Vale invests $340 million in Carajás Railway locomotive fleet improvement project

Vale (NYSE: VALE) and Wabtec Corporation (NYSE: WAB) signed an agreement to increase the efficiency and operations of the Carajás Railway locomotive fleet.

The 10-year deal, valued at R$1.8 billion ($340m), will optimize the maintenance services for Vale’s fleet in the Estrada de Ferro Carajás (EFC).

The railway connects the Carajás mining complex in Brazil’s Amazonian state of Para with the Port of Ponta da Madeira near São Luís, on Brazil’s Northeast coast.

It moves a third of Vale’s iron ore output, of about 240 million metric tons a year. The fleet consists of 300 locomotives and around 24,000 wagons. An average of 22 pairs of EFC trains circulate per day.

Wabtec will analyze locomotive performance data from the last three years at the EFC. The company will also provide real-time monitoring of 5,000 parameters of the locomotives operating on the railway.

In addition, the agreement foresees the creation of specialized jobs in São Luís.

Vale and Wabtec have worked together for almost three decades to supply locomotives, materials, and components for the EFC.

In July 2023, the two companies also announced an agreement for the purchase of three FLXdrive battery locomotives, as a step to reduce carbon emissions.