You know that the “train” of Minas Gerais can mean many things – and now, it also means a new connection between Minas Gerais and São Paulo. After all, a section of the SP-Minas Train will be inaugurated next month, taking a step forward in the project to bring the two states even closer together.
In fact, it’s fair to say that the line will be reopened, as its tracks have existed since 1884! It was part of the Federal Railway Network and was an important freight and passenger corridor until it was decommissioned in 1991. In other words, as well as uniting people from São Paulo and Minas Gerais, the train will be bringing the region’s history back to life.
SP-Minas train will pass through the interior, 220km from the capital
The line will connect Cruzeiro, in the Paraíba Valley, to Passa Quatro, in the south of Minas Gerais. There will be 35 kilometers of track dedicated to sightseeing, which will pass through historic stations, rural landscapes and the emblematic Mantiqueira Tunnel, which was the setting for some of the most violent battles of the Constitutionalist Revolution of 1932.
The railway tunnel, which marks the border between Minas Gerais and São Paulo, was a strategic location for both São Paulo and Getúlio Vargas’ federal troops. For this reason, intense and very bloody fighting took place there, where more than 250 soldiers died.
The Mantiqueira Tunnel has not been used by trains since the Federal Railway Network was shut down at the end of the 20th century. But that will soon change, and you’ll be able to travel this historic route in century-old locomotives.
The “Mantiqueira Express”, as the SP-Minas Train is also called, will take its first steps on July 5 and 6, with the inauguration of the first section. It will link Cruzeiro Station to Rufino de Almeida, the first seven kilometers of the old railroad that have already been revitalized for use.
From there, work will continue to reach the Mantiqueira Tunnel, on the border with Minas Gerais. Then the São Paulo stretch will connect with the Minas Gerais lines, which are already in operation and lead to Passa Quatro.
Dom Pedro II once rode on this train!
When the tracks were built in the 1880s, the plan was for the railroad to connect three states: Minas Gerais, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. However, the plan didn’t go ahead and the railroad, which left the south of Minas Gerais, only reached as far as Cruzeiro.
The inauguration took place 141 years ago , in June 1884. The then emperor Dom Pedro II was present with members of the royal family, who made the first trip by rail on the SP-Minas tracks. Thus, the rescue of the railroad will not only be an option for interstate tourism, but also a way of safeguarding the railroad history of the states.