives used for transporting goods in South America. Thanks to its traction properties, it will reduce the number of locomotives in use. In particular, four such diesel locomotives can replace five diesel locomotives of older modifications and, accordingly, reduce the emission of harmful substances per year by more than 1,710 tons. Under operating conditions typical for Brazilian roads, a diesel locomotive can save 645 thousand liters of fuel per year.
MRS Logistica is a rapidly growing railway company. The length of its lines is 1674 km, the gauge is 1600 mm. The lines pass through the three most industrialized states: Minas Geras, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, which account for 65% of the country's gross product. The lines transport iron ore from mines located in the state of Minas Geras to the ports of Sepetiba and Guanba in the state of Rio de Janeiro for further shipment to exporting countries. The average distance of ore transportation by road is 400 km. In 2009, 92.4 million tons of iron ore were transported.
There are 500 locomotives in the railway's locomotive fleet. Until recently, the most powerful diesel locomotives on the road were the C44 MEi with a power of 4,400 hp. (3273 kW). These locomotives are the Brazilian version of the famous American diesel locomotive Dash 9-44CW. In 2010, the company entered into a contract with the General Electric concern for the supply of 1 to 15 44ACi diesel locomotives, which will be built in 2011 -2015. The contract also provides for the possibility of building another 100 such diesel locomotives.
To increase freight turnover, starting from 2006, MRS has been equipping its lines and rolling stock with a modern signaling and traffic safety system, similar to the European ETCS 2 system. Work new system should start at the end of 2013.
On a ten-kilometer section from Sao Paulo to the port of Santos, a rack-and-pinion railway was laid, on which a gear drive was used to prevent slippage when moving uphill. The elevation difference in this section reaches 600 m. The train with iron ore weighing 750 tons must be carried by two locomotives operating on a multi-unit system. The company ordered 10 unique locomotives from the Swiss company Stadler. The first locomotives should be delivered in 2012-2013. The four-axle electric locomotive has a power of 5000 kW. The design uses asynchronous traction motors and converters based on 1GBT water-cooled power transistors.
The length of the electric locomotive is 18270 mm, weight - 10 tons, starting traction force - 700 kN, maximum speed for ascent - 30 km/h, for descent - 25 km/h. On descents, the electric locomotive is capable of delivering energy to the network. The electric locomotive is equipped with a modern control and diagnostic system. All electrical equipment is duplicated, which ensures high reliability.
Brazil's railways are working to improve the environment. New environmentally efficient diesel locomotives such as the 44ACi are being purchased. From 2014, all diesel locomotives on the EFC road will be converted to B20 biodiesel - a mixture of 20% palm oil and 80% conventional diesel fuel. Vale is building a plant that will produce 160 thousand tons of biodiesel per year. The same company bought a 41% stake in a joint consortium with a company that aims to produce 500 thousand tons of palm oil.
The diesel locomotives of the EFVM railway operate on a mixture of diesel fuel and 50-70% natural gas. According to Vale's estimates, switching all EFVM and EFC diesel locomotives to natural gas will reduce the emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere by 73 thousand tons per year.
The positive experience that Vale will accumulate during the operation of the ES58AG diesel locomotive on the EFC road will allow the use of such diesel locomotives on the EFVM. It is also possible to use eight-axle diesel locomotives with a power of 4350 kW on a narrow-gauge line. Taking into account the experience of Siemens developing a 660 kW asynchronous traction motor for the 3800 series electric locomotive of the Queensland Railway in Australia and the development by Toshiba of a 750 kW asynchronous traction motor for the 15E series electric locomotive for South African Railways, the possibility of developing a 550-600 kW asynchronous traction motor for a line with a gauge of 1000 mm there is no doubt. With a permissible EFVM load of 25 tons per axle, the weight of an eight-axle diesel locomotive should not exceed 200 tons. If you use modernized 44ACi diesel locomotives on the road, you can limit yourself to a six-axle diesel locomotive.
Thus, to increase revenues from iron ore exports, which are an important part of the Brazilian economy, the country is interested in strengthening the railways that transport iron ore from mines to ocean ports. Taking this into account, large investments are being made in track infrastructure, signaling systems, traffic safety and rolling stock. Transporting iron ore by trains weighing 30 thousand and 40 thousand tons has become common practice. Further progress of the Brazilian railways is associated with the use of locomotives with asynchronous traction drives and the transition from diesel fuel to biodiesel and natural gas.
The difference with Russia and most of Europe is primarily in the almost complete absence of long-distance passenger transport by rail. Historically, there was not a nationwide network of railways, but several regional networks - rather “bushes” focused on export-import ports. Even in terms of track width, there were several different standards. This system still handles freight transportation, and after the privatization of the 90s it even revives noticeably, but passenger transportation is limited mainly to commuter trains and diesel engines around a few major cities, as well as tourist trains operating on small sections on weekends.
There are now only two long-distance passenger trains, both under the authority of the largest private company in Brazil, VALE S.A. (former state mining company CVRD - Companhia Vale do Rio Doce). Trains run during the day, seating only.
For a long time, this company has been maintaining the Belo Horizonte - Vitoria line (664 km, 1 m gauge) in perfect order. Not only does it carry 37% of the freight of all Brazilian railways, but also passenger trains run from end to end every day, also with a retro flavor. However, completely new rolling stock is already being purchased to replace them.
Seating, all day on the road (7:00 - 20:10 and 7:30 - 20:30 back, daily). There is also a connection with a small auxiliary line (plus 242 = 905 km). Passenger turnover is about 1 million per year. The full schedule and tariff table are available at the link below.
The same operator now has another passenger line on its private road in the area of the giant ore mines in the north. It is on this line that world records for cargo are now being broken, 3 powerful locomotives pull up to 330 cars at once, the maximum inclination is only 0.4%. Passenger train operates 3 times a week, between São Luís (MA) and Parauapebas (PA). Length 892 km, track 1.6 m. 1100 seats, serves 23 cities. It transports 300–400 thousand passengers per year. The schedule is also daily, 10:15 – 23:50, intermediate points and fares can be found at the link below.
The current backwardness of the railway system has its advantages: not only can you start everything from scratch, but also those same retro railway oases for tourists have been preserved, which are worth a special mention - Ride a steam locomotive / tourist train
Currently, large investments have begun in the development of railway transport, including high-speed transport. In the next decade, we can expect the opening of several new generation lines, including on popular destinations among travelers.
The design of the high-speed line Campinas - Sao Paulo - Rio has begun, an international competition has been announced for the supply of rolling stock and all systems, commissioning was scheduled for 2018, but the deadlines have already been shifted many times. Here we are not talking about the reconstruction of any outdated lines, but about the creation of a completely new rail transport system.
The Sao Paulo State Government has already opened funding design work to extend this line from Campinas in two internal directions (Ribeirão Preto and Piracicaba). In addition, the construction of a parallel suburban high-speed line from Sao Paulo to Jundiai is underway; in the near future it will stretch to the city of Americana, as well as in the other direction, where it will connect Sao Paulo and Santos. Perpendicular to it will be built (partly using existing tracks) the line Pidnamoyangaba - Taubate - Sao Jose dos Campos - Jacarei - Sao Paulo - Sorocaba.