Transport in Chile is mostly by road. The far south of the country is not directly connected to central

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 ...

by road without travelling through

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, and water transport also plays a part there. The railways were historically important in Chile, but now play a relatively small part in the country's transport system. Because of the country's geography and long distances between major cities, aviation is also important.

Road transport

Highways

''Total:'' 85,983 km
''Paved:'' 21,289 km
''Unpaved:'' 64,695 km (2020 est.)Red Vial de Chile
/ref> * Chile Highway 5 * Chile Highway 7 * Chile Highway 9 * Chile Highway 68 * Chile Highway 181

Freeways

3,347 km (2020 est.)< * Chile Freeway 6 * Chile Freeway 8 * Autopista del Sol * Autopista del Itata

Buses

Buses are now the main means of long-distance transportation in Chile, following the decline of the rail network. The bus system covers the whole country, from

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 ...

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

(a 30-hour journey) and from Santiago to

Punta Arenas Punta Arenas (, historically known as Sandy Point in English) is the capital List of cities in Chile, city of Chile's southernmost Regions of Chile, region, Magallanes Region, Magallanes and Antarctica Chilena. Although officially renamed as ...

(about 40 hours, with a change at Osorno). There are also international services to most other countries in South America. Longer-distance services are mostly on ''semi-cama'' (reclining seat) or ''cama'' (sleeper) buses, often double deck.

began its public bus system Transantiago in 2007. Concepción's " Bio Bus" integrates with the electric train, Biotren, and is based on a dedicated right of way for buses.

Railways

*''Total:'' 6,782 km *''

Broad gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , more known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union countries ...

:'' 3,743 km ' ''

gauge Gauge ( ) may refer to: Measurement * Gauge (instrument), any of a variety of measuring instruments * Gauge (firearms) * Wire gauge, a measure of the size of a wire ** American wire gauge, a common measure of nonferrous wire diameter, especia ...

'' (1,653 km electrified) *''

Narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum railw ...

'': 116 km '' gauge''; 2,923 km ' (40 km electrified) (1995) *' 40 km (from

Tacna Tacna, officially known as San Pedro de Tacna, is a city in southern Peru and the regional capital of the Tacna Region. A very commercially active city, it is located only north of the border with Arica y Parinacota Region from Chile, inland f ...

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 ...

) Not all lines connect. Chile's railways (except for a few dedicated industrial lines ) are operated by the state owned company '' Empresa de los Ferrocarriles del Estado'' (EFE), which completed a major investment programme in 2005. The rail system once served the entire country, running rail lines from Arica in the north to Puerto Montt in the south. Due partly to the nature of the terrain and evolution in transportation systems, rail travel has suffered greatly at the hands of bus and air competition. The train usually takes longer to reach a destination than a bus, and the comfort is comparable. Prices also tend to be uncompetitive. Rail freight transport has also suffered at the hands of the trucking industry and will continue to do so due to the immense leverage the truck driver's union can bring to bear if they were to feel threatened. The Ferrocarril de Antofagasta a Bolivia is a metre gauge railway in the north of the country. It was originally constructed in gauge. The northern rail line out of

is now disused past the intersection with the

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 ...

line. Until there, it is used nearly exclusively for freight. Although the rest of the northern line is still in place, it is in a state of serious disrepair. The southern line runs as far as

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 ...

and is electrified as far as the city of

Temuco Temuco () is a List of cities in Chile, city and Communes of Chile, commune, capital (political), capital of the Cautín Province and of the Araucanía Region in southern Chile. The city is located south of Santiago de Chile, Santiago. The cit ...

, from where diesel locomotives are used. Due to lack of budget and care, the 389 km Temuco to Puerto Montt section was abandoned in 1992 but after a $44m upgrade it has been back in use since 6 December 2005 with daily service between Victoria (north of Temuco) and Puerto Montt; today, however, only the service between Victoria and Temuco still operates. Work to build/restore(?) the South Trans-Andean Railway link between Zapala, Argentina and Lonquimay, Chile was underway in 2005. Possible

break-of-gauge With railways, a break of gauge occurs where a line of one track gauge (the distance between the rails, or between the wheels of trains designed to run on those rails) meets a line of a different gauge. Trains and rolling stock generally canno ...

