São Paulo’s Rail Comeback: A $4 Billion Plan to Ease Highway Bottlenecks

São Paulo state is preparing to bring back a railway most locals thought was gone for good: a 223.6-kilometer line linking the Port of Santos to Cajati in the Vale do Ribeira.

The operator CPTM is finishing topographic and aerial surveys, with the engineering pre-project due to start in December.

The plan calls for 13 stations across six coastal and seven inland cities, hybrid trains (electric plus combustion), and a mix of express and all-stops services.

The end-to-end express is estimated at 2 hours 20 minutes; all-stops segments would take about 48 minutes from Santos to Peruíbe and 1 hour 56 minutes from Peruíbe to Cajati.

Target volumes are roughly 32,000 passengers and 600 containers per day. The budget range is R$19–R$21 billion ($3.58–$3.96 billion).

One signature feature: an elevated stretch of about 80 kilometers between Santos and Peruíbe so beach access, streets, and utilities can flow underneath, creating room for linear parks, bike paths, and beach parking.

The line would connect to the Baixada Santista light rail (VLT) and, later, to the Santos–São Paulo intercity service, forming a continuous coastal-to-capital corridor.

With terrain rising from only about 2 meters in Santos to 75 meters at Cajati, designers expect no tunnels and limited heavy earthworks.

Brazil’s Old Rail Line Finds New Purpose

The story behind the story is a familiar Brazilian arc: built in 1913–1915 (extended to Cajati in 1981), the route thrived in mid-century—think the plush Expresso Ouro Branco—then lost passengers to highways, was mothballed in 1997, and saw stretches occupied after abandonment.

In 2020, the private concessionaire returned the corridor to the federal government. Reuse of the existing right-of-way where feasible should curb costs and environmental impact, but authorities will still need to clear invasions, rebuild some bridges and stations, and reroute at pinch points.

Why this matters is practical, not nostalgic. The line would ease pressure on the accident-prone BR-116, shorten daily commutes (Praia Grande alone sends tens of thousands to Santos each day), and give small producers a steadier, cheaper path to Brazil’s busiest port.

It is a century-old lifeline updated for today—connecting beaches, jobs, classrooms, and cargo without carving a new scar into the landscape.