[4] The railway was idealized, in 1864, by a group of farmers, traders and capitalists who needed a means of draining the coffee grown in the interior of the state of São Paulo.

However, its growth was put in check when Paulista did not accept to bend to political interests that required the extension of São Carlos to pass through the Morro Pellado (current Itirapina) to attend the influential farmers, based in neighboring Itaqueri da Serra and also in the so-called "Itaqueri de Baixo".

Likewise, due to political criteria, in the management of Laurindo Abelardo de Brito as president of the province of São Paulo, Paulista was prevented from extending its lines to Ribeirão Preto, which ended up in Descalvado.

From there, Paulista was able to extend its inland lines, becoming tributaries of a very rich sector of the state limited between the Peixe and Mojiguaçu rivers, also having tributaries such as Companhia Douradense, Noroeste do Brasil, Estrada de Ferro Araraquara, São Paulo-Goiás, Mogiana, Funilense and Ramal Férreo Campineiro.

After that, Paulista developed and much, the infrastructure received from the English, expanding and improving the Stations, such as those in Rio Claro (which was completely rebuilt, with large garages) and São Carlos (which had many expansions and the installation of metallic armor of its wide station) and the stone support of the permanent way, among other items of great importance.

Believing in the potential of the livestock industry in the north of the state, Paulista organized with third parties the Companhia Frigorífica e Pastoril (CFP), which was later transferred to foreign capital, originated by S.A. Frigorífico Anglo.

It is worth mentioning that studies pointed to the extension of electrification to Tupã, even indicating that the Piracicaba and Descalvado branches would be electrified, reaching the latter, at least, to Pirassununga Station.

This steady growth icn the number of passengers can be partially explained by the exemplary operation and maintenance that Companhia Paulista maintained in its network, the absence of the Bandeirantes Highway (opened only in 1978) and the low traffic at Viracopos Airport.

With expansion into São Paulo prevented by the SPR, Companhia Paulista was expanding its tracks through the interior on the route to the coffee plantations.

With the crises in the international coffee market, the consequent drop in prices forced the company to seek diversification in cargo transportation: grains, wood, cattle, meat, fruits, fuels, etc.

[18] During the 1940s (affected by World War II), Companhia Paulista practically doubled the volume of cargo transported in relation to the previous decade.