The Pacific Railway: AC&A takes on the challenge to improve the rail network in El Salvador

AC&A was in charge of the Project Management Office (PMO), that included the oversight of the detailed design, construction phases and commissioning of the Tren del Pacífico which connects the Port of Acajutla and the sector known as Sitio del Niño, in San Juan Opico. This first stage of the project has a length of 63 km for passengers and freight with a future extension to the city of San Salvador.

The system is planned basically over the right of way of the old three-foot gauge (914 mm) railway line that will be replaced by a new standard-gauge line (1435 mm), requiring the construction of 12 bridges and 17 intersections with the road network, 10 of them with grade separated crossings.

The layout is defined considering the improvement of the system’s operating speeds and level of service partially using the existing right of way and designing alternatives when the use of the old route is not convenient or feasible because of the recent urban development.

For this first phase, the plan is to build seven passenger stations and two intermodal cargos centers, the first station near the Port of Acajutla, where there are plans to build a new container yard and the second near the Claudia Lars bypass with the Pan-American Highway.