Railways

Railways of Chile

The long thin country on the Pacific coast was once well served by railway lines of various gauges. But many branchlines of the railway network have now closed and the infrastructure and rolling stock is neglected and deteriorating. New motorways are driven through the landscape without regard to the environment.

And yet, there's some new initiative. In the Bio Bio region around the industrial centre of Concepción a new urban rail service has been started. The track has been relaid, modern stations have been built, trendy new railcars have been bought and modern smart card technology is used. Here's one of the Biotren units near Talcahuano. [Jul 2006].
Most of the time I spent in Chile the weather was wet and dreary with a constant drizzle and low cloud. A Biotren electric unit appears out of the rain in Concepcion. [Jul 2006].
The trains are really quite flash and have lots of space inside. Since they run on Chilean broad gauge they have a 3+2 seat configuration. When I was there, curious people still explored the new service on their Sunday afternoon family outing. [Jul 2006].
Despite all the technology, it was found to be unsafe to use automatic level crossing barriers. People went around them, between them and over them. Therefore crossing keepers with flags warn people of approaching trains. [Jul 2006].
One of the lines crosses the BioBio river near Concepcion to the suburban and industrial area of San Pedro. The river is a few kilometres wide and fast flowing. A Biotren unit appears out of the fog. [Jul 2006].
A freight train to the pulp and paper mill in San Pedro crosses the same bridge. It was hard to see the other river bank that afternoon. Two diesels haul the long rake of wagons. [Jul 2006].
The use of rail is encouraged again around Concepcion. A loco of the railway company FEPASA in the port of San Vincente with a train of pulp wagons. [Jul 2006].
FEPASA also uses electric locomotives. This loco with its train of pulp wagons sits on a siding at Talca station. [Jul 2006].
FEPASA was formed in 1993 as a separate freight division of EFE, the Chilean State Railway. It was soon partly and then fully taken over by private interests. It operated former state railway locomotives, such as this electric E-32 class locomotive. These were built in 1960 in Milan, Italy, by a consortium of Breda Marelli and Gruppo Aziende Italiane. [Jul 2006].
One of the class E-32 locomotives, E3209, was retained by the state railway company EFE for special trains. Here it sits in Talca. [Jul 2006].
Talca once was an important railway junction. It still has a very characteristic station building. A long distance railcar from Talcahuano to Santiago is about to depart. In 2006 it still ran daily, one over night and another one during the day. I tried both services. When the line to Talcahuano was damaged due to a landslide in July 2006, the service was suspended. It briefly ran again in 2007 before it was ended. [Jul 2006].
About a week before the train service Automotor Santiago Talcahuan was suspended it departs Talca into the sunshine. [Jul 2006].
EFE does however offer a high quality service from Santiago to Chillan. Called TerraSur it uses modern, fast and comfortable railcars, purchased from the Spanish operator RENFE. Two trains cross in Talca. [Jul 2006].
A TerraSur service has arrived in Talca. These trains serve the southern reaches of the Santiago Metropolitan area. [Jul 2006].
From Talca a narrow gauge railway winds its way along the northern bank of the Maule river to the seaside town of Constitucion. Two of the railbuses in Talca. [Jul 2006].
Twice daily a railbus service runs through this remote area. The service is subsidised, and serves communities with no other good transport connection. The town of Constitucion can more easily and quickly reached by road, but the trip is not as interesting. The railbus waits at the station of Constitucion. [Jul 2006].
Once upon a time, Constitucion was a trendy seaside resort. But no longer. A large pulp mill has been built near the beach and belches its toxic fumes over the town. [Jul 2006].
For some time the pulp was transported from Constitucion by train. Now, the pulp goes by road. The railway line is only used for the railbus services. One of the railbuses makes its way through the dirty streets of Constitucion. [Jul 2006].
Several kilometres inland from Constitucion this bridge brings the line from the northern bank of the Maule river to its southern shores. [Jul 2006].
The railbus on the bridge across the Maule River. The rivers here in Chile are strong and wide, requiring long and strong bridges. [Jul 2006].
In parts the line goes along steep cliffs beside the Maule river. It is clearly also used as a walking track. This is the view from the driver's compartment. The motor is housed here and is so loud that the driver has to wear earmuffs and the fascinated tourist (that's me) didn't stay for long. [Jul 2006].
The railcars cross at the station of Gabriel Batista, a station building in the middle of nowhere with a few houses in the distance. The rotting shells of railway carriages in the siding indicate an era of more luxurious travel on the line. [Jul 2006].
Another view of Gabriel Batista as the railbuses cross. Crews change, people get on and off or just stand around to savour the daily excitement of the arrival of the train. Schoolchildren get off the train and start their day of learning. Plenty of time for me to get off and take some pictures. [Jul 2006].
Another view of the train crossing in Gabrial Batista, this time in the fading afternoon light. [Jul 2006].
Santiago has quite a good Metro network. Tourists are just told what metro station they have to get off to visit the various attractions. Certainly very easy and economic to get around. Here's a train of the Metro Line 4. [Jul 2006].
Near Santiago is the touristy area of Maipo. A narrow gauge railway once made its way through this narrow valley. Not only locals, but also trampers and climbers used to take the train to get into the mountains. The railway line is now gone. The tunnels are still there. Here a gallery leading to a tunnel near San Alfonso. [Jul 2006].