RFFSA
Encyclopedia
The Rede Ferroviária Federal, Sociedade Anônima (RFFSA) was the state-owned national railway company of Brazil
. It was created in 1957
, and dissolved between 1999–2007.
In addition, the Estrada de Ferro Santa Catarina and the Viação Férrea do Rio Grande do Sul had been leased to the governments of the respective States, at the time.
Other railroads of the Federal Government would continue under special administration the Estrada de Ferro Ilhéus and the Estrada de Ferro Tocantins.
Between 1996 and 1998, over 22,000 km of rail lines in Brazil (73% of the entire state rail system) were being transferred to various private organizations, which signed 30-year concessions to operate the railroad systems. The organized private railroad companies will invest $2.1 billion dollars within the 30-year concession as well as increase the volume of traffic, modernize, and expand their railroad systems.
The main goal of privatizing the RFFSA and FEPASA was to end the financial and labor troubles of the railroads, mainly due to a lack of investment by Brazil from the 1980s and the 1990s.
On December 9, 1999, the liquidation of the Ferrovia Paulista S.A. (FEPASA) began as a merger to the RFFSA, and then as an auction in the form of a concession for 20 years. Ferroban was the winner, which has an option to renew the 20-year concession. However, the control was split between América Latina Logística and Brasil Ferrovias.
On December 17, 1999, the liquidation of the RFFSA began by the General Meeting of Shareholders. By May 31, 2007, the liquidation was complete, becoming Brazilian Federal Law #11.483.
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the diesel traction presence in the Central Railway of Brazil, the RFFSA held a contest to create an innovative 'new image' paint scheme for its locomotives and rolling stock.
With an initiative well conducted, the contest became a significant rail fest. The 50th anniversary of diesel traction was also a reference to the historic network of the railroad. It recognized the development of diesel locomotives that helped shape the railway system today in Brazil.
The event was first held in December 1993; tremendous support from various sectors of the RFFSA, as well as professional associations and even customers attended the event with all sorts of resources.
Citing a journalist from the Management of Social Communication in the RFFSA, a participation of shareholders competed against each other in creating the new scheme. The paint scheme competition event was open to anybody who was interested (regardless of training, schooling of even if they were employees or not from RFFSA). The only requirement was a display board showcasing the design by the participant. Officially, the standard locomotive model chosen to represent the new scheme was a EVSA GT26CUM-2. Once the scheme was chosen, an actual GT26CUM-2 would be painted in the new scheme from the SR-5 Sector.
The completed artwork would be sent to the Department of Communication, as a panel of judges - led by designer Elias Filho and the Sevig Company - would pick the winning drawing. The members of Communication, Engineering & Preserves would also assist into picking the drawing.
On December 6, 1993, the new scheme was chosen. Paulo Henrique Cavalieri of Juiz de Fora, MG, was declared the winner in the new scheme. Consisting of Ash Grey, Sunflower Yellow & Black, the scheme refreshed the RFFSA look as well as baptizing the locomotives with names, municipalities, states, or cities of there they respectively operated. Dubbed by rail fans and modelers as 'Phase Two', the scheme was short lived; from 1993 to 1996 the scheme was applied to all sorts of locomotives from all the sectors and easily became dirty after a few months. By 1995 or 1996, the RFFSA was too poor in cleaning or painting a locomotive that even repainting a locomotive into the new scheme varied in success. No two locomotives of the same model were alike in a repaint.
The actual winner "who won but did not win" was Eike Pereira de Souza, an architect from the RFFSA's auto graphics planning department. He won a cash prize of 200,000 Cruzeiros.
With locomotives, the first two digits are hidden, and used only on documents, e.g. 905212-7F.
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. It was created in 1957
1957 in rail transport
-January events:* January 1 - The Chicago and North Western Railway leases the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway .* January 12 - Operations of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway's Super Chief and El Capitan passenger trains are combined during off-peak seasons.* January 22 -...
, and dissolved between 1999–2007.
Constituent Railways
The RFFSA was created by the merger of 18 separate regional railways.- Estrada de Ferro Madeira-Mamoré
- Estrada de Ferro de Bragança
- Estrada de Ferro São Luís-Teresina
- Estrada de Ferro Central do Piauí
- Rede de Viação Cearense
- Estrada de Ferro Mossoró-Sousa
- Estrada de Ferro Sampaio Correia
- Rede Ferroviária do Nordeste
- Viação Férrea Federal do Leste Brasileiro
- Estrada de Ferro Bahia-Minas
- Estrada de Ferro Leopoldina
- Estrada de Ferro Central do BrasilEstrada de Ferro Central do BrasilThe Estrada de Ferro Central do Brasil was one of the principal railways of Brazil, uniting the states of Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Minas Gerais.-Origins:...
