About this journey

Açailândia station sits at 240 m elevation in western Maranhão, its yard serving as the Estrada de Ferro Carajás terminus for grain and petroleum-derivative traffic — a role it has held since 1985. The SD70M locomotive at the controls of this journey is a diesel-electric unit rated at 4,300 hp, built by Electro-Motive Diesel and part of Vale's current traction fleet on the EFC.

The Estrada de Ferro Carajás was built to carry iron ore from the Serra dos Carajás mines to the Maranhão coast. Construction began in 1982, and the line was inaugurated on 28 February 1985. Stretching 892 km in broad gauge across the states of Pará and Maranhão, it is engineered to a maximum gradient of 0.4% in the export direction and permits speeds of up to 132 km/h. A duplication programme, concluded in August 2018 at an estimated cost of US$ 7.9 billion, added a second track along 575 km of the route. Freight trains here can reach 330 wagons hauled by three locomotives, placing them among the longest in the world, while the same infrastructure also carries passenger services — with daily departures stipulated from 2026 under the concession renewal. The approach into Nova Vida brings this crossing of the EFC's Maranhão segment to a close.