Transport in Chile is mostly by road. The far south of the country is not directly connected to central Chile by road without travelling through Argentina, 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.
Total: 85,983 km
Paved: 21,289 km
Unpaved: 64,695 km (2020 est.) [1]
3,347 km (2020 est.)< [1]
Buses are now the main means of long-distance transportation in Chile, following the decline of the rail network. [2] The bus system covers the whole country, from Arica to Santiago (a 30-hour journey) and from Santiago to Punta Arenas (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.
Santiago 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.
Not all lines connect.
Chile's railways (except for a few dedicated industrial lines [3] ) are operated by the state owned company Empresa de los Ferrocarriles del Estado (EFE), which completed a major investment programme in 2005. [4]
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 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) gauge.
The northern rail line out of Santiago is now disused past the intersection with the Valparaíso 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 and is electrified as far as the city of Temuco, 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. [5]
Work to build/restore(?) the South Trans-Andean Railway link between Zapala, Argentina and Lonquimay, Chile was underway in 2005. [6] Possible break-of-gauge. Possible rack railway. [7] Construction was undertaken by Patagonia Ferrocanal SA, formed and funded by the province. [8] The first 7 km was completed by January 2006. [9] Commuter rail lines in Santiago are planned to connect to Melipilla 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.
total: 45 ships (1,000 gross tonnage (GT) or over) totaling 580,749 GT/860,034 tonnes deadweight (DWT) ships by type: (1999 est.)
Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport, located in Santiago, is Chile's largest aviation facility.
Chacao Channel bridge is a planned suspension bridge that was to link the island of Chiloé with mainland Chile crossing the Chacao Channel. 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. Construction started in 2017 with completion expected in 2028.
Transport in the Dominican Republic utilizes a system of roads, airports, ports, harbours, and an urban railway.
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El Salvador has transport links by road, rail, sea and air.
For Soviet transportation, see Transport in the Soviet Union.
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Transportation in Guatemala includes roads, waterways, airports and a short cross-border rail line from Mexico.
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Transport in Hungary relies on several main modes, including transport by road, rail, air and water.
Transport in Kenya refers to the transportation structure in Kenya. The country has an extensive network of paved and unpaved roads.
This article describes the transport in Peru.
Transport in Spain is characterised by a network of roads, railways, trams, air routes, and ports. Its geographic location makes it an important link between Europe, Africa, and the Americas. Major forms of transit generally radiate from the capital, Madrid, located in the centre of the country, to link with the capitals of the autonomous communities.
The Trans-Andean railways provide rail transport over the Andes. Several are either planned, built, defunct, or waiting to be restored. They are listed here in order from north to south.
Empresa de los Ferrocarriles del Estado is the national railway and the oldest state-run enterprise in Chile. It manages the infrastructure and operating rail services in the country.
Rail transport in Peru has a varied history. Peruvian rail transport has never formed a true network, primarily comprising separate lines running inland from the coast and built according to freight need rather than passenger need.
The Transandine Railway was a 1,000 mmmetre gauge combined rack and adhesion railway which operated from Mendoza in Argentina, across the Andes mountain range via the Uspallata Pass, to Santa Rosa de Los Andes in Chile, a distance of 248 km.
The Ferrocarril de Antofagasta a Bolivia is a private railway operating in the northern provinces of Chile. It is notable in that it was one of the earliest railways built to 2 ft 6 in narrow gauge, with a route that climbed from sea level to over 4,500 m (14,764 ft), while handling goods traffic totaling near 2 million tons per annum. It proved that a railway with such a narrow gauge could do the work of a standard gauge railway, and influenced the construction of other railways such as the Estrada de Ferro Oeste de Minas. It was later converted to 1,000 mmmetre gauge, and still operates today.
The Bolivian rail network has had a peculiar development throughout its history.
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. Further construction proceeded apace linking cities from Pisagua all the way to Puerto Montt.
The most common track gauge in Chile is the Indian gauge 1,676 mm. In the north there is also some 1,000 mm, metre gauge, rail track.
In Spain there is an extensive 1,250 km (780 mi) system of 1,000 mmmetre gauge railways. The majority of these railways was historically operated by FEVE,. Created in 1965 FEVE started absorbing numerous private-owned narrow-gauge railways. From 1978 onwards, with the introduction of regionalisation devolution under the new Spanish constitution, FEVE began transferring responsibility for a number of its operations to the new regional governments. On 31 December 2012 the company disappeared due to the merger of the narrow-gauge network FEVE and the broad-gauge network RENFE.