ブラジル最後の大列車アドベンチャー13時間
This video is in partnership with Holafly eSIM. Today we’re in BRAZIL for the
first time on the channel and we’ll be riding 13 hours along the
Vitória-Minas Railway – one of only two long distance train services
in South America’s LARGEST country! There’s some absolutely stunning scenery and
even a full dining car – so join me to find out what train travel is like in a region where
Luxury Buses rule the Intercity travel scene. Welcome to Belo Horizonte – the
capital of the state of Minas Gerais. Brazil’s 6th largest city has
a population of two and a half million, and is the country’s 3rd largest metropolitan
area, being home to 6 million people. I only spent one night here, but it
was clear to see it was a well-kept, friendly, and relatively safe place. Especially the 120 year old São
José Catholic Church which was located right next to my hotel in the city centre. It was particularly memorable for being
very beautiful from both inside and out. Fast forward to 6am the next morning, and I called
an Uber for the 1km (0.6mi) drive to the station. Yes, it felt safe here, but I still
would rather spend $2 on a taxi, than walk at this time of
day, and with my luggage. As the sun starts to rise, I arrive
at Belo Horizonte Station around 40 minutes before the train’s
scheduled departure time of 7am. There were already quite a few passengers
milling around outside, along with many people hustling trying to sell everything from
drinks, to chewing gum and even cigarettes. Step-free access to the station
can be found down the far end, but otherwise you just queue here outside the main
building before heading inside for ticket checks. There are automatic ticket machines
here along with a staffed ticket office – but you’re going to want to buy
in advance if possible. The trains can in theory sell out – but usually
don’t – but more on that later. Then there’s the ticket check. I printed my
eTicket, but I saw many other people just have them scanned on their phones
– so that’s obviously fine too. The guy then pointed me in the direction
of my seat. The train is formed of 4 Executive Class coaches and 5 Economy Class
coaches where we’ll be travelling today. I had wanted to travel in Executive Class, but it was completely sold out
with a large Brazilian tour group. Here’s an example of our loco for
today – but I couldn’t get anywhere near it at any point in the trip
– There were two of them though! Before we board, let’s check out our route. We depart Belo Horizonte and head east, then
north east, as far as Governador Valadares, before turning south east,
then south towards Vitória. Boarding is not level, with
4 steps up from the platform, however wheelchair lifts are available in the
accessible coach, which we’ll look at later on. Economy Class is laid out in a 2+2 configuration, with all forward facing seats. He is
mine for the next 13 plus hours… Luggage can be stored on the vertical
stacks at the end of every coach or on the large overhead racks
which run above all seats. We depart on-time, at 7.00am. The full route from Belo Horizonte to Pedro
Nolasco, on the outskirts of Vitória is 669km (416mi) in distance and is scheduled to take
13 hours and 30 minutes of travel time – yes, this is not an express service in the slightest! However, it is cheap – with a seat in Economy
Class costing 81 Brazilian Real (£11.07, €12.76, $14.96) or a seat in Executive Class costing
116 Brazilian Real (£15.86, €18.27, $21.42). Now, unless you have a Brazilian ID card number,
you can’t purchase through the official website. I was lucky enough to have a Brazilian friend
who could purchase mine for me, thanks Luis, otherwise you’ll have to buy through a third
party seller, at additional cost – or buy in person from the ticket office at
the station a few days before travel. There were still quite a few seats left
in Economy Class for my journey today. Now there is a WiFi network
available on this train, however it is only a media streaming service
and doesn’t allow for an internet connection. But luckily I have a great solution – Holafly
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NONSTOPEUROTRIP at checkout and grab yours today! These trains are run by the Vale
Mining Company as part of a public service to the communities
they operate in and through. It’s a sad fact that this line and one other,
in the North of Brazil, are the only two remaining long distance passenger services in the
country – and both of these are operated by Vale. We will see some serious mining
infrastructure along the route today, along with many freight trains – however our
passenger train seemed to be given priority, which is very much the exception
to the rule in places like the USA! OK, it’s time to check out the
seats here in Economy Class. They were actually better than I expected,
with a reasonable shape and OK padding. There is also a soft, winged headrest, adjustable armrests and a small
recline, albeit just on the base. Legroom is very good. I’m
6’1 and had plenty of space. There is the remnants of a seatback
pocket, and a large, sturdy tray table. Each pair of seats has access to two
power sockets, shared with another row. Up above is a TV showing cartoons with Portuguese
subtitles, and all windows have curtains. Overall, a good product for the
price. Nothing ground breaking although I’ll let you know how my
back feels after 13 hours here! In this first part of the journey,
we are passing through the Gandarela Mountains with some stunning views down
