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Brazilian miner Vale (NYSE: VALE) and Wabtec Corporation (NYSE: WAB) have signed an agreement to increase the efficiency and operations of the Carajás Railway locomotive fleet.
The railway, which moves a third of Vale’s iron ore output (about 240 million metric tons a year), connects the Carajás mining complex in the Amazonian state of Para with the Port of Ponta da Madeira near São Luís, on Brazil’s Northeast coast.
The 10-year deal, valued at R$1.8 billion ($340 million), will optimize the maintenance services for the company’s fleet in the Estrada de Ferro Carajás (EFC).
The fleet consists of 300 locomotives and around 24,000 wagons. An average of 22 pairs of EFC trains circulate per day.
Wabtec will analyze locomotive performance data from the last three years at the EFC. The company will also provide real-time monitoring of 5,000 parameters of the locomotives operating on the railway.
In addition, the agreement foresees the creation of specialized jobs in São Luís.
Vale and Wabtec have worked together for almost three decades to supply locomotives, materials and components for the EFC.
In July 2023, the two companies also announced an agreement for the purchase of three FLXdrive battery locomotives as a step to reduce carbon emissions.
