MRS expands Central-West–Santos route with hydro-rail solution

In an interview given to Port Newspapertoday in Integration 5.0 Programduring the special coverage of Intermodal 2026, the MRS representative, Guilherme Delgadodetailed the progress of an important multimodal corridor that has been transforming national logistics.

According to him, the integration between road, water and rail modes represents a leap in efficiency for the country, especially for the flow of agricultural production from the Center-West.

The operation starts in São Simão, in the south of Goiáswhere cargo arrives by trucks. It is then shipped to the Tietê-Paraná waterway and later transferred to the railway, continuing to the Port of Santos.

According to the company, the solution already demonstrates a significant impact on the sector’s ESG agenda, with estimated 70% reduction in CO2 emissions compared to direct road transport.

In addition to the environmental benefit, the initiative significantly reduces the so-called Brazil costincreasing the competitiveness of Brazilian commodities in the international market.

During the interview, MRS also highlighted that the first stage of the project already includes 2.3 million tons movedwith investments in railway expansion in Baixada Santista and improvements on the descent to Santos.

The sector’s expectation is that the project will become one of the main strategic routes for agribusiness in the coming years.

Sources linked to the sector indicate that new expansions of railway capacity for Santos could be announced in the second half of the year.