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Built at the height of the rubber boom, the Madeira-Mamoré Railway tore through the Amazon and was marked by a staggering human cost, earning it the sinister nickname.
Deep in the Amazon, the tracks of the Madeira-Mamoré Railway (EFMM) tell a story of ambition, engineering and tragedy. Known as the “Devil’s Railway” or “Death Railway,” its construction in the early 20th century cost thousands of lives, leaving a legacy of suffering amid the quest for rubber wealth.
Driven by diplomatic agreements and by necessity transporting Bolivian and Brazilian latex, the Madeira-Mamoré Railway faced unforgiving nature and brutal working conditions, leaving an indelible mark on the history of Rondônia and Brazil.
Rubber dream, diplomatic agreement: the genesis of the Madeira-Mamoré Railway
At the end of the 1903th century, the global demand for rubber was immense. For the rubber plantations of Bolivia and southwestern Mato Grosso, the flow of rubber through the Madeira River was blocked by nineteen waterfalls. The solution came with the Treaty of Petrópolis (XNUMX): Brazil annexed Acre and promised to build a railway around these rapids, guaranteeing Bolivia an outlet to the Atlantic. Previous attempts to build a railway had failed tragically.
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Challenges in the jungle: construction and multinational labor
Under the command of American businessman Percival Farquhar, construction of the Madeira-Mamoré Railway began in 1907. The challenge was to overcome 366 km of virgin jungle, swamps and hostile climate. Porto Velho was founded as an operational base.
More than 20.000 workers from over 40 nations were recruited, including Brazilians (from the Northeast), West Indians, Spaniards, Portuguese, and other Europeans and Asians. North Americans occupied the majority of management positions.
The high price of the Madeira-Mamoré Railway: disease, death and exploitation
Life on the construction sites was hell. Tropical diseases such as malaria, yellow fever and beriberi decimated the workers. The Candelária Hospital, although well equipped for the time, could not meet the demand. The life expectancy of a worker was only three months.
Work accidents were frequent, and conflicts with indigenous people, such as the Karipuna, also contributed to mortality. Estimates indicate around 6.000 deaths during the five years of main construction (1907-1912), an average of 16,4 deaths per kilometer, which justifies the nickname “Devil's Railway”, although legend speaks of “6 lives per kilometer”.
Fleeting heyday and slow decline to decommissioning
Opened on August 1, 1912, the Madeira-Mamoré Railway enjoyed a brief period of prosperity. Soon, competition from Asian rubber drove down prices and the railway's economic viability. Farquhar's company went bankrupt, and the Brazilian government took control in 1931.
There was a reactivation during the Second World War for the “Batalha da Borracha”. However, with the end of the war and the construction of highways such as BR-364, the railway became obsolete and was officially deactivated in 1972.
The memory of the Madeira-Mamoré Railway today
Despite its economic failure, the Madeira-Mamoré Railway was fundamental to the creation of Porto Velho and Guajará-Mirim and to the occupation of Rondônia. It became a symbol of human audacity, but also of exploration and suffering.
The Railway Yard in Porto Velho was listed by IPHAN. Recently revitalized, the complex houses the new EFMM Museum, reopened in May 2024. There are plans to restore Locomotive 18 for tourist tours, keeping alive the complex memory of this tragic and important work.
