CHILEAN State Railways (EFE) has signed a $US 470m contract with the Constructora Gran Andes consortium of China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) and its subsidiaries CR22 and CRCEB to construct the northern section of the $US 950m project to build a 26km commuter rail line from Santiago north to Batuco.

Construction on the northern section from Mapocho to Batuco will start in December and involves rebuilding an existing mainly single-track freight line. The work involves the construction of two tracks for passenger trains and one for freight, seven bridges, six stations and the elimination of five level crossings.

A tender for will be launched in the fourth quarter of this year for the Mapocho - Quinta Normal underground section which will have two stations.

Production of a new commuter fleet is underway. In 2017, EFE awarded a $US 171m contract to CRRC Sifang and Temoinsa for the supply of 32 three-car EMUs, 10 of which are for the Santiago - Batuco line, with delivery scheduled to start in 2027 to support the phased introduction of services starting in 2028 with the Batuco - Quilicura section. The entire line will open in 2030.

The line will interchange with three Santiago metro lines - Line 3 at Quilicura, the future Line 7 at Matucana and Line 5 at Quinta Normal - and is expected to carry 35 million passengers annually. The new service will connect Batuco with Quinta Normal in 26 minutes, a journey that currently takes 1h 20min.

Melipilla project

EFE opened bids from Spanish, Chinese and Chilean civil engineering companies on September 2 for construction of the 3.2km Alameda (Santiago Central station) - Lo Errázuriz underground section of the new commuter rail line from Santiago to Melipilla.

The bidders comprise:

  • China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), China Railway International Group (CRIG) and China Railway Tunnel Group (CRTG), which submitted the lowest offer
  • China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC), China Railway 22nd Bureau Group (CR22) and China Railway Construction Electrification Bureau Group (CRCEB)
  • Dragados Besalco Railway Works, Spain, and
  • Sacyr, Chile.

EFE expects to award the contract in October to allow construction to start in the first quarter of 2026. Contracts for the two surface sections have already been awarded and construction is expected to start in the last quarter of this year.

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