Santos rail loop expected to be completed in 2026, spanning more than 100,000 m²

The rail loop at the Port of Santos is still expected to be completed in the second half of next year, according to the Association Managing the Internal Railway of the Port of Santos (AG-Fips), responsible for the works. The deadline exceeds the initially planned 24 months, when construction began in January 2024. It is a circular yard — hence the fruit name — that will allow cargo transshipment without the need to break up the train.

The value of the investments already made and projected has not been disclosed. The private concessionaire of Fips, formed by the Rumo, MRS, and VLI consortium, prefers to wait until the works are completed. The structure, located in Outeirinhos on the Right Bank of the Santos port complex, will be built across an area of 102,000 square meters.

Of the seven construction phases, four have already been completed: renovation of Viaduct No. 3 of the Canal do Mercado, realignment and expansion of the rail tracks for the exit of empty wagons, realignment and expansion of the rail tracks for the entry of loaded wagons, and structural compatibility works with the terminals of Outeirinhos for train entry.

According to AG-Fips, phases 5 and 6 are underway, with expected completion in the first quarter of 2026. After that, phase 7 will begin, the final stage of the project, with completion scheduled for the second half of the same year.

The fifth phase consists of geometrically realigning the curve to provide access to the terminals. The sixth phase concerns compatibility with the Outeirinhos terminal structure for train departure. Finally, phase 7 is the system’s loop closure, when the circular portion is completed and operation begins without breaking up the trains.

According to the Santos Port Authority (APS), implementation of the rail loop will increase the flow of vegetal bulk by up to 20 million tonnes per year. The change will benefit 13 terminals on the Right Bank of the port. AG-Fips expects to expand rail capacity, currently 50 million useful tonnes per year, to 115 million.

Rodrigo Paiva, director of Graf Infra Consulting, considers the rail loop a strategic necessity for the Port of Santos. He says that by eliminating the need to break up trains, the cycle time of the compositions is drastically reduced, enabling the operation of longer trains in a more agile and efficient way. The structure is essential to support the expansion of sectors such as grains, sugar and pulp, which require high volume and efficiency in transport.

Paiva highlights the imbalance of the transport matrix at the Port of Santos, similar to other Brazilian port complexes: around 70% of cargo arrives or leaves by truck, a mode that is saturated and has little room for expansion. Rail transport accounts for approximately 30%. According to him, the goal is to reverse this logic, and the rail loop is the main tool to achieve that. With the expected growth of agribusiness, the volume of cargo arriving in Santos should double over the next five years. Without strengthened rail transport, the port would not be able to absorb this demand, creating a national bottleneck.

The rail loop is a circular yard that allows the entire train to enter, circle the loop and exit in the opposite direction, ready to return, without the need for decoupling or complex maneuvers. The structure is especially useful at high-volume terminals, such as ports, where the train arrives loaded, unloads and can quickly be reloaded or return to its origin efficiently.

Source: A Tribuna

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