over the dense forest and national park. The bridge we are about to cross,
El Ponte de Corrego Juca Vieira, is the most famous piece of infrastructure
on the line, passing over the Caeté Valley. You certainly get a much better impression of it
on the approach than when passing over it though! There are a total of 20 bridges and
29 tunnels over this 669km (416mi) route – somehow I thought
there would be many more! Toilets can be found in the vestibules of every
coach. These are gendered, for some reason. However, the water worked, the soap was
stocked up and the dryer was functional. There was a bin, and plenty of toilet paper
available, along with baby changing facilities. On the whole, they were pretty clean,
and stayed that way throughout the trip. We are now approaching the first
major mine on the route, Gongo Soco, which is in the process of being wound down. It’s quite fascinating to get a
close-up look from the railway at what goes on here – something that would
normally be hidden from public view. This mine used to be one of the biggest gold
producers in Brazil during the 18th and 19th centuries, but then transitioned to iron
ore extraction throughout the 20th century. All onboard announcements
are made in Portuguese only. Shortly after passing the mine,
we stop at the nearest town, which houses and supports the workers. A large number of people both
alighted and boarded here, and I suspect most were Vale
employees and their families. We will make a total of 28 intermediate stops
today between Belo Horizonte and Vitória. Whatever you like to look at,
there are some very interesting #TrainWindowViews along this railway line. Everything from forests to
mountains, and mines to rivers. And it’s not fast. Far from it. The line uses metre gauge (1000mm /3ft3in) track,
and a such the speed is limited to a maximum of 70km/h (43mph) hence why this journey takes
over double the time it would take most European Intercity services to cover the same distance.
However, the ride quality is not too bad. OK, let’s check out the
food options on this train. Firstly, you can bring your own from a local
convenience store, as I did for breakfast. Secondly, there’s a couple of trolley services
which roam the train – one with full meals, an the other with snacks and drinks for purchase. Or thirdly, you can visit the dining
car – which is my preferred option! This serves a selection of hot
meals which are prepared onboard, and there is a sit-down
restaurant with table service. I went for the grilled chicken,
rice, mashed potato and beans, along with a fresh orange juice and a coffee. The total price of all this was 40 Brazilian Real (£5.57, €6.38, $7.48) – which I thought
was reasonable value, all things considered. There are good accessible and
disabled facilities onboard this train too – much better than I expected. There are accessible seats, and 4 proper wheelchair spaces,
all with 2 companion seats each. The train also features integrated wheelchair
lifts, on both sides, at these doors. There is also an accessible toilet in the
adjacent vestibule to all these. Great job Vale! Now here’s a look at Executive Class,
which is laid out in a 2+1 configuration. These are large, wide and very
comfortable armchair recliners. For the slight increase in price, I would
definitely recommend trying to get one of these! It’s a shame they were sold out for my trip. Anyway back to my seat and time to stream
some YouTube using my Holafly eSIM 🙂 We will shortly be approaching the most major intermediate stop on today’s
route, Governador Valadares. This municipality is home to around
280,000 people – and is located at the half way point today on the
journey from Belo to Vitória. This area has been inhabited for over
10,000 years, however its current day name was only inaugurated in 1937, after the
governor at the time, Benedito Valadares. For much of the trip, we follow the path of the
meandering Río Doce. It’s a beautiful sight! The ‘Sweet River’ runs for 853km
(530mi) in South-eastern Brazil, from the Mantiqueira Mountains
to the Atlantic Ocean. If you want AD-FREE early access to every
video, great perks and to help me to do BIGGER & BETTER reviews, then become a
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join button in every video, thank you! I don’t know what it is, but there’s something
super relaxing about taking a long, but slow train ride – just gazing out of the window at the
passing scenery and just enjoying it all go by. This is my first video from South America, however
I have filmed 12 across 5 countries which will be released over the coming months – so be sure
you’re subscribed so you don’t miss any of those. However, I you want to see my review
on ‘El Chepe’ the spectacular Copper Canyon Tourist Railway in Mexico,
then click the link above now. We have now crossed from Minas Gerais
to Espírito Santo and I’ve just about summed up everything there is to see on
this train and it will shortly be getting dark – so let’s fast forward a few hours
and I’ll summarise this whole experience. I wasn’t really sure what to expect
from this trip from Belo Horzizonte to Vitoría with Vale in Economy Class –
but honestly I was pleasantly surprised! You don’t associate Brazil with
long-distance trains – and indeed this one and its sister service in the
north of the country are the only ones. However… I think Vale have done a good job
to offer a European style daily service in each direction – even if it does take far too long.
