Railway to Amazon draws fire

INDIGENOUS protesters at UN climate talks in Brazil have zeroed in on a major grievance: A planned railway that would stretch almost the distance from London to Berlin and cut through the Amazon rainforest.

- 

BRAZIL'S President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (C) speaks alongside Environment Minister Marina Silva (R) and COP30 President Andre Correa do Lago during a press conference at the COP30 UN Climate Change Conference in Belem, Para state, Brazil.

(AFP)

To farmers, the Ferrograo - meaning Grain Railway - would be a logistical revolution.

Critics see yet another massive infrastructure project coming to threaten the Amazon, undermining President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's commitment to the environment.

Brazil is the world's largest exporter of soybeans and corn, much of which is produced in the central state of Mato Grosso.

Currently, this cargo travels long distances by truck to either southern seaports or northern river ports.

For over a decade, Brazilian governments have tried to advance a 933km (580-mile) railway that would link Sinop in Mato Grosso to the northern river port of Miritituba.

From there, grain can reach the Amazon River and the Atlantic Ocean.