:''This article is part of the

history of rail transport by country The history of rail transport began before the beginning of the common era. It can be divided into several discrete periods defined by the principal means of track material and motive power used. Ancient systems The Post Track, a prehisto ...

series''

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 William Wheelwright (March 18, 1798 – September 26, 1873) was an Anglo-American businessman who played an essential role in the development of steamboat and train transportation in Chile and other parts of South America. In 1838, with help ...

of the first branch in the north (from Copiapo Caldera; see below). Further construction proceeded apace linking cities from Pisagua all the way to

Puerto Montt Puerto Montt (Mapuche: Meli Pulli) is a port city and commune in southern Chile, located at the northern end of the Reloncaví Sound in the Llanquihue Province, Los Lagos Region, 1,055 km to the south of the capital, Santiago. The commune ...

. In addition, there was a network on the big island of Chiloe, and a host of now completely abandoned branches. Four cross border lines were also built: *

Arica Arica ( ; ) is a commune and a port city with a population of 222,619 in the Arica Province of northern Chile's Arica y Parinacota Region. It is Chile's northernmost city, being located only south of the border with Peru. The city is the ca ...

La Paz La Paz, officially Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Aymara language, Aymara: Chuqi Yapu ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With 755,732 residents as of 2024, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities by populati ...

in Bolivia, * another from

Antofagasta Antofagasta () is a port city in northern Chile, about north of Santiago. It is the capital of Antofagasta Province and Antofagasta Region. According to the 2015 census, the city has a population of 402,669. Once claimed by Bolivia follo ...

to La Paz (currently operated only to

Cochabamba Cochabamba (; ) is a city and municipality in central Bolivia in a valley in the Andes mountain range. It is the capital (political), capital of the Cochabamba Department and the list of cities in Bolivia, fourth largest city in Bolivia, with ...

), * Antofagasta to

Salta Salta () is the capital and largest city in the Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Salta Province, the same name. With a population of 618,375 according to the 2010 census, it is also the List of cities in Argentina, 7th most-populous ...

(Argentina) *

Valparaíso Valparaíso () is a major city, Communes of Chile, commune, Port, seaport, and naval base facility in the Valparaíso Region of Chile. Valparaíso was originally named after Valparaíso de Arriba, in Castilla–La Mancha, Castile-La Mancha, Spain ...

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

. 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 Empresa de los Ferrocarriles del Estado (abbreviated EFE, lit. ''State Railway Company'') is the national railway and the oldest state-run enterprise in Chile. It manages the infrastructure and operating rail services in the country. Track gauge ...

or EFE (in English, 'State Railway Company'). The rail networks in the North and South were essentially separate; in the North used , while the South used . At its peak in 1913, the national rail system had of track. It carried about 21 million passengers in 1946 and about 27 million in 1973. 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. 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 The Biotren () is an at-grade urban commuter rail system that serves a large part of the city of Concepción, Chile, capital of the region of Bío-Bío, also known as Greater Concepción or Concepción Metropolitan Area, both synonyms of " ...

Valparaíso Metro The Limache-Puerto train service (Previously known as the Valparaíso Metro (), and colloquially known as "Merval") is the commuter rail system serving the urban conglomeration of Gran Valparaíso, Chile. It consists of one line, long, serving ...

or Metrotren Nos), as well as tourist and preservation services. As of 2014, Chile had about of operational track, of which was managed by the state. The resurgence of

renewable energy in Chile Renewable energy in Chile is classified as Conventional and Non Conventional Renewable Energy (NCRE), and includes biomass, hydro-power, geothermal, wind and solar among other energy sources. Usually, when referring to Renewable Energy in Chil ...

is causing the authorities to consider the possibility of restoring suspended train lines and the creation of new electrified rail projects, public and private.

Northern Network

La ''Red Norte'' (in english, 'Northern Network') ran from the extreme north of Chile, where the

Arica–La Paz railway The Arica–La Paz railway or Ferrocarril de Arica–La Paz (FCALP) is a railway built by the Chilean government under the Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1904 between Chile and Bolivia. It was inaugurated on 13 May 1913 and is the shortest ...

is located, to La Calera in the

Valparaíso Province Valparaíso Province () is one of eight provinces of the central Chilean region of Valparaíso (V). Its capital is the coastal city of Valparaíso (pop. 275,982). Administration As a province, Valparaíso is a second-level administrative division ...

