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The megaproject to resume passenger trains in Northern Santa Catarina took a concrete step this week. According to ndmais, the Joinville City Council approved Motion No. 407/2026 requesting priority in studies for the implementation of railway transport, and representatives from three municipal associations were in Brasília on Thursday (21) to request the Ministry of Transport and ANTT to include the EF-485 railway in the national studies of technical, economic, and environmental feasibility.
The railway megaproject that could transform mobility in Northern Santa Catarina moved from informal talks to institutional form. Representatives from Amunesc, Amplanorte, and Amvali, supported by the Intermunicipal Urban Mobility Consortium, formalized on Thursday (21) the request to the Ministry of Transport and ANTT for the EF-485 railway section to be included in the feasibility studies for passenger transport in the country. The line is 170 kilometers long and connects Mafra to São Francisco do Sul, passing through strategic cities like Rio Negrinho, São Bento do Sul, Corupá, Jaraguá do Sul, Guaramirim, Joinville, and Araquari.
The megaproject serves a region with over 1.6 million inhabitants distributed across 26 municipalities that concentrate a significant part of Santa Catarina’s industrial production. Passenger rail transport was deactivated on this line 35 years ago, in 1991, when RFFSA ended the service of the railcars that traveled between Corupá and São Francisco do Sul. Since then, the tracks have been used exclusively to transport grains to the Port of São Francisco do Sul, and the population relies on predominantly single-lane highways that are already operating above capacity.
What was approved in the Joinville City Council
On Tuesday (19), the Joinville City Council approved Motion No. 407/2026, presented by councilor Henrique Deckmann, from MDB. The document requests that the Ministry of Transport and ANTT prioritize studies for the implementation of the passenger railway transport megaproject in Northern Santa Catarina. The approval gives institutional weight to a demand that municipal associations had already been articulating behind the scenes.
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Deckmann argued during the session that the train could become the solution for thousands of workers and students who commute daily between municipalities such as Araquari, Joinville, Jaraguá do Sul, and São Francisco do Sul. The road journey between these cities, made on single-lane roads with heavy truck traffic, consumes time and fuel that a passenger rail system could drastically reduce.
The EF-485 Railway and the Potential for Passengers
Photo: Disclosure/Joinville City Hall/ND Mais
The EF-485 is the only railway line of the Southern Network in operation in Santa Catarina. Spanning 170 kilometers, it cuts through the interior of the state from Mafra, in the Northern Plateau, to São Francisco do Sul, on the coast, crossing mountainous regions and valleys that concentrate important industrial hubs. The megaproject proposes to share this existing infrastructure with passenger transport, taking advantage of tracks that are already there but are used only for freight.
The associations highlighted to the federal government that the region served by the railway gathers more than 1.6 million inhabitants and has a strong industrial vocation, with factories of engines, tubes, refrigerators, and automotive components. The saturation of the highways is visible: the BR-101 and the state roads connecting the cities in the region face daily congestion, frequent accidents, and a flow of trucks competing with passenger vehicles on unduplicated lanes.
The Meeting with ANTT Scheduled for June
The formal request in Brasília with the Santa Catarina Parliamentary Forum already has a concrete development: a meeting between municipal entities and the National Land Transport Agency has been scheduled for June 10. The goal is to discuss the inclusion of the EF-485 in the scope of the technical, economic, and environmental feasibility studies that the federal government is conducting to map where passenger rail transport is viable in Brazil.
So far, the EF-485 is not on the national priority list for the passenger train implementation megaproject. The June meeting is an opportunity for the associations to present technical data, information on potential demand, and economic arguments that justify the inclusion of the Santa Catarina section. Municipal representatives reinforced their willingness to collaborate with the provision of information and the structuring of the project.
What Would Change for Those Living in the Region
Photo: Reproduction/Social Networks/ND Mais
The resumption of the passenger train in the North of Santa Catarina would have a direct impact on the lives of workers, students, and families who depend on daily intermunicipal travel. The megaproject plans stations in cities that function as employment hubs, allowing residents of smaller municipalities to access work and education opportunities without relying on their own car or intermunicipal buses.
The reduction of road congestion is another expected benefit. With some passengers migrating to the train, the volume of vehicles on the roads would decrease, reducing traffic jams, accidents, and carbon emissions. The entities involved in the articulation argue that passenger rail transport offers a more sustainable, predictable, and safe alternative than the road model that has prevailed for 35 years in the absence of the train.
The obstacles the megaproject still needs to overcome
The inclusion of EF-485 in national studies is just the first step. For the megaproject to materialize, authorization from ANTT will be necessary, as well as an agreement with the concessionaire operating the freight line and investment in station infrastructure, signaling, and rolling stock. The auctions for the South Network, divided into three lots, are scheduled for the end of 2026, and the negotiation on sharing the line with passengers will need to be included in the concession contracts.
The challenge is to reconcile grain transport, which has priority on the current line, with a regular passenger service that requires fixed schedules, frequency, and punctuality. Other countries, like Germany and Japan, successfully operate shared lines, but in Brazil, the experience is limited. The Vale passenger train between Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo, cited as a reference by the associations of Santa Catarina, is one of the few examples in operation in the country.
Would you use a passenger train to travel between cities in the North of Santa Catarina, or do you prefer to continue using a car? Do you think the megaproject will materialize or remain just a proposal? Tell us in the comments.
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