Regional Integration, FIR and Authorized Railways: Brazil's New Development Cycle

Editorial, December 11, 2025

Editorial 11 de dezembro de 2025

By: José Roberto Barbosa

CEO da Petrocity e presidente da Associação Brasileira das Ferrovias Autorizadas

Brazil will only achieve balanced and sustainable economic development when it treats infrastructure as a strategic state priority. A continental country, with production distributed throughout the interior, cannot remain hostage to a concentrated, expensive logistics system that is excessively dependent on long-distance road transport.

Regional integration and multimodality are the natural path to reduce costs, decentralize the economy, attract investment, and improve the quality of life for the population. In this context, the concept of FIR – Regional Integration Railway – emerges strongly, a railway designed to connect productive regions, municipalities, and markets, without the need for a dedicated port, utilizing the existing rail network, right of way, and the already installed port network.

The FIR represents a paradigm shift: the railway ceases to be merely an export corridor and becomes an instrument for strengthening domestic freight transport, the regional economy, and the integration of the national territory. By integrating existing, authorized, concessioned, or state railways, the FIR makes a concrete contribution to the formation of a true national rail grid.

The new Railway Law (Law No. 14,273/2021) creates the necessary environment for this transformation by establishing the authorized railway regime, expanding competition, integration, and the leading role of private investment. This legal framework allows railway projects to be structured with agility, legal certainty, and a long-term vision, without dependence on direct public capital.

The authorized railways and the FIRs demonstrate that it is possible to expand Brazilian railway infrastructure efficiently and responsibly, with the State playing the role of planner, regulator, and promoter, not executor. With regulatory stability and adequate incentive instruments, private capital is fully capable of leading this new investment cycle.

Integrated infrastructure reduces the final cost of products, increases the attractiveness of historically neglected municipalities, generates employment and income, and promotes social development. More than just construction projects, it's about creating opportunities, inclusion, and a future for millions of Brazilians.

EDITORIAL Integração Regional FIR e Ferrovias Autorizadas o Novo Ciclo de Desenvolvimento .

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