Brazil has built 37,000 km of railway tracks since the 1950s, but abandoned a third of them — meanwhile, China already operates 50,000 km of high-speed rail and plans 60,000 by 2030.

Written by Douglas Avila

Published on 28/04/2026 at 06:18

Updated on 28/04/2026 at 06:19

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Brazil had 38,287 km of tracks in the 1960s — and since then has abandoned more than 10,000 kilometers without looking back

According to Railway Technology, Brazil built more than 37,000 km of tracks since the 1950s, reaching a peak of 38,287 km in the 1960s.

However, since then, approximately one-third of this network has been abandoned — more than 10,000 kilometers of rusty tracks, ruined stations, and forgotten locomotives in warehouses.

Additionally, another third operates well below capacity, serving almost exclusively for the transport of iron ore and grains for export.

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On the other side of the world, China surpassed 50,000 km of high-speed rail — more than all other countries combined

According to Global Times, China’s high-speed rail network reached 50,000 km in December 2025, with the inauguration of the Xi’an–Yan’an line.

Consequently, China now concentrates more than 75% of the world’s entire high-speed rail network — the global total is about 65,000 km.

On the other hand, during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021–2025), the country built and put into operation 12,000 km of new high-speed lines — an average of 2,400 km per year.

The network now connects 97% of Chinese cities with more than 500,000 inhabitants, and trains reach speeds of up to 350 km/h.

In this sense, China has not only built the largest high-speed rail network on the planet — it has made it larger than all the others combined.

The contrast in numbers: Brazil abandons tracks, China sets passenger records

In 2025, China’s high-speed rail system transported 4.28 billion passengers — a 6.6% increase from the previous year.

To put this into perspective, this is equivalent to more than half of the world’s population traveling by train in a single year.

In Brazil, the number of passengers transported by rail is practically zero on long-distance routes — the country has no high-speed rail in operation or under construction.

Similarly, the Rio–São Paulo bullet train project was officially announced in 2007 and has since accumulated studies, canceled bids, and changes in government without a single meter of track being laid.

Likewise, the Transnordestina — a 1,206 km railway started in 2006 — has already consumed billions of reais and is still not completed, with 727 km ready and a deadline postponed to 2027.

High-speed train station in China with passengers boarding — Artistic representation of a Chinese railway station — the network transported 4.28 billion passengers in 2025

Study reveals that 7,412 km of inactive tracks in Brazil could be reactivated — but no segment pays for itself

According to a survey by Infra S.A., linked to the Ministry of Transport, in partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank, 7,412 km of currently inactive tracks could be reactivated.

However, the study analyzed 61 railway segments and concluded that none of them is viable solely with private capital.

Therefore, the resumption of these lines would require federal government funding — something that depends on political will and budget prioritization.

The estimated cost to reactivate these tracks reaches R$ 75 billion, according to the same report.

Still, if reactivated, these segments could reduce Brazil’s logistical costs and relieve highways that currently concentrate more than 60% of cargo transport in the country.

China does not intend to stop: the plan is to reach 60,000 km of high-speed rail by 2030

According to the Chinese government, the official goal is to reach 60,000 km of high-speed rail by 2030.

In addition, 8,656 km of new lines are under construction, with another 3,754 km formally planned.

The country’s long-term vision includes a total network of nearly 70,000 km, virtually connecting all relevant cities in the territory.

As a result, China is about to have more kilometers of high-speed rail than Brazil has of total railways — including abandoned tracks.

Indeed, the highest railway in the world in Tibet, at 5,072 meters above sea level, already operates with pressurized cars because the air up there does not have enough oxygen for passengers to breathe.

Map of railway planning in Brazil with deactivated routes marked — Artistic representation of railway planning — 7,412 km of inactive tracks could be reactivated according to a government study

Can Brazil reverse the railway abandonment — or will we continue to depend on trucks?

