Vale announced today that on December 4 it received the installation license granted by the State Environment Department for the doubling of the Carajás railroad. From its current 130 million tons, the railroad will now have the capacity to transport 230 million tons a year over its 842 kilometers, between Parauapebas, where the Carajás iron ore deposit is located, its main cargo, and the port of Ponta da Madeira, in São Luís do Maranhão, where the products are shipped.
The line is used by the world’s largest freight train, with 440 wagons, which makes 12 daily trips in both directions to transport iron ore production, mainly to China and Japan, which receive 80% of Vale’s exports. The former state-owned company owns the mine, the railroad, the port and almost everything else important in the Carajás region of influence. All dominated by the whistle of the gigantic train and its hunger for ore to transfer overseas.
