Chile cries 'all aboard' US$5bn rail plan
All 27 projects in Chile's US$5bn Chile Sobre Rieles (Chile on Rails) program have their financing secured, transport minister Gloria Hutt said, differentiating the initiative from other rail investment plans.
In July, when she first spoke about the plan, Hutt stated that state owned rail firm EFE had difficulties funding large investments, since “unlike other companies where you see profits rise and fall, at EFE you see losses rise and fall.”
Now, sources from her ministry (MTT) state that while the financing for these projects is secured, it is still being debated whether EFE would issue debt of its own as well, according to newspaper Diario Financiero.
The main projects for the 2020-2027 period under the program are the following:
Melipilla-Alameda service (US$1.6bn)
This project was given environmental approval back in May and is one of two on which works are expected to start next year.
The new service entails a 61km rail line, which will consist of rehabilitating an existing line between Melipilla, on the outskirts of Santiago, and the Estación Central district of the city.
The so-called Melitrén will have 11 stations, 10 of which will be brand new and it is expected to transport 50mn passengers per year once it starts operations between late 2025 and early 2026, sources from EFE told BNamericas.
Santiago-Batuco-Tiltil service (US$669mn)
Submitted for environmental evaluation back in 2017, this project is expected to be approved by evaluation service SEA next year, while works would begin in 2021.
The service will consist of a 48km rail line linking Tiltil and Batuco with the Quinta Normal district in northern Santiago.
Eight new stations will be built for the project, while an existing one at Quinta Normal will serve as a connection with Line 5 of the Santiago Metro system. Two other stations (Quilicura and Renca) will also serve to connect the new service with the future extension of Metro Line No. 3 and the upcoming Line No. 7.
The service is expected to start operations around the same time as Melitrén.
On the subject of environmental review, while the environmental impact study (EIS) was submitted in December 2017, the process was suspended between November 2018 and July 2019, after EFE requested additional time to amend its EIS and respond to observations from authorities, documents from the SEA show.
Metrotren Araucanía (US$188mn)
This is the second project expected to start works next year and the service entails extending the Victoria-Temuco rail service to the municipality of Gorbea (Araucanía region).
This would add 43km to the existing service and six new stations.
Works will be divided into two stages. The first, which begins next year, involves the section between Temuco and Padre las Casas and is expected to be finished between late 2021 and early 2022, while works on the second phase would begin during early 2023, covering the section between Padre las Casas and Gorbea, starting operations in 2024.
Merval Quillota-La Calera extension (US$443mn)
The engineering study for this extension of the Valparaíso Metro system (Merval) was awarded in May and the design is expected to be submitted for environmental evaluation between late 2021 and early 2022, while works would begin in 2023.
The project entails adding 28km to the Metro system, connecting the current terminal station at Limache municipality (Valparaíso region) to Quillota and La Calera. This would add five new stations to the service and is expected to start operations between late 2026 and early 2027.
Biotren-Lirquén extension (US$73mn)
This is one of two extensions planned for the Biotrén service, which serves the Biobío region.
This involves connecting regional capital Concepción with the municipality of Lirquén with a 19.4km rail line, which would also take the service to Penco municipality. The extension is expected to have five stations, but a source from EFE told BNamericas that this could be changed, as the project was only in its pre-feasibility stage.
Works would begin in 2023 and operations would start in 2027.
Biotrén Coronel-Lota extension (US$48mn)
The second mayor extension to the Biotrén involves a 9.5km line linking the municipality of Coronel to Lota, adding two new stations in the process.
Works would begin in late 2022 and operations would start in 2024.
New Biotrén Lines (US$275mn)
Instead of an extension, this project consists of adding additional rail lines to most of the existing Biotrén rail network.
Works involve adding 48km of additional rails to the system, plus the purchase of 10 units of rolling stock.
The main works would begin in late 2021 and would be completed by 2025.
Rolling stock purchases
Aside from infrastructure works, the program also entails purchasing additional rolling stock to improve the frequency of existing services.
One of the most significant acquisitions is six new trains for the Alameda-Chillán service for US$115mn.
This purchase is part of a plan to overhaul the service by implementing two interregional modalities: a regular service, with stops at 12 stations and a travel time of four hours, and another express service, with stops at five stations and a travel time of 3 hours and 40 minutes.
EFE launched an international tender for the new rolling stock on Tuesday. Bidding documents will be available for purchase at the firm’s headquarters in Santiago from September 6 to 24 (http://www.efe.cl/licitaciones/licitacion-publica-internacional-provision-de-material-rodante-y-su-mantenimiento-servicio-chillan-alameda/detalle)
Another purchase will be to improve the Alameda-Nos service (US$55mn) with eight new trains. In a similar move, the Santiago-Rancagua service would also get eight new trains (US$48mn).
Outside of Santiago, the Talca-Constitución service will have three new trains (US$14mn) and the Laja commuter train another three as well (US$16mn).
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