History

1903 - Construction work begins on the Companhia Estrada de Ferro Vitória a Minas (“Vitória-Minas Railroad Company,” or CEFVM).
1904 - The first stretch of CEFVM is inaugurated, between Vitória in Espírito Santo and Natividade in Rio de Janeiro.
1909 - The Brazilian Hematite Syndicate (BHS) is established by British investors, with the aim of developing iron ore reserves in Minas Gerais. In the same year, BHS buys a majority stake in CEFVM, effectively merging the two groups.
1910 - The railroad reaches Governador Valadares in Minas Gerais. The idea of taking the railroad to Itabira arises.
1911 - The Brazilian Hematite Syndicate is renamed the Itabira Iron Ore Company and is acquired by Percival Farquhar.
1914 - EFVM reaches Mariana and Diamantina in Minas Gerais.
1940 - The Itabira Iron Ore Company dispatches the first shipment of iron ore from the Port of Vitória in Espírito Santo.
1942 - On June 1, President Getúlio Vargas signs decree-law 4,352, creating Companhia Vale do Rio Doce, which takes over Farquhar’s companies and EFVM.
1943 - EFVM’s tracks reach Itabira, Minas Gerais. The following year the railroad arrives at Cauê Iron Mine.
1952 - EFVM achieves an annual record of 1.5 million metric tons of iron ore transported.
1954 - The first diesel electric locomotives start operating on the railroad.
1969 - The Fábrica-Fazendão branch line opens.
1970 - The largest metric-gauge train in the world begins operating on EFVM. The 150-car train extends for 1,550 m and is powered by 3,900 HP diesel electric locomotives.
EFVM implements a centralized, integrated communication and control system.
1972 - Work begins on double-tracking EFVM from Vitória in Espírito Santo to Costa Lacerda in Minas Gerais.
1991 - The loading control center is transferred from Cauê Iron Mine to Vitória, Espírito Santo.
The General Carneiro branch line, serving Gongo Soco Mine in Minas Gerais, is opened.
1992 - The 46-km Capitão Eduardo-Costa Lacerda branch line, connecting EFVM to the Federal Railroad Network, is inaugurated.
1994 - The EFVM passenger train service, which already linked Vitória (Espírito Santo) to Itabira (Minas Gerais), reaches Belo Horizonte, the capital of Minas Gerais.
1996 -EFVM’s operational control center is opened in Tubarão, Espírito Santo.
1997 - Vale obtains the right to operate EFVM for 30 years, renewable for a further 30 years.
1998 - The Diverse Products Terminal (TPD) in Sergipe is inaugurated, with a berth exclusively for grains (Pier 3).
The first consignment of soy is shipped from TPD, strengthening railroad-port integration.
The Vale Museum is opened in the former Pedro Nolasco Train Station, in Vila Velha, Espírito Santo.
2001 - Vale opens the Railroad Research and Training Center, the most advanced railroad training center in the country.
The “Citizenship Station” program, which takes various social responsibility activities to poor communities, is launched.
2002 - A customer service helpline is launched.
A 320-car train, extending for nearly three kilometers, comes into operation.
2003 - A new annual freight transportation record is made: 119.7 million metric tons. Wooden crossties begin to be replaced with steel ones.
2004 - PUC-Minas Gerais, a university, starts offering a postgraduate course in railroad engineering, sponsored by Vale.
Automatic train controls are installed in all of the railroad’s locomotives.
The “Citizenship on the Tracks” educational project is launched. Activities to raise awareness of railroad safety issues are organized in ten municipalities served by EFVM in Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo.
2005 - At the end of the year, the railroad is operating 337 locomotives and 19,302 train cars.
The railroad carries 13.5 billion metric ton-kilometers of general freight, 23% more than the 11 billion recorded in 2001. EFVM carries 55 billion metric ton-kilometers of iron ore and pellets, against 54 billion in 2001.
2006 - Fuel cargo transported grows from an average of 10,000 to 20,000 metric tons per month.
EFVM begins trials using biodiesel to power its locomotives.
2007 - Vale’s railroads become the first in Brazil to use biofuels.
2009 - The first trials of natural gas-powered locomotives begin in Brazil.
2010 - The world’s most advanced train simulator is installed, in partnership with the University of São Paulo.
2011 - EFVM implements the first long-distance train in Brazil with an electronic braking system rather than pneumatic brakes.