THE Colombian government has agreed to co-fund the Pesos 15.4 trillion ($US 4.1bn) 49km Northern RegioTram project focused on Bogotá, in the centre of the country, with the regional government of Cundinamarca also contributing.

Transport minister, María Fernanda Rojas, and the governor of Cundinamarca, Jorge Emilio Rey Ángel, confirmed a partnership agreement on November 8, involving the National Planning Department (DNP), the Ministry of Transport, and the National Infrastructure Agency (ANI).

The proposed line will largely follow the alignment of the Bogotá - Savannah railway, which currently hosts an infrequent tourist service. Running from Zipaquirá in Cundinamarca to central Bogotá, the new line will have 17 stations and include a partially underground section within the capital. The projected end-to-end journey time will be 1 hour compared with the current peak journey time of 2 hours.

Since a feasibility study was announced in 2019, co-financed by the British government’s Prosperity Fund and Cundinamarca’s regional government, the project has faced delays and an impasse over funding.

The agreement reached this month will see the Colombian government provide 80% of the funding for the Northern RegioTram, with the Cundinamarca government supplying the remainder through future budget allocations from 2026 to 2040. According to local news outlet Cambio, the partnership agreement stipulates that if the construction schedule slips by more than 20%, national contributions will be temporarily suspended to ensure technical and financial discipline.

Tram-train programme

The Northern RegioTram will be Colombia’s second tram-train line and is part of a wider regional rail programme that uses electric tram-trains to connect Bogotá with surrounding municipalities. Construction of the first line, the 39.6km Western RegioTram, from Bogotá to Facatativá, was awarded to China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) as part of a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) agreement in 2020 and is now underway.

It is due to open in phases, with the first section opening in late 2027 and the final section into central Bogotá following in 2029. A fleet of 18 tram-trains has been ordered from China Railway Construction Corporation (CRRC). The coupled pairs will have a maximum operating speed of 70km/h but will be limited to 50km/h in commercial service. The first tram-trains arrived at the end of 2024 and have undergone extensive testing this year.

Both Western and Northern RegioTram routes will converge at a new multimodal hub in central Bogotá, offering interchange with the Bogotá Metro, TransMilenio BRT and local bus services.

The formal signing of the funding agreement for the Northern RegioTram will trigger the launch of the tendering process, expected in the first quarter of next year. Local reports suggest construction could commence in 2030, with the line opening in 2034.

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