VLI Signs Contract for Nine Wabtec Locomotives

Locomotives will join the company's premium fleet to transport cargo on the Ferrovia Centro-Atlântica.

VLI – a logistics solutions company that operates ports, railways and terminals –signed a contract today for nine Wabtec Evolution Series locomotives (ES43BBI model), which will join the company's premium fleet for the transport of cargo on the Ferrovia Centro-Atlântica (FCA ). The order, valued at approximately R$200 million, represents another investment by VLI in the national rolling stock industry. The first locomotives are expected to be delivered in about 18 months.

The new locomotives meet the increased demand for cargo transport in the company's Central-East corridor, through which freight from the steel industry, agribusiness, coal, fertilizers, fuel, and cellulose are shipped towards the port system of Espírito Santo. Those shipments include a recently signed 30-year contract with LD Cellulose to transport dissolving pulp. VLI will move 500,000 tons of material produced in the Triângulo Mineiro to the port of Barra do Riacho (ES) each year.

“The signing of this contract reinforces our commitment to customers who transport their cargo with VLI on the Ferrovia Centro-Atlântica and our team's ability to co-create solutions to generate efficiency. It is also important to remember that the early renewal of the Ferrovia Centro-Atlântica concession contract will bring new increases in cargo volumes and, consequently, more incentives for national wagon and locomotive manufacturers”, says Fábio Marchiori, interim CEO of VLI and director of Finance, Supply Chain and Company Services.

For the LD Cellulose contract, the company invested R$400 million in wagons specially designed to transport dissolving pulp.

Expansion of load in Espírito Santo

In addition to the flows recently started by the company, such as LD Celulose, VLI is studying new investments and opportunities to increase the volumes transported to the ports of Espírito Santo. An example of this is the recent announcement of a memorandum of understanding with Vports (formerly Codesa) for expansion works at the new Port of Vitória, with the aim of increasing the volume of cargo transported through the site. The document assumes that the studies to be carried out jointly may conclude that there is an opportunity for investments in railroads, ports, and terminals of up to R$200 million.

The study estimates an increase of about 5 million tons of mineral and vegetable solid bulks to the current cargo matrix in the State's import and export flows. To handle this increase in transported volumes, VLI also will analyze the need to acquire new wagons and locomotives.

Now, VLI moves about 25 million tons per year in the ports and railroads of Espírito Santo, with cargo that travels along the Centro-Atlântica Railway, in Minas Gerais, and the Vitória-Minas Railway, where VLI operates by right-of-way, to access the ports of Espírito Santo. The current port operation is concentrated in the Praia Mole, Granéis Líquidos and Produtos Diversos, installed in the Complexo Portuário de Tubarão. However, the company believes in the growth of this corridor and is studying new public and private port opportunities in Espírito Santo.

About the Locomotives

The ES43BBi is a heavy-haul locomotive specifically designed for 1,000-mm gauge railways in Brazil. It is equipped with a powerful 12-cylinder, 4500-horsepower Evolution Series engine and eight powered axles designed to operate in Brazil’s extreme environments. Along with the service-proven Evolutions Series engine, the ES43BBi boasts a technologically advanced AC-traction system with individual axle control and robust articulated trucks. The locomotive also is equipped with a redesigned air-to-air system and extra blowers directly integrated onto the traction motors. It also provides lower lifecycle costs due to improved fuel efficiency, lower emissions, and reduced parts wear. The locomotive also features the RailConnect™ 360 software solutions, including Trip Optimizer, LOCOTROL^® Distributed Power System, PTC, and PTC 2.0, which further increases efficiency, safety, and optimizes train driving.

“The Wabtec ES43BBi was developed in Brazil, by Brazilian engineers to focus on increasing productivity, efficiency, reducing fuels, and emissions for railroads that operate in metric gauge,” said Danilo Miyasato, President and Leader of Wabtec LatAm. “Given the challenges posed by the metric gauge and national logistics, Wabtec combined VLI's needs with the most innovative AC locomotive technology. Today, there are more than 50 locomotives of this model in operation in the country with high levels of reliability and availability.”

Central-Atlantic Railroad

The Centro-Atlântica Railroad runs through seven Brazilian states, transporting wealth from different segments, such as agribusiness, steel, and civil construction to supply the domestic and foreign markets. The early renewal of the FCA concession, currently under way by the regulatory bodies, could mark a new cycle of growth, investments, and contribution to the national railway industry, due to the acquisition of new wagons and locomotives to transport the expected increase in load, providing an even broader and more efficient service to customers.

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