About this journey

Nova Vida station marks the start of a nearly three-hour run eastward through the state of Maranhão, in the North-East region of Brazil, behind an SD70M locomotive. The journey follows the Carajás Railway, one of Brazil's principal heavy-haul corridors, heading toward the municipality of Santa Inês.

Santa Inês itself was emancipated from Pindaré Mirim in 1967 and has grown into a regional centre whose railway station is considered one of the most important on the Carajás line. The municipality also sits at the edge of a broader ecological zone: a small part of its territory falls within the Baixada Maranhense Environmental Protection Area, a sustainable-use conservation unit of 1,775,035.6 hectares established in 1991 and recognised as a Ramsar Site since 2000. That designation reflects the seasonal floodplain wetlands characteristic of lowland Maranhão. The cab-ride perspective across nearly three hours of track offers a ground-level passage through this corner of north-eastern Brazil, ending at Santa Inês station where the Carajás Railway maintains one of its key operational presences.