South America International Rail

I know there are connections, but has anyone ever tried to begin international service between the countries in South America? International trains exist in Europe. One route I can definately see is Santiago, Chile to Buenos Aires, Argentina. The mountain pass through Mendoza is still in tact and I'm pretty sure the guage is the same. Even if it wasn't, there are ways to take care of that.

Also, why not Buenos Aires or Montevideo(Uruguay) to Asuncion(Paraguay). There's already a bridge at Posadas, and last I heard they got the train from Asuncion to the border running again. Why not through run? Also, tracks in Argentina and Uruguay connect to Brazil.

The furthest north you can get before you hit problems is Bolivia near the Peruvian border. Those tracks connect to Chile as well. You could run that line as well.

Hey, there are buses doing it. Why not trains?

islandtransit wrote:I know there are connections, but has anyone ever tried to begin international service between the countries in South America? International trains exist in Europe. One route I can definately see is Santiago, Chile to Buenos Aires, Argentina. The mountain pass through Mendoza is still in tact and I'm pretty sure the guage is the same. Even if it wasn't, there are ways to take care of that.

Also, why not Buenos Aires or Montevideo(Uruguay) to Asuncion(Paraguay). There's already a bridge at Posadas, and last I heard they got the train from Asuncion to the border running again. Why not through run? Also, tracks in Argentina and Uruguay connect to Brazil.

The furthest north you can get before you hit problems is Bolivia near the Peruvian border. Those tracks connect to Chile as well. You could run that line as well.

Hey, there are buses doing it. Why not trains?

Paul Theroux describes some international connections he made in his book "The Old Patagonian Express"

The most memorable was from Bolivia to Argentina. But I doubt if any of these connections are running today. Almost all the trips he describes - I think in the 1970s - are now impossible with passenger service discontinued. His Colombia trip is impossible because the whole 2 ft system was closed. I suppose it is just possible that the Peru-Bolivia line still works. He couldn't travel on it because it was on strike.
There used to be service from Argentina to Chile, over the Andes. Not now. One problem is like that in Australia, many different gauges. The Spanish gauge competes with the standard gauge, as well as several narrow gauge systems, such as Cape (Ecuador), two foot, metre.
As long as the current paranoia about terrorists continues there will be no connections from the US to Mexico, or even to Canada.
Only if (when) air travel starts coming under pressure for its carbon emissions will there be more passenger trains.

Bolivia to Argentina? Wow. What was the routing on that?

I think most of the stuff in western Bolivia is still running, and eastern Bolivia is just those railbus things to the Brazilian border, but I'm not sure.

The thing with trans-andean is that I believe the guauge is the same in Argentina and Chile for the most part.

Ecuador and Colombia have really confused me. What were those systems and is anything still running of them? I know in Ecuador they've torn a lot of the street running parts

islandtransit wrote:Bolivia to Argentina? Wow. What was the routing on that?

I think most of the stuff in western Bolivia is still running, and eastern Bolivia is just those railbus things to the Brazilian border, but I'm not sure.

The thing with trans-andean is that I believe the guauge is the same in Argentina and Chile for the most part.

Ecuador and Colombia have really confused me. What were those systems and is anything still running of them? I know in Ecuador they've torn a lot of the street running parts

The thing is passenger service has been withdrawn on most lines.
Ecuador has a Cape gauge line from Guayaquil to Quito. I believe there is now only an occasional tourist train.

There is an earlier thread on Colombia. Theroux described his experiences on the former system (but never mentioned the 2ft gauge). There may be some steam activity in the Bogota area, and wishes for a commuter service, but how much real activity I have no idea. My guess is that if they plan a commuter service they should adopt a wider gauge.

i went from Ecuador to Argentina in the early nineties .
there was limited train service in Ecuador , a line for the coast up to near quito was spectacular . From there south there was no service . From qauyaquil up into the mountains there was service over the famous devils elbow , switchback system . form there , it was bus into northern peru .
No trains form the border to Lima , then a train up into the mountains . the way south form there was blocked by shining path terroists .back to lima and bus south , until theres a rail line back up into the mountains , and onto macchu picchu . From there , train south to lake titiacca , whereon there was a boat / bus service into Bolivia . From La paz there was railcar service down into the hinterland ,and form there it was a combo of bus and train to the Argentina border . there was a train form the argentine side of the border , down to Salta? , about a days ride . except loco broke down , so we got there after dark .
at that time , on most routes , trains were been superseded by buses . and later i imagine air took a big chunk too . and of course in the mountains , any sort of washout etc is a major . however the trains were alot safer than the buses , whose drivers would pray at roadside shrines , then drive as though they had divine protection .

I was in Chile and Argentina in November last year. There is no operating railway north from Santiago de Chile, except the suburb lines in Valparaiso.
According to my information the pass over the Andes at Mendosa is closed. The railway station in Santiago - the terminal of northbound lines is now an exhibition center. In several parts of the town you can find some bridges and sometimes also tracks .

From the another excelently renewed station Alameda there is a busy traffic towards south. We traveled till the end of the southern line in Puerto Montt - about 1000 km from Santiago.

On the other side in Argentina the lines were privitazed and there are several companies providing services (maybe also to Mendoza - however we were not there). From Bariloche just about 1 hour from Chile there is a regular service to Buenos Aires - Trans Patagonico, the ride takes about 48 hours.[/img]

Here are some pictures from the trip:

http://groups.msn.com/FERKELLINES/ablagebox.msnw

or here

http://www.railwaytouring.co.uk/reportP ... agonia.htm

railfilm wrote: According to my information the pass over the Andes at Mendosa is closed. The railway station in Santiago - the terminal of northbound lines is now an exhibition center. In several parts of the town you can find some bridges and sometimes also tracks

The pass is closed.

Look at the pictures here to see why: http://www.geocities.com/foraster/99_01a.html

I know the pass is closed, but technically, the ROW can be used. They just need to fix it up, alot. Also, there are no trains to Mendoza. I don't exactly no where the closest station is, but it's FAR from Mendoza.

Is the ROW is Santiago built on, or is it still in tact?