A train that reaches a speed of 160 kilometers per hourdefined by the authorities as the fastest in South America, It made its maiden voyage in Chile last Friday between the cities of Santiago and Curicó, 195 km south of the capital.

“We are at a historic moment, not only for our country, but for the region, for our South America which for the first time receives a train that meets these conditions for a commercial service,” said Chilean Transport Minister Juan Carlos Muñoz.

The train, that one It has four carriages with a total capacity of 236 passengers, connect in two hours and three minutes, about 20 minutes less than what conventional convoys require, Santiago with Curicóa rich agricultural production area known for its wine cellars.

These are railways manufactured in China by the CRRC Sifang company that have automatic electric and diesel propulsion systems (double trains or BMU), allowing them to operate on fuel when there is no electric service.

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The value of a ticket between Santiago and Curicó on this new train varies between $12 and $24.

Until the 1970s, Chile had an extensive rail network in the north and south of the country, but the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990) dismantled this network to give priority to road transport.

Successive governments have tried to restore train service, without success.

This “is a great milestone for our project, our desire and that of all Chileans to restore and improve our railway network, the trains to Chile that we want to be able to serve on a recurring basis,” Muñoz said.

The authorities immediately bet that this train will arrive in the city of Chillán, 400 km south of Santiago, during 2024, once the bridges affected by floods and river flooding during storms have been rebuilt from the last southern winter. (JO)