. Its tracks were . However, several sections had originally including the first Chilean railroad from Caldera to Copiapó (see below) and the railroad from Coquimbo to Ovalle. The North Network ceased to functions on 16 June 1975, after mounting financial losses. This led to the decline of operating branch lines, with some sections of the railway being sold to other companies, some of which maintain cargo services between different locations, such as the Romeral Railway which operates an iron ore line from Romeral mine to the port of Guayacán, and owns the old section of the Northern Longitudinal Railway between La Serena and Coquimbo.

The Trans-Andean Railroad

The Trasandino Los Andes – Mendoza Railway linked the Chilean city of Los Andes with the city of Mendoza in Argentina. Its route began in the Chilean city and went up through the

Aconcagua River The Aconcagua River is a river in Chile that rises from the conflux of two minor tributary rivers at above sea level in the Andes, Juncal River from the east (which rise in the Nevado Juncal) and Blanco River from the south east. The Aconcag ...

to Las Cuevas, where there was a tunnel that crossed into Argentina. Then, it continued along the Las Cuevas and Mendoza rivers until reaching the city of the same name. The Trasandino Railroad was inaugurated on 5 April 1910 and ended its operations in 1984. It was laid to and partially equipped with Abt rack. Much of the infrastructure (bridges and tracks) is still visible.

Arica–La Paz railway

The railway line that connects the cities of

and

was built between 1906 and 1913 and was inaugurated on 13 May 1913 . It was entirely administered by Chile until 1928, when Bolivia began to administer the section that runs through its territory. Today the Chilean section is a freight line operated by FCALP.

Antofagasta – La Paz railway

The Ferrocarril de Antofagasta a La Paz was a railway line established at the end of the 19th century as "Antofagasta (Chili) and Bolivia Railway Company". Until the mid-1970s, the line provided cargo and passenger transport services between the towns of

Ollagüe Ollagüe () or Ullawi () is a massive andesite stratovolcano in the Andes on the Bolivia–Chile border, within the Antofagasta Region of Chile and the Potosí Department, Potosi Department of Bolivia. Part of the Central Volcanic Zone of the A ...

and

. Currently, the company "Ferrocarril de Antofagasta a Bolivia" (FCAB) uses the railways to transport cargo to and from

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

, and also connects its line with the

Andean Railway The Andean Railway (native name: Ferrocarril Andino) was a state-owned railway company in Argentina which, towards the end of the 19th century, built and operated a line connecting Villa María in Córdoba Province with the cities of Mendoza, S ...

of Bolivia,

Ferronor file:Ferronor chile logo.png, 200px Ferronor (Empresa de Transporte Ferroviario S.A.) is a Chilean railway company operating on the old Red Norte (northern network) of Empresa de los Ferrocarriles del Estado, which was privatised in 1997. Since 20 ...

in Chile, and ''Ferrocarril Belgrano'' in Argentina.

Mineral lines

There were also private industrial lines such as the Anglo-Chilean Nitrate & Railway Company's

Tocopilla nitrate railway The Tocopilla railway was a mountain railway built to serve the sodium nitrate mines in the Toco area of Antofagasta Region, Chile. With a 3 ft 6 in gauge railways, gauge of 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm), it ran from the port of Tocopilla on the Paci ...

which hauled nitrate for decades until 2015 when flood damage put it beyond economic repair.

The first railway: from Caldera to Copiapó

The 25 December 1851 was unforgettable for

Copiapó Copiapó () is a List of cities in Chile, city and communes of Chile, commune in northern Chile, located about 65 kilometers east of the coastal List of towns in Chile, town of Caldera, Chile, Caldera. Founded on December 8, 1744, it is the capi ...

