Rumo, a leading company in rail freight transport in the country, has expanded the installation of elevated wildlife passages across stretches of its rail network. Some of these structures are located in the section of Serra do Mar State Park, between São Vicente, on the São Paulo coast, and the state capital.
The elevated crossings are technically known as canopy bridges and are installed over the railway line to connect tree canopies and allow safe passage for animals, preventing them from having to descend to ground level to cross the tracks. When a railway divides a stretch of forest in half, the result is a barrier effect (population isolation). The bridges attempt to undo this fragmentation without affecting operations.
Monitoring
Monitoring of the passages began at the end of 2025 and is conducted with support from camera traps operated by ViaFauna. Through them, it is possible to see unprecedented footage of groups of various species, such as capuchin monkeys, wood ducks and the jacurutu, considered Brazil's largest owl, using these passages, which demonstrates the effectiveness of the initiative.
With a decade of operations, Rumo manages over 14,000 kilometers of railways in nine states and operates a fleet of 1,400 locomotives and 35,000 railcars. With its network crossing approximately 500 municipalities, the company is one of the main pillars of Brazilian agribusiness.
Currently, the company has 11 structures built in strategic locations. On the São Paulo Network, installation points were defined based on landscape and ecological connectivity studies. Two structures are located in the Serra do Mar State Park section, two are in Fernando Prestes and three in Cotia. On the North Network, the concessionaire has three new structures in Cassilândia (MS) and one unit on the Central Network, in São Simão (GO).
Forecasts
Rumo intends to expand the project further this year. The 2026 schedule includes the implementation of six new passages in São Paulo state: three in Bauru, two in Serra do Mar State Park and one new unit in Cotia.
The planning of installations took into consideration specific characteristics of each railway section, such as topography, structure height and operational safety conditions of the railway. Installation was carried out by Tectom.
"The continuation of field research in the coming years will allow us to convert the collected data into increasingly effective solutions for biodiversity preservation in rail transport," highlights Tatiane Bressan Moreira, coordinator of Rumo's Wildlife Protection Program.
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