Colombia’s revamped rail bill back on track

Colombian President Gustavo Petro's administration has presented a new rail bill to the legislature for the second time after it submitted a draft law last year.

This can be considered an update to the original proposal, which was eventually approved in a first debate in a lower house committee but not passed by the full congress.

According to transport minister María Constanza García, the updated proposal is intended to align the initiative with the regulations set out in the rail master plan and the national development plan.

The proposal can be downloaded from the Documents box at the top right of the screen.

The new bill includes provisions related to economic measures, fees and incentives designed to attract investment and modernize rail infrastructure.

The existing legal framework governing the rail sector is over 100 years old, and the Colombian government deems it necessary to modernize it to ensure the country’s competitiveness and productivity.

The updated proposal stipulates that the legal framework will regulate activities associated with providing public rail transport services for cargo, passengers and combinations of these services on the national rail network.

It emphasizes guarantees of free competition, sustainability, safety, objectivity, transparency, and non-discrimination in providing public rail transport services, which are considered essential for the country.

The proposal also requires that all parties involved in providing public or private rail transport services, at any stage, must ensure safe operations for passengers and/or cargo and mandates environmental sustainability and sustainable investments.

Environmental sustainability involves incorporating innovative energy-efficient practices and clean technologies into rail projects and operations, as well as measures to protect and preserve flora and fauna along rail corridors.

With respect to investment sustainability, the proposal states that public authorities and entities must create conditions that ensure both public and private investments in rail infrastructure and operations.

It also specifies that investments from the national budget will be subject to budgetary availability and the medium-term fiscal framework for the transport sector.

Another significant aspect of the proposal is that contracts for public-private partnership (PPP) rail projects can have terms of up to 60 years, including extensions.

The transport minister noted that the extension of these contracts could help advance strategic initiatives such as the Pacific train and the Central rail corridor.

The Pacific train is a major initiative of Petro's government, which plans to invest approximately 60tn pesos (US$14bn) in rail projects over the next two years, until the end of his term. These investments are intended to allow railroads to handle around 40Mt/y of freight, as García stated at an infrastructure event hosted by the economic studies center of local financial institutions association ANIF. 

RAIL NETWORK

Colombia has a rail network spanning 3,533km, of which only 1,024km is in operation, handling 11% of the country's total cargo.

Operational rail corridors include La Dorada-Chiriguaná, Bogotá-Belencito and Chiriguaná-Santa Marta.

Several initiatives to strengthen the rail sector have been identified. By the end of Petro's term in August 2026, progress is expected on projects such as the Central rail corridor, Pacific train, the Villavicencio-Puerto Gaitán line and the Buenaventura-Palmira line.

Meanwhile, the modernization of the La Dorada-Chiriguaná corridor is expected to be awarded by the end of this year.