. To the rhythm of bells and whistles the first train that made the full journey from

Caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcanic eruption. An eruption that ejects large volumes of magma over a short period of time can cause significant detriment to the str ...

made its entrance to the so called silver capital of Chile, hauled by a locomotive named after the city. It was a triumph for businessman

, an American living in Chile, who after successfully promoting the foundation of the

Pacific Steam Navigation Company The Pacific Steam Navigation Company () was a British commercial shipping company that operated along the Pacific coast of South America, and was the first to use steam ships for commercial traffic in the Pacific Ocean. At one point in the 1870s, ...

, embarked on the enterprise of developing the first railway in Chile. He managed to interest several wealthy businessmen, obtaining an initial capital of 800,000 pesos at the time. On 20 November 1849 the government of

Manuel Bulnes Manuel Bulnes Prieto (; December 25, 1799 – October 18, 1866) was a Chilean military and political figure who was President of Chile from 1841 to 1851. Born in Concepción, he served as the president of Chile between 1841 and 1851. At the ...

gave him a firm concession for the nascent Compañía del Camino Ferro-Carril de Copiapó. The reason for building the railway was the discovery in 1832 by

Juan Godoy Juan Godoy (1800 – 1842) was a Chilean farmer and miner who in 1832 discovered an outcrop (''reventón'') of silver south of Copiapó in Chañarcillo, sparking the Chilean silver rush. Villalobos, Sergio; Silva, Osvaldo; Silva Fernando and Es ...

, a humble woodcutter, an enormous silver deposit in

Chañarcillo Chañarcillo is a town and mine in the Atacama Desert of Copiapó Province, Atacama Region, Chile, located near Vallenar and 60 km from Copiapó. It is noted for its silver mining. The town grew after the Chañarcillo silver mine, discovered on ...

. The need to transport the ore from the interior to the coast, combined with the availability of capital, led to this first Chilean railway. The works began in March 1850 under the ''aegis'' of North American engineers Walton Evans and the Campbell brothers, Alejandro and Allan. was chosen and the layout of the port to the interior was the same as it is today, although the original track was relaid to (for compatibility with the Northern Network) at the beginning of the 20th century. The locomotives and complementary rolling stock were entrusted to the

Norris Locomotive Works The Norris Locomotive Works was a steam locomotive manufacturing company based in Philadelphia, that produced nearly one thousand railroad engines between 1832 and 1866. It was the dominant American locomotive producer during most of that period a ...

in the United States, which built many of the powerful machines that opened the path to the West. The equipment arrived on 21 June 1851 in Caldera at 30 km/h. Thomson says that Wheelwright tried to open the first section on 4 July to coincide with US

Independence day An independence day is an annual event memorialization, commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or Sovereign state, statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or after the end of a milit ...

but it was not possible. The first test took place on 29 July and was the first time a train ran in Chile, and the third in South America.(The first was in Georgetown- Plaisance (8 km) in

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies. It was located on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first known Europeans to encounter Guia ...

, opened in November 1848. The second was the

Callao Callao () is a Peruvian seaside city and Regions of Peru, region on the Pacific Ocean in the Lima metropolitan area. Callao is Peru's chief seaport and home to its main airport, Jorge Chávez International Airport. Callao municipality consists ...

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

line (14 km), which began operations in April 1851. From 1 January the train made a daily journey. It left

at 9 am and arrived at 1 pm in Caldera. At 3 pm it began its return from the port to arrive in the city at 6.30. For those who traveled in first class the ticket cost 4 pesos and 2 reales. For those who traveled in second class, the ticket cost 2 pesos and 1 real. The cargo rate was 4 reals per quintal. Twice a week, a mail train ran in whose last car ran a gambling bank called "la timba", which lightened the pockets of the hard-working miners who were fond of gambling. The track was later extended to the nearby towns of Puquios and San Antonio and a station was built in Copiapó. They also acquired the route to Chañarcillo, completing 142 kilometers of track. Wheelwright dreamed of a transcontinental railroad but, although he obtained concessions in Argentina, he fell 400 kilometers short of the total of 1,375 needed to complete his dream. For 58 years the railroad was privately operated, but the decline of mining and the high rates charged led to a campaign to have it purchased by the state, which happened in 1910.