- Rede Mineira de Viação
- Estrada de Ferro de Goiás
- Estrada de Ferro Santos a Jundiaí
- Estrada de Ferro Noroeste do Brasil
- Rede de Viação Paraná-Santa Catarina
- Estrada de Ferro Dona Teresa Cristina
In addition, the Estrada de Ferro Santa Catarina and the Viação Férrea do Rio Grande do Sul had been leased to the governments of the respective States, at the time.
Other railroads of the Federal Government would continue under special administration the Estrada de Ferro Ilhéus and the Estrada de Ferro Tocantins.
Privatisation and liquidation
Privatization was one of the alternatives for investments to return in railroads. The government of the PSDB gave the public rail lines access to transport cargo. However, most of the railroad companies were not interested in seeing a transport of passengers, as the service was nearly extinct.Between 1996 and 1998, over 22,000 km of rail lines in Brazil (73% of the entire state rail system) were being transferred to various private organizations, which signed 30-year concessions to operate the railroad systems. The organized private railroad companies will invest $2.1 billion dollars within the 30-year concession as well as increase the volume of traffic, modernize, and expand their railroad systems.
The main goal of privatizing the RFFSA and FEPASA was to end the financial and labor troubles of the railroads, mainly due to a lack of investment by Brazil from the 1980s and the 1990s.
On December 9, 1999, the liquidation of the Ferrovia Paulista S.A. (FEPASA) began as a merger to the RFFSA, and then as an auction in the form of a concession for 20 years. Ferroban was the winner, which has an option to renew the 20-year concession. However, the control was split between América Latina Logística and Brasil Ferrovias.
On December 17, 1999, the liquidation of the RFFSA began by the General Meeting of Shareholders. By May 31, 2007, the liquidation was complete, becoming Brazilian Federal Law #11.483.
Paint schemes
From 1957 to 1993, the standard scheme of the RFFSA was red and black with two stripes that wrapped around the car body and dipped down in the front and rear (if applicable). The scheme sometimes carried subsidiary markings in which the lower stripe was widened to fit it. With the SIGO System in effect by 1983, almost all subsidiary markings disappeared and were replaced with a simple R F F S A and the number below it.To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the diesel traction presence in the Central Railway of Brazil, the RFFSA held a contest to create an innovative 'new image' paint scheme for its locomotives and rolling stock.
With an initiative well conducted, the contest became a significant rail fest. The 50th anniversary of diesel traction was also a reference to the historic network of the railroad. It recognized the development of diesel locomotives that helped shape the railway system today in Brazil.
The event was first held in December 1993; tremendous support from various sectors of the RFFSA, as well as professional associations and even customers attended the event with all sorts of resources.
Citing a journalist from the Management of Social Communication in the RFFSA, a participation of shareholders competed against each other in creating the new scheme. The paint scheme competition event was open to anybody who was interested (regardless of training, schooling of even if they were employees or not from RFFSA). The only requirement was a display board showcasing the design by the participant. Officially, the standard locomotive model chosen to represent the new scheme was a EVSA GT26CUM-2. Once the scheme was chosen, an actual GT26CUM-2 would be painted in the new scheme from the SR-5 Sector.
The completed artwork would be sent to the Department of Communication, as a panel of judges - led by designer Elias Filho and the Sevig Company - would pick the winning drawing. The members of Communication, Engineering & Preserves would also assist into picking the drawing.
On December 6, 1993, the new scheme was chosen. Paulo Henrique Cavalieri of Juiz de Fora, MG, was declared the winner in the new scheme. Consisting of Ash Grey, Sunflower Yellow & Black, the scheme refreshed the RFFSA look as well as baptizing the locomotives with names, municipalities, states, or cities of there they respectively operated. Dubbed by rail fans and modelers as 'Phase Two', the scheme was short lived; from 1993 to 1996 the scheme was applied to all sorts of locomotives from all the sectors and easily became dirty after a few months. By 1995 or 1996, the RFFSA was too poor in cleaning or painting a locomotive that even repainting a locomotive into the new scheme varied in success. No two locomotives of the same model were alike in a repaint.
The actual winner "who won but did not win" was Eike Pereira de Souza, an architect from the RFFSA's auto graphics planning department. He won a cash prize of 200,000 Cruzeiros.
The SIGO system on the RFFSA
The SIGO was a system implemented in 1983 to standardize the numbering system of railway vehicles in Brazil. Each piece of rolling stock is allocated a six-digit number, a check digit, and a letter to indicate its allocation. When the RFFSA began to repaint it's locomotives of both Metric and Irish Gauges in Ash Grey and Sunflower Yellow (1993–1996), the numbers were relocated towards the radiator section of the locomotive. In some cases, the locomotives were baptized with names, municipalities, states, or cities of there they respectively operated.With locomotives, the first two digits are hidden, and used only on documents, e.g. 905212-7F.
- '90' represents: RFFSA locomotive (only written in documents).
- '5212' is the roadnumber of the locomotive.
- '-7' is the check digit.
