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Rail transport in Colombia
A Cerrejón coal train near Uribia, La Guajira
Track gauge
Narrow gauge 914 mm (3 ft)	3,154 km (1,960 mi)
Standard gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)	150 km (93 mi)
Map Railroads of Colombia

The Colombian railway network has a total length of 3,304 kilometres (2,053 mi). There are 150 kilometres (93 mi) of 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge connecting Cerrejón coal mines, Tren del Cerrejón, to the maritime port of Puerto Bolivar at Bahia Portete, and 3,154 kilometres (1,960 mi) of 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge of which 2,611 kilometres (1,622 mi) are in use. The state-owned railway company, Ferrocarriles Nacionales de Colombia (National Railways of Colombia), was liquidated in the 1990s. Since then passenger rail service in Colombia is provided only as tourist steam trains on the Bogotá savanna railway, now called Turistren, and between Bogotá and Zipaquirá, and a general daily passenger service around Barrancabermeja, and its surroundings (Puente Sogamoso, Garcia Cadena, Puerto Berrio, and Puerto Parra), provided by Coopsercol.

Railway concessions

Railway concessions were awarded on July 27, 1999, to Ferrocarriles del Norte de Colombia S.A. (FENOCO), as the Atlantic concession, and on November 4, 1998, to the Sociedad Concesionaria de la Red Férrea del Pacífico SA, later named Tren de Occidente SA as the Pacific concession. Since 1991 the section La Loma – Puerto Drummond, with 192 kilometres (119 mi), transports coal. Also from July 2003, the section Bogotá - Belencito, with 257 kilometres (160 mi), is operating on the Atlantic concession transporting cement. In the Pacific concession the section between La Paila and Buenaventura has a total of 292 kilometres (181 mi).

In November 2009, the Colombian government set up a new team of consultants and specialists to oversee the estimated $440m Sistema Ferroviario Central railway concession. The project involves building a 1,050 kilometres (650 mi) railway from La Dorada to Chiriguaná, linking Colombia's central area to the Santa Marta port on the Atlantic coast. Part of the proposed project are the construction of the La Dorada stretch, renovating the stretches connecting the districts of La Dorada and Buenos Aires, Puerto Berrío, Envigado and La Dorada and Facatativá, and maintaining the Chiriguaná-Buenos Aires stretch. The tender was suspended due to concerns of corruption, but restarted in February 2011.

Investment programmes

There is a US$600 million investment programme planned for 2008 and studies for a US$350 million new line between Puerto Berrío and Saboya. Under this contract sections of the Atlantic network Neiva – Villavieja and 177 km (110 mi) Ibagué – La Dorada would be built. Other sections to be built include Sogamoso – Tunja and Puerto Berrío – Cisneros.

China is looking into constructing a 220 kilometres (140 mi) stretch of railway that would complete the link between the port cities Buenaventura and Cartagena, connecting Colombia's Pacific and Caribbean coasts. This railway alternative would compete with the Panama Canal. Besides linking two coasts, the railway's aim is to make the import Colombian coal and the export of Chinese manufactured goods to the Americas easier. Colombia hopes China's growing economic presence in the region will further the ratification of the Free Trade Agreement with the United States, the country's biggest trading partner.

A £47m agreement between the Colombian Ministry of Transport and UK Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg on February 3, 2014, plans to allow for the rehabilitation of two narrow gauge railway lines (one, 750 kilometres (470 mi) line from La Dorada to Chiriguaná and a second, 300 kilometres (190 mi) line from Belencito to Bogotá). The construction will use local contractors and is expected to take 18 to 24 months. The lines will be for freight traffic and the government is funding the construction but plans to privatize the route upon completion.

Stations served

Metro

Medellín is the only city thus far (2023) to have built a metro (rapid transit) system. Planning for a Bogotá Metro has been underway for years, and is hoped to open in 2028. Construction started in October 2020.

Table

Railway links with adjacent countries

• Venezuela – (Railroad of Cúcuta) - currently inoperative, proposed to be restored
• Brazil – no
• Ecuador – no
• Peru – no
• Panama – no

See also

• Antioquia Railway
• Transport in Colombia
• List of railway stations in Colombia

References

1. "Country profile: Colombia" (PDF). Library of Congress – Federal Research Division. February 2007. p. 18. Retrieved 2009-01-08.
2. "Ferroviario Central Back On The Tenders List – Corporate Financing Week". Archived from the original on 2012-07-30. Retrieved 2011-02-19.
3. "Colombia to launch US$600m tender package". Railway Gazette International. October 2007.
4. John Paul Rathbone, Naomi Mapstone (2011-02-13). "China in talks over Panama Canal rival (subscription required)". Financial Times. Retrieved 2011-02-14.
5. Wheatley, Jonathan (2011-02-14). "Colombia's smart canal". Financial Times. Retrieved 2011-02-14.
6. "China in talk with Columbia over transcontinental railway: Colombian president". Xinhuanet. 2011-02-14. Archived from the original on February 17, 2011. Retrieved 2011-02-14.
7. ^ Colombian railway revival gets underway, 10 Feb 2014, http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/news/cs-america/single-view/view/colombian-railway-revival-gets-underway.html
8. South American rail forum, http://www.railpage.com.au/f-t11342426.htm

Further reading

• (in Spanish and English) Arias de Greiff, Gustavo; Dewhurst, Peter K (2006). La Segunda Mula de Hierro: Historia de los Ferrocarriles Colombianos a través de sus locomotora / The Second Iron Mule: History of the Colombian Railroads through their Locomotives. Bogotá: Panamericana Formas e Impresos. ISBN 9583397318.
• Walker, Christopher (2005). Narrow Gauge in Colombia: Railways and Steam Locomotives. Skipton: Trackside Publications. ISBN 1900095238.

External links

Media related to Rail transport in Colombia at Wikimedia Commons

• UNHCR Map
• Documents and clippings about Colombia Railway and Navigation Company Ltd (London) in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW

• Rail transport in Colombia