ANTT finds three rail concessionaires eligible to advance in sustainability program

Brazil’s National Land Transport Agency (ANTT) said three railway concessionaires were considered eligible to continue in Level II of its Regulatory Sandbox for the Infrastructure Sustainability Program (PSI). The initial result covers MRS Logística, Rumo Malha Paulista and Rumo Malha Central. ANTT’s board reviewed the proposed result on October 22; the agency published the announcement on October 23. The decision concerns progression in a voluntary sustainability program and does not amount to a final classification or an award of a new railway concession.

The selection follows the rules in Call Notice 4/2025. ANTT said railway operators submitted Level II applications by June 11, 2026, and none of the federal railway concessionaires applied for Level III. Earlier, a September 2 decision had confirmed ten operators’ final participation in Level I. The agency described the new assessment as a next stage in implementing the program for the railway sector, separate from the road-concession selection announced at the same board meeting.

Technical reviewers considered the documentation provided by each company, the suitability of its independent verifier or accredited inspection body, and completion of the evaluation structure required by the call. They also reviewed the sustainability performance parameters selected by each concessionaire, compliance with mandatory requirements, and whether verifier reports matched the supporting evidence. The announcement describes a document and eligibility review; it does not publish company-level scores, emissions data, investment commitments or comparative rankings.

The agency stressed that eligibility is not the final program classification. The proposal submitted to the board provides for an administrative appeal period, after which the application process continues under the notice’s terms. The release does not state when the final level decision will be made or whether the three companies will all be confirmed. Describing them as approved participants would therefore go beyond the preliminary status ANTT reported.

PSI’s sandbox approach uses defined sustainability performance parameters and supporting evidence in concession settings. For these railway companies, the October update records that ANTT found their submissions adequate to proceed to the next stage, while further review remains. The reported count is three companies in this preliminary Level II result, not the number of Brazil’s railway operators or the size of their networks. The decision is a regulatory process update; it contains no reported change to rail service, freight volumes or concession obligations. The agency also reported that no federal rail concessionaire sought Level III. The three-company count therefore describes this preliminary Level II track only, rather than participation across all levels of the railway program.