History of rail transport in Chile
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The history of rail transport in Chile has gone through several periods of boom and bust. It began in 1840, with the construction by William Wheelwright of the first branch in the north (from Copiapo Caldera; see below). Further construction proceeded apace[1][2] linking cities from Pisagua all the way to Puerto Montt.
- This article is part of the history of rail transport by country series
In addition, there was a network on the big island of Chiloe, and a host of now completely abandoned branches.[3]
Four cross border lines were also built:
- Arica to La Paz in Bolivia,
- another from Antofagasta to La Paz (currently operated only to Cochabamba),
- Antofagasta to Salta (Argentina)
- Valparaíso to Buenos Aires.
The majority of rail infrastructure in Chile was constructed by private enterprise for freight transport, particularly for mining and to some extent forestry. The state did construct and operate some railways, first as FFCC del Estado (in English, 'State Railways'), renamed in 1994 Empresa de los Ferrocarriles del Estado or EFE (in English, 'State Railway Company').[4] The rail networks in the North and South were essentially separate; in the North used 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) metre gauge, while the South used 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) Indian gauge.[5][6]
At its peak in 1913, the national rail system had 7,658 km (4,758 mi) of track. It carried about 21 million passengers in 1946 and about 27 million in 1973.[7]
Starting in the 1950s, passenger and freight transport service started to decline due to lack of investment in infrastructure and rolling stock. In 1978, all state funds were cut off to EFE leading to a major crisis.[4][8][9] Since the 1990s, with the return of democracy as well as the increase in population density , the need and commitment to create interurban public transport systems at the national level has re-emerged, beginning a financing process for track renovation and the purchase of new rolling stock (such as the Biotrén, Valparaíso Metro or Metrotren Nos), as well as tourist and preservation services.[10][11][12][13] As of 2014, Chile had about 5,500 kilometers (3,400 mi) of operational track,[14] of which 2,200 km (1,400 mi) was managed by the state.[15]
The resurgence of renewable energy in Chile is causing the authorities to consider the possibility of restoring suspended train lines and the creation of new electrified rail projects, public and private.[16]