Colombia's Antioquia betting on rail projects

Colombia’s Antioquia department is mulling at least nine rail projects within its transportation and logistics masterplan, which looks at reinforcing multimodality from now until 2058.

The rail projects included in the plan are divided into short, medium and long term, with total investments initially estimated at 138tn pesos (about US$34bn), including the purchase of land and maintenance.

By 2058, Antioquia looks to have 2,159km of railways, including regional and long-distance connections for freight and passengers.

For the short term, from 2024 to 2034, the plan considers phase 1 of the Tren del Río or river train, between Barbosa and Aguacatala, and phase 1 of the Tren Verde or green train between Puerto Berrío and Cisneros.

For the medium term, between 2035 and 2044, Antioquia will work on the Caldas-Pradera freight line, stage 1 of the train to Urabá (Urabá-Sopetrán connection), the second stage of the Tren del Río, between Aguacatala and Caldas, and the second stage of the Tren Verde (Cisneros-Pradera).

In the long-term, between 2045 and 2058, initiatives such as the Pacific rail corridor, the high-speed Antioquia-Cundinamarca train and the Tren del Café or coffee train are considered.

The masterplan outlines a total of 104 rail, river, road, maritime and air projects, among others, with total investments estimated at 294tn pesos, including 215tn for upfront capex.