Chile inaugurated the fastest train in South America

Chile inaugurated the fastest train in South America

A train that reaches a speed of 160 kilometers per hourdefined by the authorities as the fastest in South America, performed this Friday in Chili its maiden voyage between the cities of Santiago and Curicó, 195 km south of the capital.

“We are in a historic moment, not only for our country but for the region, for our South America that receives for the first time a train of these conditions for a commercial service,” said Chilean Minister of Transportation Juan Carlos Muñoz.

The train, which has four cars with a total capacity of 236 passengersconnects Santiago with Curicó, a rich agricultural production area known for its wine cellars, in two hours and three minutes, about 20 minutes less than conventional convoys take.

These are railways manufactured in China by the CRRC Sifang company and have automatic electric and diesel power systems (dual trains or BMU), which allows them to operate with fuel in the absence of electric service.

The value of a ticket between Santiago and Curicó on this new train varies between 12 and 24 dollars.

Until the 1970s, Chile had an extensive railway network in the north and south of the country, but the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990) dismantled it to give priority to road transport.

Successive governments have tried to recover train service, without success.

This “is a great milestone for our project, our desire and that of all Chileans to recover and improve our railway network, those trains for Chile that we want to be able to occupy on a recurring basis,” said Muñoz.

Immediately, the authorities’ bet is that this train arrives in the course of 2024 to the city of Chillán, 400 km south of Santiago, once the bridges affected by floods and river flooding during storms are rebuilt. from last southern winter.

Source: Ambito

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