Chile presents the fastest trains in South America. They will work on Santiago-Chillán service

This is an automated translation of the original release published in Spanish.

Statement from the Ministry of Transport and Telecommunications of Chile

The Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications, Juan Carlos Muñoz, along with the Chairman of the EFE Board of Directors, Eric Martin, presented the first two of a total of six trains that will be incorporated into the Alameda-Chillán service, the most modern and fastest in South America, reaching speeds of 160 kilometers per hour.

“Providing Chile with an extensive train network is a core and historical desire of our country that the Government of President Gabriel Boric assumed a commitment and in which we are advancing. With an investment of 70 million dollars, these trains come to renew the fleet of the Santiago-Chillán service, allowing our country to position itself one step higher in terms of rail technology at the Latin American level,” highlighted Minister Juan Carlos Muñoz.

"Public transport is a set of modes, they are the regulated buses of Iquique, the Metro of the Metropolitan Region, the barges of Los Lagos, and also our trains with services like this that will allow connecting the Metropolitan Region with Chillán in 3 hours and 40 minutes, 80 minutes less than the current train service takes today,” added the Secretary of State.

Within the framework of EFE's modernization process and in line with the Trenes Para Chile presidential commitment, one of the relevant projects corresponds to the improvement of the operating conditions of the Chillán - Santiago service, which is the only long-distance service currently available regularly (400 kilometers).

"We have a mandate to advance in the development of trains for Chile, strengthening the operations we have, advancing in the execution of the projects that will allow us to triple the number of passengers transported and advancing in the opening or reopening of routes that allow us to reduce distances and reduce territorial inequities These new trains cannot be seen by themselves, but as part of a project that also considers the recovery of the 12 stations, the improvement of the track standard and a modern maintenance center. We will continue working tirelessly so that in Santiago and its regions we have more and better rail services," added the president of EFE, Eric Martin.

The trains presented today are the first two of a total of six that will be incorporated into the service. The new rolling stock will begin the calibration and testing processes that will last for an estimated period of six months, which will allow them to be in operation during the third and fourth quarters of 2023.