Southern Network

The main line from

and all its associated branches and sub-branches is known as the ''Red Sur de Ferrocarriles del Estado'' (in English, the Southern network of the state railways. Some of its most important points are (or were), La Calera, where it connected with the North Network, Alameda Station (better known as Central Station) in Santiago and the stations located in large cities from Santiago to Puerto Montt (Talca, Chillán, Temuco, etc). Practically the entire South Network was built by the State of Chile, initially to unite the few existing cities south of Santiago and later to integrate and establish sovereignty over the Araucanía territories that were being colonized. Given that the longitudinal track runs, in general terms, in a north-south direction through the central valley of the country, a large number of branches connect(ed) to it reachingi the cities located to the east and west of the main line. For operational, political-social and even financial reasons, many of the old branches were abandoned and dismantled after competition from road transport became more important. They can provide freight services such as Santiago – San Antonio, San Pedro – Ventanas, Llay – Llay – Los Andes – Saladillo; or passengers services between close large cities such as Corto del Laja (Talcahuano – Laja) or the

(which connects the communes of Talcahuano, San Pedro de la Paz, Coronel, Chiguayante and Hualqui with Concepción). An exceptional case is the Talca-Constitución line. A railbus to provides a subsidized service to a series of towns located on the bank of the

Maule River The Maule river or Río Maule ( Mapudungun: ''rainy'') is one of the most important rivers of Chile. It is inextricably linked to the country's pre-Hispanic (Inca) times, the country's conquest, colonial period, wars of Independence, modern hi ...

that do not have road access. After temporary interruption as a result of the devastation caused by the earthquake of 27 February 2010, the service was restored, currently operating normally between Talca and Constitución. As of 2020, practically the entire trunk network is used to transport cargo, although only a small section from Valparaíso to Limache and from Santiago Alameda Station to

Chillán Chillán () is the capital List of cities in Chile, city of Ñuble Region, Diguillín Province, Chile, located about south of the country's capital, Santiago, near the center of the country. It has been the capital of the new Ñuble Region since ...

continue to provide passenger services.

Santiago–Valparaíso railway

The existing rail line between Santiago and Valparaíso was opened in 1863, and is long, single-track and designed to avoid steep gradients through mountainous terrain. Passenger service ceased on this line in 1987, and freight traffic almost non-existent since then. Proposals have existed since the 1990s to build a more direct line between the two cities for passengers and freight. The section from Valparaíso to

Limache Limache is a town and commune in Marga Marga Province, Valparaíso Region, Chile. It is the only Chilean commune with two urban areas: San Francisco de Limache on the north side of the Pelumpén stream, and Limache Viejo on the south. Limache i ...

was doubled and put underground in

Viña del Mar Viña del Mar (; meaning "Vineyard of the Sea") is a List of cities in Chile, city and Communes of Chile, commune on Zona Central, Chile, central Chile's Pacific coast. Often referred to as ("The Garden City"), Viña del Mar is located withi ...

as part of the

Chiloé railway

The Chiloé railway was a gauge railway on

Chiloé Island Chiloé Island (, , ), also known as Greater Island of Chiloé (''Isla Grande de Chiloé''), is the largest island of the Chiloé Archipelago off the west coast of Chile, in the Pacific Ocean. The island is located in southern Chile, in the Los L ...

, running between Ancud and Castro, with a spur to the Lechagua port. It operated between 1912 and 1960.

Structures

* The

Conchi viaduct The Conchi viaduct, or Loa viaduct, is located on the Loa River in Chile, from Calama. It was built to carry part of the Ferrocarril de Antofagasta a Bolivia The Ferrocarril de Antofagasta a Bolivia (British company name: Antofagasta (Ch ...

on the FCALP was the second highest bridge in the world at the time of its construction in 1890. * The Malleco Viaduct on the southern longitudinal line near

Collipulli Collipulli is a city and commune forming part of the Malleco Province in the Araucanía Region in southern Chile. Its name means "coloured lands" in the Mapuche language spoken in the area. It has a population of 22,354 (2005) and an area of . It ...

is only a few centimetres less high. * The 4.5 km Las Raíces Tunnel on the Púa Lonquimay line was the longest tunnel in South America at the time of its opening in 1938.

