PLANS to reintroduce a passenger service between Chile’s capital, Santiago, and the Pacific port city of Valparaíso are facing renewed uncertainty following the end of the administration of former president, Gabriel Boric, and the arrival of the government of José Antonio Kast.
The project, one of Boric’s flagship rail initiatives, was conceived as a medium-speed passenger line linking the two cities in around 90 minutes, with the potential to reduce this further by shortening the route through the construction of a 16km tunnel between Tiltil and Limache. The project has already experienced a turbulent past marked by repeated delays and false starts.
Total investment for the project was estimated at $US 3.82bn, to be undertaken in two phases. An initial stage valued at about $US 1.32bn would largely use the existing 187km line which would be electrified, upgraded and realigned, while a later phase costing $US 2.12bn would involve major new infrastructure, including the new tunnel, to shorten the route to around 120km.
However, progress on the project slowed significantly during the final months of the Boric administration, with questions raised by potential bidders and rulings from the national comptroller regarding the project’s structure.
Martín Arrau, who worked on infrastructure policy for Kast’s presidential campaign, says that alternative private proposals for linking Santiago and Valparaíso could be re-evaluated by the new government, arguing that the route proposed under the Boric administration is “not very viable.”
For now, the Santiago - Valparaíso project remains at an impasse as the new administration reviews transport investment priorities and assesses whether to continue, redesign or replace the scheme with alternative proposals.
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