. Possible rack railway. Construction was undertaken by Patagonia Ferrocanal SA, formed and funded by the province. The first 7 km was completed by January 2006.

Commuter rail Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter town ...

lines in Santiago are planned to connect to

Melipilla Melipilla (Mapudungun for "four Pillans") is a Chilean Communes of Chile, commune and Capital (political), capital List of cities in Chile, city of the Melipilla Province, province of the same name. It is part of the Santiago Metropolitan Region ...

and Batuco. There have been repeated case studies regarding the installation of a high-speed line between the cities of Valparaíso and Santiago, some even considering maglev trains, but no serious action has ever been taken on the matter.

Rail links with adjacent countries

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 ...

– yes – same gauge – from

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 ...

– Central Trans-Andean Railway – abandoned 1984 – 100 km of mountain railway of gauge with rack railway sections –

break of gauge With railways, a break of gauge occurs where a line of one track gauge (the distance between the rails, or between the wheels of trains designed to run on those rails) meets a line of a different gauge. Trains and railroad car, rolling stock g ...

/ at either end. Concession planned to re-open line. *

– yes – a single gauge connection between the northern Chilean city of

and

in Southern Peru.

Cities with Metros

(

Metro de Santiago The Santiago Metro () is a rapid transit system serving the city of Santiago, the capital of Chile. It currently consists of seven lines (numbered 1-6 and 4A), 143 stations, and of revenue route. The system is managed by the state-owned Metro S. ...

website
*

( Valparaíso Metro
website

Ports and merchant marine

Ports

Merchant marine

''total:'' 45 ships ( or over) totaling / ''

ship A ship is a large watercraft, vessel that travels the world's oceans and other Waterway, navigable waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research and fishing. Ships are generally disti ...

s by type:'' (1999 est.)

Aviation

Airports – with paved runways

*''total:'' 62 *''over 3,047 m:'' 6 *''2,438 to 3,047 m:'' 6 *''1,524 to 2,437 m:'' 20 *''914 to 1,523 m:'' 20 *''under 914 m:'' 10 (1999 est.) Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport, located in

, is Chile's largest aviation facility.

Airports – with unpaved runways

*''total:'' 310 *''over 3,047 m:'' 1 *''2,438 to 3,047 m:'' 4 *''1,524 to 2,437 m:'' 12 *''914 to 1,523 m:'' 68 *''under 914 m:'' 223 (1999 est.)

National airlines

LATAM Chile LATAM Airlines Chile, formerly known as LAN Chile and LAN Airlines, is a Chilean multinational corporation, multinational airline based in Santiago and one of the founding companies of the LATAM Airlines Group, the largest airline holding compa ...

* Sky Airline * JetSmart * Latin American Wings (defunct)

Bridges

Chacao Channel

Chacao Channel bridge is a planned

suspension bridge A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck (bridge), deck is hung below suspension wire rope, cables on vertical suspenders. The first modern examples of this type of bridge were built in the early 1800s. Simple suspension bridg ...

that was to link the island of Chiloé with mainland

crossing the

Chacao Channel The Chacao Channel () is located in Los Lagos Region, Chile and separates Chiloé Island from mainland Chile. The channel is about 40 km long and 4 km wide and connects the Pacific Ocean and Gulf of Ancud. The channel was created during the Quat ...

. It was one of the several projects that were planned to commemorate the Chile's bicentennial in 2010. If completed, it would have been the largest suspension bridge in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

. Construction started in 2017 with completion expected in 2028.

Pipelines

crude oil Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. The term ''petroleum'' refers both to naturally occurring u ...

755 km * petroleum products 780 km *

natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...

320 km

Mountain passes

Cardenal Antonio Samoré Pass Cardenal Antonio Samoré Pass () is one of the main mountain passes through the southern Andes along the border between Argentina and Chile. Together with Paso Libertadores, it is one of the easiest of the Argentina-Chile passes, and one of the ...

