THE RAILWAY AND THE SÃO PAULO STATE HINTERLAND OCCUPATION: THE COMPANHIA PAULISTA AND THE WEST MAIN LINE

Abstract

The railways had an important role in the structuration of São Paulo territory. The construction of railways had two moments: first, they followed the trace of coffee plantation, and in the next moment, they anticipate the coffee production. In this second period, the railways companies got into the West hinterland, interested in ensuring its zones of exploration, as also the land marketing. In this article, we will focus on the West main line of the Companhia Paulista, however we believe that the West hinterland occupation process was similar in others main railway companies and all together they had contributed to the design of the territory.