But they can only work with what they have! The staff were friendly, the train was clean
and the seats were reasonable – but I would definitely recommend trying to secure Executive
Class tickets for the small premium in price. It was nice to have a full dining car, including
hot meals which were very reasonable in price. Overall, yes it was a bloody long day and
most people will choose to fly even if it is 3 or 4 times the price – however the
train is a good option for heading to any intermediate stops – or having a fun adventure
through the beautiful Brazilian countryside. We finally arrive in Vitoria
around 10 minutes early, at 8.20pm. My back is a bit stiff after
over 13 hours in this seat, however it could have been far worse.
I could have been on a UK Class 800. Have you been on any trains in
South America before? If so, which ones and on which routes? How did you
find them? Let me know in the comments below! I’m always open to new video ideas, so if you
have something you’d like to see on the channel, then drop me DM on Instagram, BlueSky or Twitter. Don’t forget to subscribe, thanks for watching
to the end, and I’ll see you in the next video!
Go to https://holafly.sjv.io/YReJvq and use code NONSTOPEUROTRIP to get 10% on #Holafly plans
Today we’re in Brazil, and indeed South American for the first time on the channel!
We’ll travel from Belo Horizonte to Vitória on one of only two long distance services in the country dominated by Intercity bus travel – but are they actually any good? Come along with me and let’s find out together!
#SouthAmerica #Brazil #Vale #BeloHorizonte #Vitória #TrainWindowViews
Date of Filming: 23/8/25
Camera: GoPro Hero 12 Black
Operator: Vale
Departure: Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Arrival: Vitória, Brazil
Cost: Economy Class 81 Brazilian Real (£11.07, €12.76, $14.96)
Executive Class 116 Brazilian Real (£15.86, €18.27, $21.42)
Here is the link to my review on Mexico’s ‘El Chepe’ Copper Canyon Tourist Railway:
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00:00 – Intro
01:16 – Arrival at Belo Horizonte Station
02:30 – Boarding, Train & Route Information
03:56 – Departure & Pricing
06:05 – Vale Mining Company Info
06:45 – Economy Class Seat Tour
07:42 – Gandarela Mountain Views
09:00 – Passing Gongo Soco Mine
10:33 – Stunning #TrainWindowViews
11:16 – All the Food Options
12:24 – Train Tour
13:26 – Calling at Governador Valadares
14:10 – Following the Río Doce
15:40 – Trip Summary
16:58 – Arrival at Pedro Nolasco & Outro
7 Comments
17:07 Yeah. It could be worse 🤣
Interesting review of that long and great journey through the mineral heartland of Brazil. Thumbs up! 👍
Go to https://holafly.sjv.io/YReJvq and use code NONSTOPEUROTRIP to get 10% on #Holafly plans
My late wife and I spent 3 weeks in Brazil in '86 and were surprised that there weren't any trains. The country is so vast that even high-speed trains would take too long to get anywhere in a reasonable amount of time. We flew from city to city during our trip. BTW, we traveled in the opposite direction of your trip, from Belo Horizonte to Ouro Preto., first by air, then by bus.
Bom dia amigo boa viagem de trem show trem da vale
So nice to see you visit my place(Espírito Santo). I really never expected you to come over here, even with the EFVM route between ES and MG states. Hope you had fun!
PS: the new Pedro Nolasco station lies in Cariacica city. The old one, in Vila Velha(I guess they used Vitória-Minas more like a marketing stunt…lol).
I traveled by train here in Brazil when I was a child. They still existed back then. Today, this one only exists because of the mining company. Thank you for looking at Brazil. Welcome.
Great trip. Finally South American Train Trip, and surprisingly it's Brazil, Because as far as I remembered, Brazil is well known for Long Distance Buses everywhere. And even more surprisingly, the train is operated by mining company, I think if Freight Company in the North America, especially Canada and US having passenger train, even though only tourist train, they will prioritise the passenger. Can't wait for another adventure in South America, especially trying the Long Distance Buses.