Los Lagos Region Los Lagos Region ( , 'Region of the Lakes') is one of regions of Chile, Chile's 16 regions, which are first order administrative divisions, and comprises four provinces: Chiloé Province, Chiloé, Llanquihue Province, Llanquihue, Osorno Provin ...

, Route 215-CH *

Carirriñe Pass Carirriñe Pass is an international mountain pass in the Andes between Chile and Argentina. The pass connects Coñaripe and Liquiñe in Chile with Junín de los Andes Junín de los Andes is a first category municipality and administrative cente ...

Los Ríos Region The Los Ríos Region (Spanish: ''Región de Los Ríos'', , ''Region of the Rivers'') is one of Chile's 16 regions, the country's first-order administrative divisions. Its capital is Valdivia. It began to operate as a region on October 2, 20 ...

Chungara–Tambo Quemado Chungara–Tambo Quemado () is a mountain pass through the Cordillera Occidental of the Andes along the border between Chile and Bolivia. Chungara–Tambo Quemado is one of the principal Chile-Bolivia passes in the central Andes as it connects ...

Arica and Parinacota Region The Arica y Parinacota Region ( ) is one of Chile's 16 first order administrative divisions. It comprises two provinces, Arica and Parinacota. It borders Peru's Department of Tacna to the north, Bolivia's La Paz and Oruro departments to the east ...

Paso de Jama The Paso de Jama is a mountain pass through the Andes between Chile and Argentina, at an elevation of at the border. It is the northernmost road border crossing between the two countries. The pass is reached via Chile Route 27 and via National ...

Antofagasta Region The Antofagasta Region (, ) is one of Chile's Administrative divisions of Chile, sixteen first-order administrative divisions. Being the second-largest region of Chile in area, it comprises three provinces, Antofagasta Province, Antofagasta, El ...

Huahum Pass Hua Hum Pass ( ) is an international mountain pass in the Andes between Chile and Argentina. The pass takes its name from the Hua Hum River that flows from Argentina into Chile at the site of the border crossing. Even though the pass does not go ...

, Los Ríos Region * Icalma International Pass,

Araucanía Region The Araucanía ( ), La Araucanía Region ( ) is one of Chile's 16 first-order administrative divisions, and comprises two provinces: Malleco in the north and Cautín in the south. Its capital and largest city is Temuco; other important cities ...

Paso Internacional Los Libertadores The Paso Internacional Los Libertadores, also called ''Cristo Redentor'', is a mountain pass in the Andes between Argentina and Chile. It is the main transport route out of the Chilean capital city Santiago into Mendoza Province in Argentina an ...

Valparaíso Region The Valparaíso Region (, ) is one of Chile's 16 Regions of Chile, first order administrative divisions.Valparaíso Region, 2006 With the country's second-highest population of 1,790,219 , and fourth-smallest area of , the region is Chile's sec ...

Lilpela Pass Ipela or Lilpela () is a mountain pass through the Andes along the border between Chile and Argentina. It is most notable for being the pass used by Pablo Neruda Pablo Neruda ( ; ; born Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto; 12 July 190423 ...

, Los Ríos Region *

Paso de Los Patos The Paso de Los Patos ''(Passage of the Ducks)'' is an Andean mountain pass between Argentina and Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the close ...

, Valparaíso Region *

Mamuil Malal Pass Mamuil Malal Pass (Mapudungun for '' corral of wooden sticks'') is an international mountain pass in the Andes between Chile and Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America ...

Pino Hachado Pass Pino Hachado Pass () is a mountain pass through the Andes, joining Chile and Argentina. It is one of the principal passes of the southern Andes, connecting Argentina's route National Route 242 (Argentina), RN-242 and Chile's Route 181-CH.' Tran ...

, Araucanía Region *

San Francisco Pass The San Francisco Pass is a pass over the Andes mountains which connects Argentina and Chile. The highest point of this pass is at AMSL. Location The pass is located at and connects the Argentine province of Catamarca with the Atacama Regi ...

, Atacama Region *

Uspallata Pass The Uspallata Pass, Bermejo Pass or Cumbre Pass, is an Andean pass which provides a route between the wine-growing region around the Argentine city of Mendoza, the Chilean city Los Andes and Santiago, the Chilean capital situated in the central ...