Transcontinental railway Brasil-Peru

The Transcontinental railway Brazil-Peru (Fetab) is a rail project in Brazil and Peru, with the aim of linking the two countries and increasing commerce between these nations. This project, also known as the Twin Ocean Railroad Connection project (Chinese: 两洋铁路), aims to directly connect the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans with the South American Aorta Railroad.

This initiative forms part of a group of projects of IIRSA for a railway between the cities of Pucallpa, in northern Peru and Cruzeiro do Sul, in western Brazil.

On 19 March 2008, the Peruvian Congress declared this project to be of national interest. After Peruvian President Ollanta Humala visited China for APEC, and following on from a previous agreement with Brazil, a memorandum was approved in China to begin studies for a railway project to link the two oceans and integrate the markets of Brazil, Peru and China.^[1][2] The railway would go through the north of Peru.^[3]

In 2011, former Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos disclosed in an interview with the Financial Times that Colombia will collaborate with mainland China to construct an inter-ocean railway linking the Pacific and Atlantic coastlines. The project, named the “Dry Canal,” was to be funded by the China Development Bank, with construction and management managed by China Railway Group. Nevertheless, the initiative subsequently stagnated, resulting in no additional advancements.^[4][5]

General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Xi Jinping visited Latin America and participated in the 6th BRICS summit in Brazil from July 15 to 23, 2014. On July 16, 2014, China, Brazil, and Peru collectively released a statement indicating their commitment to cooperate on a bi-ocean railway connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. They suggested forming a working committee to oversee the planning, design, building, and operation of the project. The plan was disclosed in the "Joint Statement by China, Brazil, and Peru regarding the Bi-Oceanic Railway Project cooperation".^[6] It delineated a plan for a railway extending westward from the southeastern Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro, over the South American continent to arrive at the port of Callao in Peru.^[7] Nonetheless, the construction of the Bi-Oceanic Railway failed to achieve significant advancement due to political instability in Brazil and economic stagnation in other Latin American nations.^[8]

From May 6 to 14, 2015, a task group from China's National Development and Reform Commission visited Brazil and Peru to discuss the promotion of the bi-ocean railway and capacity-building collaboration with the pertinent authorities in both nations.^[9] On May 19, 2015, China and Brazil executed a collaborative five-year action plan and resolved to initiate a feasibility study for the "bi-ocean railway," which would connect Brazil and Peru across the South American continent.^[10] On May 25, 2015, during a meeting with President of Chile Michelle Bachelet at the presidential palace in Santiago, Premier of China Li Keqiang articulated China's endorsement of utilizing its enterprises' capabilities to partner with Chile on initiatives like a bi-ocean tunnel and urged the prompt initiation of a joint feasibility study.^[11]

With Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's resurgence to power in Brazil in 2023, the plan concept had a pivotal resurrection. Brazil's current transportation infrastructure predominantly depends on road travel, rendering trains essential for the nation's future advancement. In May 2025, a delegation from China's National Railway Administration visited Brazil, Peru, and other nations, engaging in discussions with Brazil's Minister of Transportation, Peru's Minister of Economy and Finance, and the Minister of Transportation and Communications. The discussions centered on the project, with both parties participating in technical consultations concerning railway, road, and waterway networks.^[12]

Official Brazilian sources indicate that the proposed route will commence from the industrial zone in southeastern Brazil, pass through the "Iron Quadrangle" iron ore region, the agricultural belt of Goiás State, and the copper mining area of the Andes Mountains—all vital resource zones—before linking to the "East-West Integration Railway" (FIOL) built by China Railway Group, ultimately arriving at the Port of Chancay in Peru. The Planning Minister of Brazil Simone Tebet announced that the modified railway route circumvents the primary protected regions of the Amazon Rainforest, spanning around 6,500 kilometers, of which 2,600 kilometers have been completed.^[13] The overall investment is projected to surpass 80 billion U.S. dollars, generating 800,000 direct employment opportunities in Brazil.^[14][15]

Peruvian leaders have exhibited an optimistic disposition. On May 26, 2025, after a meeting with Chinese officials and business representatives, the Peruvian Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of Transport and Communications released a statement indicating their readiness to pursue high-level discussions with China and Brazil.^[16][17] The objective is to align the strategic interests of the three nations, collaboratively finance the construction of the railway, and create a framework to ascertain the investment, requirements, and implementation strategies for the railway project, with the goal of fostering regional integration in South America. Peruvian President Boluarte asserted that the construction will diminish logistics expenses, enhance population mobility and goods circulation, recalibrate the excessively centralized urban development model focused on Lima, and additionally support the advancement of copper mines in the Peruvian Andes, thereby fostering economic growth between China and Peru.^[18]

• Central Bi-Oceanic railway
• Brazil–Peru railway^[19]
• BRICS