Wabtec Corporation has completed the first ES44 locomotives for Arauco Brasil’s Sucuriú Project at its Contagem plant in Minas Gerais.
The Sucuriú rail system is planned to include 26 ES44 locomotives and 721 wagons. Train formations are designed for loads of up to 9,600 tonnes, configured for heavy-haul pulp traffic from the mill to export routes.
The ES44 is part of Wabtec’s Evolution Series platform, widely deployed in heavy-haul operations across the Americas. In Brazil, the model is used in bulk commodity flows including iron ore, agricultural products and forestry products, reflecting axle load and traction requirements typical of long-distance freight corridors.
Arauco is investing R$ 2.4bn (approximately EUR 440m) in the Sucuriú railway infrastructure. The private branch line will extend approximately 47 km, connecting the mill directly to Rumo’s northern network and creating a logistics corridor to the Port of Santos for export shipments. The rail link is designed to reduce road transport by around 7,000 truck journeys per month and cut CO₂ emissions by up to 94% compared with road haulage.
The Sucuriú Project represents Arauco’s entry into pulp production in Brazil. The overall industrial investment totals USD 4.6bn (approximately EUR 4.2bn) and includes construction of a mill with annual capacity of 3.5 million tonnes of short-fibre pulp, with start-up scheduled for late 2027. Located about 50 km from Inocência, the site will integrate forestry, industrial and rail logistics operations into Brazil’s concession-based freight rail system, which carries most of the country’s bulk export volumes.
