Free flow tolling on highways is expected to help trucks heading to Port of Santos

Panel at Intermodal South America discussed strategic logistics corridors and integrated transport modes (Sílvio Luiz/AT)

The superintendent of highways at Agência de Transporte do Estado (Artesp), Roger Pêgas, believes that replacing toll plazas with free-flow gantries (electronic tolling without barriers) on highways leading to Port of Santos will improve operations at the Santos complex. The expectation is that the new tolling system will come into operation in July.

“The toll plaza creates an impedance on the highway for transport operators and is a very sensitive point for accidents, sometimes minor ones, but there have already been more serious accidents”, he argues. “By mid-year, there is a strong and significant movement to replace plazas on routes descending to Port of Santos, which should greatly improve this operation, making it possible to reduce travel time.”

The statement was made during the panel Desbravando o Brasil: Corredores Logísticos Estratégicos e Modais Integrados para Conectar Mercados Globais. The topic was discussed during Intermodal.

“Throughout the second half of this year and into 2027, the trend is a broad migration across all other contracts to implement this technological transformation, initially replacing plazas with gantries. Later on, we will assess the efficiency of these gantries”, he adds.

According to Roger, Artesp also intends to expand the use of high-speed weigh-in-motion (HS-WIM – High Speed Weigh in Motion) technology, which uses gantries over traffic lanes to inspect heavy vehicles without requiring them to stop.

Railways and waterways

The railway sector was also widely discussed. The director of data and self-regulation at Associação Nacional dos Transportadores Ferroviários (ANTT), Paulo Roberto Oliveira Júnior, noted that the private sector is expected to invest R\$ 55 billion from 2025 through next year.

“In few places in the world are railways not subsidized. Brazil is one of them. Not only are they not subsidized, but they also pay concession fees, in a relationship that exceeds the tax burden. Brazilian railways have better safety standards than those in the United States, a global benchmark. In addition, rail freight in Brazil is the third cheapest in the world, behind only Russia and China, which operate under state-run models”, he lists.

Regarding investments, the head of the logistics department in the infrastructure area at Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (BNDES), Tiago Toledo Ferreira, drew attention not only to railways but also to waterways.