The North-South Railway and the regional economy of Brazil's centre-north

Abstract

nlike in the first half of the twentieth century, a time when railway tracks in Brazil established a solid interaction with locations served by train stations, today’s rail interactions are more specific and restricted to large companies and the international market. It is within this context of railways’ refunctionalization that the North-South Railway (FNS) was built between the states of Maranhão and Goiás. This article’s main objective is to address the formation process of this railway, its effects on the regional economy of Brazil’s Centre-North, as well as its connections with the global market. Methodological procedures involved bibliographical and documentary research, mapping, and a ten-day fieldwork in Goiás, Tocantins, and Maranhão states. The analysis of the railway’s spatialization and uses reveals its logistic importance and strategic position in the national scenario.