THE government of Bolivia is relaunching efforts to reactivate its national rail network. The plans support the development of the Bi-oceanic Central Corridor connecting Brazil’s Atlantic ports with Pacific ports in Chile and Peru.
According to local media reports, Cynthia Aramayo, interim general coordinator of the country’s rail authority UTF, has revealed that the state is set to take a new approach in the relationship between the public and private sectors. “UTF is now able to supervise, plan and execute new rail-related projects, making it fundamental for what is being proposed with the Bi-oceanic Central Corridor,” she says.
Aramayo identifies the main operational challenge as reconnecting the currently separate eastern and western rail networks in Bolivia. She notes that several sections, notably the lines toward Peru via Guaqui, and towards Arica in Chile, are inactive.
Restoring them will require significant investment and convincing private operators to resume rail freight service. “The biggest challenge is to ensure an operator uses those sections and reactivates them,” Aramayo says. “When the railway abandons a section, road haulage takes over and then it is very difficult to recover the traffic.”.
The reactivation plans align with the Bolivian government’s pronouncement last year that the Bi-oceanic project is a policy priority. However, the Central Corridor option crossing Bolivian territory is now seen as less favourable by Brazil and Peru.
