Bahia-Minas railway, music, can be reactivated – 04/19/2023 – Market

“Sand point, period,
from Bahia-Minas, natural road,
that connected Minas, to the port, to the sea,
railroad, ordered to start”.

Fifty-seven years after being deactivated due to economic unfeasibility, and after having its history immortalized in the song “Ponta de Areia”, by Milton Nascimento and Fernando Brant, the Bahia-Minas Railroad can be reactivated by a project to be launched the next day 30, with an expected investment of BRL 12 billion.

The contract for the project was signed between ANTT (National Land Transport Agency) and the company MTC – Multimodal Caravelas on February 17, 2023 and published in the Official Gazette on the 7th of last month.

It is now necessary to carry out the environmental licensing. MTC claims it already has partner investors to carry out the work.

The new route will be based on the original one, from Caravelas, in the south of Bahia, where the project will be launched at the end of the month, to Araçuaí, in the Jequitinhonha Valley, a route of 442 kilometers, 400 of which in Minas Gerais.

In Caravelas, where the Ponta de Areia Station operated, there is a port and an airport, which also need investment. As before, the line will be able to serve for the transport of cargo and passengers.

One of the focuses of the MTC is the transport, to the coast, of lithium, used in the production of batteries for electric cars and telephones, whose extraction has been increased by foreign companies exactly in the region of Araçuaí.

In 2021, one of the companies operating in the region, Sigma Mineração, announced investments of BRL 1.2 billion for mineral exploration on the border of the municipalities of Araçuaí and Itinga.

MTC’s expectation is that the works on the railroad will begin as soon as the environmental licenses are obtained. According to the company’s calculations, the documents should be released within three months from the date of delivery of the project to state environmental agencies.

According to the MTC consultant, former state deputy João Leite, who chaired the Extraordinary Pro-Ferrovias Mineiras Commission of the Assembly, in rural areas, the trend is that there are no environmental obstacles due to the fact that the railway already has its original route.

Urban passages, however, may require analysis for a longer period of time, since the cities crossed by the line have grown since the period in which the railroad was deactivated, as is the case, for example, of Teófilo Otoni, Nanuque and Araçuaí.

“The project will cost around R$ 12 billion and there is already an investment agreement on the part of a Russian company”, says the consultant.

The mayor of Caravelas, Sílvio Ramalho (PP), says that the reactivation of the railroad will change the economic profile of the city. “Unfortunately the biggest employer in the municipality today is the city hall. And that will change with the project”, he bets.

The mayor also claims that the city’s airport, which is not in operation, had R$ 20 million invested by the federal government and has its two runways ready for use. However, resources are needed to build hangars and structures for receiving cargo. The port also needs expansion investments.

Regarding passenger transport, the mayor believes that, with the railroad, it will be possible to increase visitation, from the city, to the National Marine Park of Abrolhos.

The mayor says that the Ponta de Areia Station will again operate in the same location, close to the port, after investments, which will also have to take place in other stations on the route.

The Bahia-Minas Railroad will reach a total mileage of 491 kilometers, adding two branches leaving Caravelas that will reach Teixeira de Freitas (BA), to the north of the line, and Mucuri (BA), to the south of the road, foreseen in the project.

The exact number of stations is not yet defined. There are 11 municipalities crossed by Bahia-Minas: Caravelas (BA), Alcobaça (BA), Nova Viçosa (BA), Serra dos Aimorés (MG), Nanuque (MG), Carlos Chagas (MG), Teófilo Otoni (MG), Poté (MG), Ladainha (MG), Novo Cruzeiro (MG) and Araçuaí (MG). In its original format, the number of stations was 38.

According to ANTT, the project is a railway authorization. Based on these authorizations, according to the agency, it is up to each company to get the project off the ground, assuming all the business risks.

“Thus, the obligations of obtaining licenses from the competent bodies; the development of engineering and socio-environmental feasibility projects; the search for financing and the definition of the stages of the work will be up to the private initiative – and not the State -“, states the agency.

History

The Bahia-Minas Railroad was built in 1881 by decree of Dom Pedro II, initially to transport agricultural products such as corn and beans from the Jequitinhonha Valley, in Minas, to the coast.

The road assumed an important role in the economic life of the regions it crossed. The railroad, however, as with others in Brazil, lost importance as road construction progressed in the country. In 1966, the stretch was deactivated for lack of economic viability.