URUGUAY’s Ministry of Transport and Public Works (MTOP) is set to award the contract to produce a national rail masterplan to a consortium of consulting firms Ineco and CSI Ingenieros, together with Brazilian rail solutions company ART.
The masterplan will define the long-term strategy for Uruguay’s rail network, including identifying infrastructure priorities, operational planning and future investment needs.
Uruguay’s deputy minister of transport and public works, Waverly Tejera, says the masterplan will provide the technical guidance necessary to expand and modernise the national network, following recent rehabilitation work on freight corridors serving the forestry and wood pulp industries.
Alongside the masterplan contract award, MTOP has outlined a $US 15m programme of rail infrastructure improvements in 2026, which will target track, structures and associated railway assets across the network. It will be financed in part through revenue from track access charges paid by operators.
According to Uruguayan media reports, MTOP is developing a railway infrastructure trust fund that will channel revenues from track access charges into maintenance and upgrade works. One of the principal contributors is pulp and paper producer UPM, which reportedly pays approximately $US 450,000 per month to operate freight trains on the rehabilitated 273km Paso de los Toros - Montevideo Central Railway.
Uruguay has in recent years undertaken significant rail upgrade projects to support the export logistics sectors, notably the modernisation of the Central Railway. The masterplan is expected to define the next phase of development, including potential network extensions, capacity improvements and integration with ports and logistics hubs.