- 'F' is the letter code for where the locomotive is located (The 'F' indicates: Juiz de Fora - Sector SR-3).
| Number Series | Type of Locomotive |
|---|---|
| 0001–0100 | Steam locomotives – gauge |
| 0101–0400 | Steam locomotives – gauge |
| 0401–0500 | Steam locomotives – broad gauge Broad gauge Broad-gauge railways use a track gauge greater than the standard gauge of .- List :For list see: List of broad gauges, by gauge and country- History :... |
| 0401–0500 | Diesel locomotives – (meter gauge) |
| 0751–1000 | Diesel locomotives - broad gauge |
| 2001–3000 | GE General Electric General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States... diesel locomotives - meter gauge |
| 3001–4000 | GE diesel locomotives - broad gauge |
| 4001–5000 | GM General Motors General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010... diesel locomotives - meter gauge |
| 5001–6000 | GM diesel locomotives – broad gauge |
| 6001–7000 | Alco American Locomotive Company The American Locomotive Company, often shortened to ALCO or Alco , was a builder of railroad locomotives in the United States.-Early history:... diesel locomotives – meter gauge |
| 7001–8000 | Alco diesel locomotives – broad gauge |
| 8001–9000 | Electric locomotives – meter gauge |
| 9001–9999 | Electric locomotives – broad gauge |
Present day Brazilian railway companies
- América Latina Logística S.A. – ALL (ex-Ferrovia Sul Atlântico (FSA)) – gauges: and (FERRONORTE)
- Companhia Ferroviária do Nordeste – CFN – controlled by Transnordestina Logística S.A. – gauge:
- Companhia Paulista de Trens MetropolitanosCompanhia Paulista de Trens MetropolitanosCompanhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos is a commuter rail company owned by the São Paulo State Secretariat for Metropolitan Transports. It was created in 1992 from several railroads that already existed in Greater São Paulo, Brazil....
– CPTM – commuter services in São Paulo city and suburbs; controlled by the state of São Paulo – gauges: , on the two former Sorocabana lines - Concessionária de Transporte Ferroviário S.A. – SuperViaSuperViaSuperVia is a Brazilian train operator founded in Rio de Janeiro in November 1998. It carries around 126 million passengers a year on a railroad network comprising 89 stations in 11 cities: Rio de Janeiro, Duque de Caxias, Nova Iguaçu, Nilópolis, Mesquita, Queimados, São João de Meriti, Belford...
– commuter services in Rio de Janeiro city and suburbs – gauges: , on the former Estrada de Ferro Leopoldina - Empresa de Trens Urbanos de Porto Alegre – TRENSURBPorto Alegre MetroThe Metro de Porto Alegre is operated jointly by the federal government, the state government of Rio Grande do Sul and the city of Porto Alegre through the company Trensurb and has 20 stations, totaling 33.4 km of extension and carries about 170,000 users a day.-...
– commuter services in Porto Alegre, RS and suburbs – gauge: - Estrada de Ferro do Amapá – from 1953 to 2006 controlled by Empresa Indústria e Comércio de Minério S.A. (ICOMI), since then by MMX Mineração e Metálicos S.A. (MMX); this is one of two Brazilian railways with gauge, the other being Line 5 of São Paulo MetroSão Paulo MetroThe São Paulo Metro is the principal rapid-transit system in the city of São Paulo and the largest in Brazil. It is also the second largest system in South America and the third largest in Latin America, behind Mexico City and Santiago....
. - Estrada de Ferro Carajás – EFC – controlled by Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD) – gauge:
- Estrada de Ferro Campos do Jordão – EFCJ – controlled by the department of tourism of the state of São Paulo – gauge:
- Estrada de Ferro Jari – EFJ – gauge:
- Estrada de Ferro Trombetas – EFT – controlled by Mineiração Rio do Norte – gauge:
- Estrada de Ferro Vitória a Minas – EFVM – controlled by Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD) – gauge:
- Ferrovia Centro-Atlântica S.A. – FCA – controlled by Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD) – gauge:
- Ferrovias Bandeirantes – FERROBAN – formerly controlled by Brasil Ferrovias, then incorporated by ALL (Sorocabana network) and FCA (Mogiana network) – gauges: (Mogiana and Sorocabana networks) and (Paulista and Araraquarense networks)
- Ferrovia Norte-Sul – FNS – controlled by Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD) – gauge:
- Ferrovia Norte Brasil – FERRONORTE – formerly controlled by Brasil Ferrovias, then incorporated by ALL – gauge:
- Ferrovia Novoeste S.A. – NOVOESTE – formerly controlled by Brasil Ferrovias, then incorporated by ALL – gauge:
- Ferrovia Paraná Oeste – FERROPAR – also known as FERROESTE
- Ferrovia Teresa Cristina S.A. – FTC – gauge:
- Grupo Brasil Ferrovias S.A. – incorporated by ALL – gauge: and
- MRS Logística S.A. – MRS – gauge:
- Tramway Bertioga - Itatinga – controlled by the state of São Paulo's port authority Companhia Docas do Estado de São Paulo (CODESP); more a local railway than an actual tramway – gauge: