Rumo to use satellite to solve logistics bottlenecks

Brazil’s largest logistics railroad operator, Rumo, will use satellite-based communications to connect trains on long stretches of tracks crossing underconnected regions in the country.

The company signed a contract with Globalsat satellite group, which will rely on satellite connectivity from Inmarsat, as well as terminals provided by Cobham, to connect Rumo’s cargo trains in real-time, the companies reported.

Rumo is controlled by commodities group Cosan and operates 14,000km of railway tracks in Brazil. But many of these tracks are in areas with no connectivity, so train drivers, railway engineers and transport managers often deal with poor communications and are left without live operational updates.

Trains cannot proceed until they receive updates from the control center, which causes long delays to services and creates logistical bottlenecks, as well as increased opex.

The project will enable the tracking of each train and promises reliable voice and data communication between drivers, maintenance crews and regional control centers, according to the companies involved. Connectivity will be uninterrupted even in spots without mobile coverage, they said.

Deployment will be phased. The first stage, starting in the next weeks, will focus on 300 cargo trains and 2,000km of Rumo’s tracks in a part that connects six states to the port of Santos, the largest in Latin America. 

When completed, around 1,600 locomotives are expected to be connected.

Asked by BNamericas, Rumo declined to provide investment figures.

Between January and September last year, the group's net revenues amounted to 5.42bn reais (US$1.3bn), up 9.8% year over year. Investments reached 390mn reais in the third quarter and 1.36bn reais in the first nine months of the year, down 29.7% and 14.2%, respectively. 

Most of the investments refer to recurring capex, mainly due to mechanical and permanent maintenance expenses. 

Part of the quarterly capex went to renovating yards and terminals to reduce train dwell time and increase operational productivity, according to the company’s financial reports. 

Recently, the government and Rumo signed the contract for the Norte-Sul (North-South) line, as Rumo won an auction last year for a 30-year operating and maintenance concession for a 1,537km stretch of the freight line.

This line connects Porto Nacional in Tocantins state and Estrela d'Oeste in São Paulo, and a 855km stretch is already operating.