The Brazilian government announced in 2025 a National Railway Plan with estimated investments of R$ 138.6 billion in 15 railway assets.

However, the country’s history with large railway projects does not inspire confidence: the Transnordestina took almost 20 years without completion, and the bullet train has accumulated 19 years of delay without a meter built.

Despite this, the private sector has shown increasing interest: concessionaires like Rumo and VLI already operate significant segments and invest in modernization.

On the other hand, without passenger railways, Brazil will continue to rely solely on highways and airplanes to move people — a model that China, the Emirates, and Europe have already proven to be less efficient, more polluting, and more expensive.

The contrast is brutal: China added 12,000 km of high-speed rail in 5 years. Brazil, during the same period, did not inaugurate a single kilometer of long-distance passenger train.

The question remains: how long will the country treat railways as a government plan and not as state infrastructure?

To grasp the contrast, China transported 4.28 billion passengers by high-speed train in 2025 — more than half of the world’s population in a single year.

During the same period, Brazil did not transport any passengers on high-speed trains because it simply does not have a single line.

Moreover, while China plans to reach 60,000 km by 2030, the Brazilian National Railway Plan foresees R$ 138.6 billion for 15 assets — but most of them are in the structuring phase, not construction.

In fact, China’s investment in railways over the past 5 years has exceeded the entire GDP of many Latin American countries.

Brazil has built 37,000 km of railway tracks since the 1950s, but abandoned a third of them — meanwhile, China already operates 50,000 km of high-speed rail and plans 60,000 by 2030.

Brazil had 38,287 km of tracks in the 1960s — and since then has abandoned more than 10,000 kilometers without looking back

On the other side of the world, China surpassed 50,000 km of high-speed rail — more than all other countries combined

The contrast in numbers: Brazil abandons tracks, China sets passenger records

Study reveals that 7,412 km of inactive tracks in Brazil could be reactivated — but no segment pays for itself

China does not intend to stop: the plan is to reach 60,000 km of high-speed rail by 2030

Can Brazil reverse the railway abandonment — or will we continue to depend on trucks?

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Brazil has built 37,000 km of railway tracks since the 1950s, but abandoned a third of them — meanwhile, China already operates 50,000 km of high-speed rail and plans 60,000 by 2030.

Brazil had 38,287 km of tracks in the 1960s — and since then has abandoned more than 10,000 kilometers without looking back

On the other side of the world, China surpassed 50,000 km of high-speed rail — more than all other countries combined

The contrast in numbers: Brazil abandons tracks, China sets passenger records

Study reveals that 7,412 km of inactive tracks in Brazil could be reactivated — but no segment pays for itself

China does not intend to stop: the plan is to reach 60,000 km of high-speed rail by 2030

Can Brazil reverse the railway abandonment — or will we continue to depend on trucks?

The Soviet Union spent 22 years drilling into the Earth’s crust and reached a depth of 12,262 meters — they found water where it was thought impossible, hydrogen bubbling from the rock, granite that is 2.7 billion years old, and temperatures of 180 degrees that melted the drill bits.

Norway is drilling 27 kilometers of rock 392 meters below the bottom of a fjord to build the world’s largest and deepest underwater road tunnel — when completed, a 21-hour journey will be reduced to 10.

The island that has 35 inhabitants and celebrates Christmas on January 6: the remote island of Foula lives in isolation, without internet and following Julius Caesar’s calendar for centuries.

A German architect built a cylindrical house in 1994 that rotates to follow the sun throughout the day, generates 5 times more energy than it consumes, and was the world’s first energy-positive house.

An astronaut spent 340 days in space while his twin brother stayed on Earth, and NASA found a “rejuvenating” effect, genes, microbiome, cognition, and immune system that revealed the biological cost of living outside the planet.

China has just successfully tested the world’s first ground effect maritime vehicle, a craft that flies up to 6 meters above the water at 200 km/h, uses quantum technology and 6G communication, and can rescue patients in the middle of the ocean.

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