en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Brazilian Ministry of Transport and the National Transport Infrastructure Department (DNIT) have signed technical cooperation agreements with two states and seven municipalities in Paraná to analyze the future use of idle railway sections currently operated by the Central Atlantic Railway (FCA) and Rumo's Southern Railway Network. These documents will guide the necessary work to remove the relevant areas from concession contracts, as well as studies required to restore these sections—which have ultimately proven unsuitable for freight transport. The agreement summaries were published in a special edition of the Federal Official Gazette (DOU) last Friday (3rd).
In the case of the FCA railway network, currently operated by VLI, over 3,000 kilometers of key sections are planned to be returned upon the renewal of the operating contract—which still requires review by the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU). The current contract expires in August this year. For the Southern Railway Network, Rumo's operations will end next year, and the government plans to re-tender the railways crossing Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, and Paraná as three corridors.
The government intends to use part of the idle railway network for passenger transport projects. Preliminary analyses have already been completed through studies conducted in partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). Under the agreement with the state of Sergipe (involving FCA), parties will assess the preparatory work required to approve and operate intercity transport connecting municipalities in the Aracaju metropolitan area. The document is valid for two years and renewable.
In executing its tasks, DNIT must conduct a property inventory of the assets in the areas to be returned and estimate the compensation amount to be paid by the current concessionaire. For the FCA railway network, the state of Espírito Santo has expressed interest in using non-operational sections within its territory for other public interest purposes, such as tourism, leisure, or urban transport. This agreement is expected to last six months, renewable. For the Southern Railway Network, the municipalities of Arapoti, Carambeí, Castro, Jaguariaíva, Piraí do Sul, Ponta Grossa, and Ventania in Paraná have each signed technical cooperation agreements valid until February 27 next year, with renewal options.
