Chile’s EFE open to freight rail concession option to attain cargo target

State railways firm EFE is not currently mulling concessions to expand Chile’s freight transport infrastructure, but is open to the idea as a way to achieve its 2030 cargo goal, according to logistics manager Jorge Guajardo.

“Our model has a different focus, but we could study it if it was an issue for developing infrastructure,” Guajardo said when answering a question from BNamericas at a freight transport webinar held by the country’s infrastructure policy council (CPI).

The country has a user-focused concessions model for freight railways, in which EFE is the system administrator, and private operators use the rail network with their own trains.

Guajardo said there has been some joint investment in freight infrastructure, but it has been limited to upgrades and detours, rather than expansions. 

In terms of cargo transport, he admitted that EFE is struggling to surpass 10Mt/y, representing only half its 2030 goal, and added that around 90% comes from the mining and forestry sectors. 

Besides the problems of infrastructure and demand, Guajardo also highlighted the lack of logistical hubs where cargo can be transferred among different modes of transport. 

“Apart from the intermodal transfer centers in the port zones, the transfer hubs that we have are the same ones as many years ago,” he said. 

At the same event, Pablo Brown, Americas VP for Hamburg Port Consulting, called for increased private investment in the sector. 

“There must be private options, not only as operators, but in terms of infrastructure as well. We have concrete cases here in Latin America where private actors, alongside the government and operators, have developed very interesting projects,” he said, mentioning Uruguay as an example. 

Álvaro Román, logistics manager at local beverage giant CCU, shared this view.

“As doors are opened, we could see a highly virtuous scenario with lots of people looking to develop [projects],” he said, adding it could also include technology projects.