As part of the Carajás Railroad (EFC) Expansion Project, which falls under Vale’s Northern Logistics Improvement Program in Brazil, two new railroad signaling, telecommunications and energy systems have been purchased. The systems will be implemented on the EFC and at the Ponta da Madeira Railroad Terminal in Maranhão. The equipment will make the railroad’s operations more efficient and safer.
The new signaling system will be digital, replacing the existing analog technology based on relays – devices installed along the track that enable operations to be run from a control center in São Luís – with microprocessors. The telecommunication and energy systems will feature fiber optic communications and independent power supply networks.
The new technology, which involves R$300 million worth of equipment and software, will be implemented on the Carajás Railroad by the end of 2014.
Learn about the Carajás Railroad
The EFC runs the world’s longest train, which extends for three kilometers. The railroad is integrated into a logistics structure composed of two railroads, eight ports, a coastal navigation service and warehouses. Besides iron ore, the railroad, which has 12,000 wagons and 200 locomotives, transports pig iron, manganese, copper, fuels and coal, among other products.