Paraná mayors convene at Afonso Pena Airport for digital city congress amid railway track removal debate

The 11th Paraná Digital Cities and Smart Cities Congress took place on August 5‑6 at Afonso Pena International Airport in São José dos Pinhais. The event, organized by the Digital City Network with the Association of Municipalities of Paraná, gathered mayors, officials and tech firms from the state's 399 municipalities to discuss government digitalization, artificial intelligence, connectivity and smart public services.

Meanwhile, starting July 27, Curitiba held a series of public hearings on a new concession of the Southern Rail Network. The city’s mayor and local industry groups demanded that the concession contract require the removal of freight tracks that cross 21 urban neighborhoods, citing 29 deaths and hundreds of accidents over the past decade. The national rail transport secretary said the proposals would be reviewed, and further hearings are scheduled in Porto Alegre and Florianópolis. Both initiatives reflect a broader push by Paraná’s municipal leaders to modernize public infrastructure and improve safety and efficiency.