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New Plan of the Ministry of Transport Includes the São Paulo Ferroanel in a Concession Scheduled for 2026, Creating Alternatives to the Port of Santos and Expanding Logistical Competition Among Southeast Terminals.
The Ministry of Transport is preparing a change in the flow logic from the Midwest by including the works of the São Paulo Ferroanel in the concession package of the Malha Oeste.
The measure, under discussion to be presented to the Federal Court of Accounts to enable a bidding process in 2026, creates an alternative rail corridor that can shift part of the flow currently concentrated at the Port of Santos and increase competition among the ports in the Southeast.
The decision also aligns with the advancement of the EF-118 (Rio–Espírito Santo) project, whose preparatory procedures continued in 2025.
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What Changes in the Flow of the Midwest
By being incorporated into the new modeling of Malha Oeste, the Ferroanel begins to function as a piece of integration.
The trains coming from the Midwest gain an alternative route to reach the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo, with the capacity to connect to different ports in the Southeast.
The orientation of the government is explicit.
“Our intention is to increase competition among the ports and make rail transport more efficient,” said Executive Secretary George Santoro while detailing the design under development.
In practice, part of the cargo that currently goes directly to Santos may shift to routes serving terminals in Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo, according to the profile of each cargo and the offered tariffs.
Ferroanel: From Layout to Construction Site
Conceived in the 1970s and resumed on different occasions, the São Paulo Ferroanel reappeared in 2025 as an essential counterpart to facilitate the increase of trains expected in the new concession of Malha Oeste.
The project had been considered during the early renewal of Malha Sudeste, of MRS, in 2021, but did not advance due to cost and the lack of a model that would allow its framing.
Now, it returns as a structuring work to remove freight trains from the urban axis of the capital, increasing speed and mitigating operational conflicts.
Part of the layout will follow the right-of-way of the Rodoanel Norte, which already reserves technical space for the railway, according to the Ministry.
Malha Oeste: Redesigned Concession and Schedule
The government is working to submit the feasibility study to the TCU and subsequently take the Malha Oeste to auction in 2026.
The bidding is expected to use a “phased” model, with different layout alternatives available in the same auction, prioritizing those who assume the most complete design.
The inclusion of the Ferroanel is treated internally as a condition of operational and economic viability.
Without the rail bypass in the capital, the increase in volumes would saturate access to São Paulo via Malha Paulista, reducing the efficiency of the new contract.
Regional vehicles and the sector’s own coverage point to the window of the first half of 2026 for the bidding.
Effect on the EF-118 and the Southeast Network
The logistical rebalancing is not limited to São Paulo.
In Rio and Espírito Santo, the EF-118 is advancing with studies and consultations that had public stages in January 2025.
The railway is designed to connect strategic port hubs, with links to the existing MRS network in the state of Rio and, consequently, to the São Paulo axis.
By creating a “ring” of options between terminals in RJ and ES, the EF-118 broadens the range of exits for cargo that previously converged almost invariably to Santos.
The reading in the Ministry is that the Ferroanel, by unlocking access to São Paulo, facilitates the modeling and attractiveness of the EF-118 concession, consolidating an integrated corridor in the Southeast.
Operational Impact: Trains Outside the Urban Area and More Circulation Windows
The removal of heavy freight traffic from the urban rail network of São Paulo is the most immediate operational gain.
By shifting compositions to the bypass, the system reduces crossings with metropolitan lines and eliminates typical restrictions in densely populated areas.
This tends to increase average speeds and schedule predictability.
At the same time, the capacity for accommodating long and heavy trains is expanded, improving efficiency in the arrival and departure of cargo destined for the ports of the Southeast.
This reorganization helps to distribute demand peaks and reduces bottlenecks at the railway junction of the capital.
The condition was cited by the government as necessary for the new contract of Malha Oeste to deliver productivity gains.
Santos in a New Competitive Board
No authority speaks of deactivating the Port of Santos, which remains the largest port complex in the country.
What changes is the exclusive prominence in rail flow from the Midwest.
With an alternative corridor and the interconnection to the EF-118, cargo destined for specific markets may find competitive windows and rates at terminals in Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo, depending on transshipment modes and berth availability.
The Ministry of Transport has made clear its intention to “take cargo from the Port of Santos” to enhance intraregional competition.
The move, in the team’s view, induces efficiency in the chain and reduces risks of dependence on a single access point.
Deadlines, Governance, and Next Steps
The Executive Secretariat of the Ministry reported that the feasibility study for the concession must be submitted to the TCU before the end of next month.
This stage is necessary to keep the auction for 2026 on schedule.
The proposal preserves the strategy of offering, in a single auction, layout alternatives with different weights in competition, encouraging the concessionaire to adopt the Ferroanel as a capacity-inducing investment.
Meanwhile, the agenda of the EF-118 continues with federal dialogue and consolidation of studies conducted by Infra S.A., in line with what was publicly presented at the beginning of the year.
The stated aim is to form a Southeast corridor with multiple port accesses and greater operational resilience.
If the Southeast rail network gains this ring of options and the bypass in São Paulo materializes along with the new Malha Oeste, how will shippers reorganize their routes between Santos, Rio, and Espírito Santo to capture cost and predictability?
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