BRAZIL: Federal development bank BNDES has approved funding of R$587⋅8m for the acquisition of 16 diesel locomotives and 1 916 wagons by freight operator VLI Multimodal. BNDES is to provide R$392⋅9m directly, and Banco Safra R$195m.
By acquiring new rolling stock in 2016, VLI is looking to increase freight capacity on the Centre-Atlantic and North-South railways, particularly for agricultural traffic.
The new locomotives and wagons will be manufactured in Brazil, says BNDES, which notes that the use of AC traction on the 1 000 mm gauge networks should increase productivity and efficiency while reducing fuel consumption.
