International Railroad Discussion > Chasing Vale passenger trains (Brazil)

Hi, friends Rony and Gabriel did a nice railfaning trip chasing Vale trains near the border of Minas Gerais (MG) and Espírito Santo (ES) states. I edited some videos of the passenger trains P01 and P02 they sent me. P01 departures from Pedro Nolasco station in Cariacica, ES to Belo Horizonte  station in the namesake city of MG state. P02 do the opposite direction. Both trains departure at 7:30AM and arrive about 9:30 PM in their destinations. They meet near Governador Valadares, MG. It is a nice trip for railfans. I usually take train P02 from Belo Horizonte to Ipatinga  where we can have a window of two hours to have lunch and watch some train at the station until the P01 arrive. Then, I come back home by train P01.
Enjoy.
 

Pedro Rezende
Vespasiano MG,

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The video.
 

Pedro Rezende
Vespasiano MG,
https://youtube.com/c/minasgeraisrailways1



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/09/20 08:33 by pedrop.

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Note that Vale is using empty locomotives  scouting each passenger train since the tragedies with the collapse of big ore mud dams about three years ago. There are some dams like those near he tracks, so Vale uses the scouts to avoid danger to the passenger trains.

Pedro Rezende
Vespasiano MG,
https://youtube.com/c/minasgeraisrailways1



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/09/20 08:34 by pedrop.

Pedro; nice video, I am assuming that the first car behind the locomotive is a "power car" and that the units on the roofs on the other cars are A/C units?  The Pink "Breast Cancer Awareness" loco is nice also.

David Ketchum
DRGWK59
Cheyenne WY USA

Yes, the first car is the power car and also  has the office of the chief of the train. 
The units on the roof of the other cars are the Ar Conditioner system.

Pedro 

DRGWK59 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Pedro; nice video, I am assuming that the first
> car behind the locomotive is a "power car" and
> that the units on the roofs on the other cars are
> A/C units?  The Pink "Breast Cancer Awareness"
> loco is nice also.
>
> David Ketchum
> DRGWK59
> Cheyenne WY USA

Pedro Rezende
Vespasiano MG,
https://youtube.com/c/minasgeraisrailways1

Very NICE and interesting look at passenger serivce. The roadbed looked nice along with the Breat Cancer pink locomotive.

Larry

Neat video. I love seeing those trains speeding down the narrow gauge.

Do the different colors of the passenger cars identify them by class or use?

Excellent video - thanks.
Gordon

Yes, from the locomotive to the end, we see executice class, restaurant and first class.

Pedro

gbmott Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Do the different colors of the passenger cars
> identify them by class or use?
>
> Excellent video - thanks.
> Gordon

Pedro Rezende
Vespasiano MG,
https://youtube.com/c/minasgeraisrailways1

Thanks, Pedro.
The designers of the suspension systems for those narrow gauge cars must have done their work very well if the ride is smooth, which I presume it is.
Can you tell us:
Is this the only passenger service on the line?
How many riders does it have, now and before Covid?
TIA

Hi, Vale narrow gauge system has four trains daily: P01 - P02 on mainline and P011 and P012 on Itabira branch. These last two are connections from the main trains P01 and P02 to Itabira city. Itabira was mainline because it is where Vale had the main mines in the past. The mines still in use in Itabira, but nowadays we have bigger mines in other locations along mainline and Fábrica branch.
The main trains can have up to 21 cars on hollidays and vacations time. The normal is five executive class, four service cars and twelve first class cars. The service cars includes the main power car, two restaurant cars and a special car for handcap person.   The executive cars have 68 seats and the first class cars have 78 seats. 
In the Covid era the seats are not full occupied. Not two persons are allowed side by side, even if from the same family. Only small children can seat at the side of a relative.


railstiesballast Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thanks, Pedro.
> The designers of the suspension systems for those
> narrow gauge cars must have done their work very
> well if the ride is smooth, which I presume it
> is.
> Can you tell us:
> Is this the only passenger service on the line?
> How many riders does it have, now and before
> Covid?
> TIA

Pedro Rezende
Vespasiano MG,
https://youtube.com/c/minasgeraisrailways1



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/10/20 16:20 by pedrop.