Other lines

In addition to all these longitudinal lines, the Chilean railway network had endless branches of a local nature, with almost all of Chile connected from

Iquique Iquique () is a port List of cities in Chile, city and Communes of Chile, commune in northern Chile, capital of both the Iquique Province and Tarapacá Region. It lies on the Pacific coast, west of the Pampa del Tamarugal, which is part of the At ...

. Some of the branches were: * Tacna-Arica Railway (

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

) * Villa Industrial-

Tacora Tacora is a stratovolcano located in the Andes of the Arica y Parinacota Region of Chile. Near the border with Peru, it is one of the northernmost volcanoes of Chile. It is part of the Central Volcanic Zone in Chile, one of the four volcanic bel ...

(

) *

- Pisagua * Ferrocarril de Junín: Caleta Junín – Zapiga . * Agua Santa railway: Caleta Buena-Negreiros and branches. *

** Tocopilla – Toco and branches. ** Tocopilla-María Elena-Pedro de Valdivia nitrate works * Ollagüe-Collaguasi * Antofagasta-Mejillones * Antofagasta-Aguas Blancas and branches * Taltal-Catalina and branches (Cachinal, Santa Luisa, etc.). * Carrizalillo-Las Bombas * Diego de Almagro-Chañaral * Chañaral-Mina Las Ánimas * Diego de Almagro- Potrerillos * Copiapó-Puquíos * San Antonio and branch to Chañarcillo * Carrizal Bajo-Merceditas-Jarillas and branches (Carrizal Alto, Astillas, Manganeso, Yerba Buena, etc.) * Vallenar-Huasco * Vallenar-Pedro León Gallo * Ferrocarril de la Mina El Tofo -Cruz Grande * Coquimbo- El Romeral mine * La Serena-Vicuña-Rivadavia * Ovalle-Tongoy * Illapel- Salamanca * La Ligua-Papudo * La Ligua- Cabildo-Petorca * San Felipe-Putaendo * Llaillay- Los Andes- Portillo * Quillota-Concón- Quintero * Santiago- Melipilla- Cartagena * Santiago-Puente Alto-El Volcán * Rancagua-Sewell * Rancagua-Doñihue * Pelequén-Peumo- El Manzano * San Fernando- Santa Cruz- Pichilemu * Curicó-Licantén * Talca-Constitución * Talca- San Clemente * Linares-Colbún * Parral-Cauquenes * Chillán-Recinto * Chillán-Coelemu-Dichato * General Cruz- Cartago * Monte Águila- Polcura * Concepción- Rucapequén (Chillán) * Concepción- Curanilahue * Carampangue- Arauco * Santa Fe-Los Ángeles-Santa Bárbara * Coihue – Nacimiento * Coihue-Negrete-Mulchén * Los Sauces-Lebu * Renaico- Angol- Traiguén * Púa- Traiguén * Púa-Lonquimay (which comprised the Las Raíces Tunnel) * Los Sauces- Capitán Pastene * Traiguén- * Temuco-Carahue * Cajón-Cherquenco * Freire-Toltén * Freire- Cunco * Loncoche- Villarrica * Lanco-Panguipulli * Antilhue- Valdivia * Los Lagos- Riñihue * La Unión-Lago Ranco and branch to Entre Lagos * Osorno-Lago Rupanco * Corte Alto-Los Muermos * Ferrocarril de Chiloé, Ancud-Lechagua * Ferrocarril de Chiloé, Ancud-Castro * Puerto Natales-Puerto Bories * Punta Arenas- Loreto mine

Notes

References

External links

{{South America in topic, History of rail transport in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

Rail Rail or rails may refer to: Rail transport *Rail transport and related matters *Railway track or railway lines, the running surface of a railway Arts and media Film * ''Rails'' (film), a 1929 Italian film by Mario Camerini * ''Rail'' (1967 fil ...

Rail transport in Chile