COLOMBIA’s National Infrastructure Agency (ANI) has reported a major upturn in freight traffic on the La Dorada - Chiriguaná line. Between January and September 2025, the line carried 796,000 tonnes of freight, three times the volume transported during the whole of 2024.
The 522km corridor provides a vital link between Colombia’s industrial heartland and the Caribbean coast, traversing the departments of Caldas, Antioquia, Santander, Norte de Santander, and Cesar.
ANI has committed more than $US 28m to maintaining and upgrading the line and its rolling stock over the past three years. In July 2023, it awarded the San Felipe Férreo Consortium a $US 18.1m, 12-month contract to upgrade and maintain the line in preparation for long-term operations.
Building on this, the government launched a tender for a 10-year public–private partnership (PPP) to operate, maintain, and modernise the line. In April 2025, the $US 545m concession was awarded to the Estructura Plural Línea Férrea Central consortium.
Scope of work
The modernisation programme includes:
- replacement of 205.5km of rail
- new administrative offices and an operational control centre
- two train maintenance workshops, and
- a new freight terminal centre in La Dorada.
The project will also deliver a combined road and pedestrian bridge over the Sogamoso River at Puerto Wilches and the relocation of two schools in Cimitarra, Santander, to improve safety.
“Just a few months ago, we awarded Colombia’s first railway PPP,” says Milena Jiménez Hernández, ANI’s vice-president of contract management. “Today, we celebrate the fact that this corridor is moving significantly more freight and positioning itself as a competitive logistics alternative that reduces costs and benefits consumers.”
