Rumo Logística transports incredible quantities of grain and is investing in a new railway infrastructure with a 1,600 mm track gauge to the port of Santos in the state of São Paulo. The maintenance fleet is also reaching a new level; universal tamping machines lift and line the heavy sleeper and rail types. This ensures availability of railway tracks, including turnouts. Rumo decided to work in continuous 2-sleeper mode in future. With this performance class, the company is setting new standards for Brazil.

The 8x4 tamping unit combines performance and flexibility in an outstanding way: eight independent tamping unit segments with tilting tines adapt to the turnout. It is possible to switch to 1-sleeper mode at any time. This is a great advantage when maintaining individual twin sleepers or hollow sleepers, where the turnout drive is located, and switching to the faster 2-sleeper mode immediately afterwards.

The flexibility of the new universal tamping machine is a great strength when working on track sections with two track gauges. In these sections, train traffic is possible on both 1,600 mm and 1,000 mm track gauges. The integrated third rail represents an additional obstacle for maintenance. The design of the new Unimat 09-8x4/4S is also optimized for this scenario. The corresponding contract was signed in December 2023.

In the picture: Investing in the future of Brazil’s heavy-haul infrastructure (from left to right): Roberto Meira (Comexport – Director of Infrastructure), Evaldo Moreira (Rumo – Purchasing Manager), Felipe Bertoncello (Rumo – Director of Purchasing), Göran Sjöström (P&T – Director – Partner Sales Americas | Europe | Africa), Bruno Morais (Rumo – General Manager of Engineering)