Marcopolo Rail expands its activity, in the international market, as the supply of three compositions of two cars for the State Railway Company – EFE Trenes de Chile, a public company responsible for the management of the country's railway network. The Marcopolo business unit, specialized in the development and production of railway vehicles, has awarded a contract for the supply in December 2022. “The vehicles will be two-way, with operating cabins at each end. The composition has the capacity to transport 223 passengers, with 80 seated and 143 standing. The models will have air conditioning, space intended for people with reduced mobility, as well as an adapted toilet,” highlights Petras Amaral Santos, executive manager of Marcopolo Rail.
The contract with EFE includes the supply of rolling stock, replacement parts and maintenance. There will be three Diesel Multiple Units, DMUs, with two trolleys each in the Prosper model, with doors on both sides, armchairs with armrests, USB ports and a folding table at no cost. For greater thermal comfort, there is a separate air-conditioning system for each car. Production is scheduled to start in the first half of 2023, at the Ana Rech Industrial Complex, in Caxias do Sul (RS), in a specific pavilhão for the production of two railway vehicles and will meet all the demands of manufacturing processes.
The produced trains must operate on the Talca-Constitución line, an interurban circuit for medium-distance passenger transport, with 88 kilometers of length and 11 stations. The system is part of the Trenes de Chile program and has recently undergone improvements in its infrastructure. Currently, the branch connects the rural areas of the central valley and the coastal area, in the Maule region. “We look to Chile to place Brazil as an important player in the international metro railway scenario, considering the strategic potential of production, as well as Marcopolo's capillarity to serve the continent. The provision of two trains to Chile will strengthen our attitude and favor entry into other Latin American markets, with the possibility of expanding mobility over three years,” says Santos.
Advancement of metroferroviária mobility
Marcopolo Rail is working to identify opportunities for the advancement of metroferroviária mobility, in line with current global demands, and working to promote high-capacity displacements with speed, efficiency and comfort.
In 2020, Marcopolo Rail launched the Prosper VLT, its first light vehicle on trilhos (VLT), for operation in a tourist route by Giordani Turismo, in Bento Gonçalves (RS). Marcopolo Rail will also provide people movers for the AeroGru consortium, formed by the companies Aerom, HTB, FBS and TSEA. The consortium is responsible for the passenger transport project on line 13-Jade of CPTM (Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos) at terminals 1, 2 and 3 of passengers at the Guarulhos International Airport, in São Paulo.
About Marcopolo
Founded 75 years ago in Caxias do Sul (RS), Marcopolo is a leader in the manufacture of bus bodies in Brazil and is positioned among the largest manufacturers in the world. The company is committed to the future of mobility, attentive to the development of new fashions, as well as continuously investing in development, technology, design and expansion, producing solutions that contribute to the development of collective passenger transportation. With factories on five continents, the vehicles produced by the company drive along the roads of more than one country.
About Marcopolo Rail
With the purpose of improving the life experience through mobility, Marcopolo Rail is a business unit of Marcopolo S.A, specialized in the development and production of new vehicles for the fashions of trilhos. Marcopolo Rail has its portfolio of railway products and is active in the production of Multiple Units and Passenger Cars, including the manufacture of boxes for People Movers, TRAMs and TUEs. In addition to the product line, it also offers maintenance and modernization contracts for already existing systems.
