A 20% progress is reported in the infrastructure replacement works of the Temuco-Gorbea railway extension project, an initiative that contemplates an investment of 37.7 million dollars, according to EFE Trenes de Chile.
The works under execution contemplate the renewal of 45 kilometers of railway track with concrete sleepers, eight kilometers of sidings, the intervention of 16 vehicular crossings, 32 pedestrian crossings and approximately 90 kilometers of urban and rural perimeter fencing.
These improvements will raise the standard of the track, allowing the circulation speed of passenger trains to increase from 50 to 130 km/h and freight trains up to 100 km/h.
“In this first phase, which to date reports 20% progress, is focused on the replacement of railway infrastructure between Temuco and Gorbea. In a second stage, works at stations (roofs and higher platforms) will be enabled to allow resuming passenger operations between both cities of the La Araucanía Region, which is projected for the second half of 2027,” EFE communicated.
“Likewise, the trains that will operate this service were manufactured in China and are in the process of being transferred to Chile by ship, arriving in the country during the month of August. Upon their arrival, static and dynamic testing phases will begin, which will extend throughout the second half of 2026,” it added.
The Deputy Secretary of Transport, Martín Mackenna, highlighted that “this project, which has an investment of 37.7 million dollars, will allow us to expand railway coverage in La Araucanía, as an alternative for more than 4 million passengers per year, raising the standard and comfort of public transport, which is a task entrusted to us by President José Antonio Kast.”
The president of EFE Trenes de Chile, Jorge Claude, explained that “our challenge is not only to build infrastructure, but to generate conditions for intensive use of the train, which has important advantages in terms of safety and reliability, especially in regions like La Araucanía, where people must travel long distances for work, studies, procedures or medical appointments, often having to go to and return from the regional capital or intermediate communes.”
With the future extension of the service to Gorbea, EFE will strengthen connectivity between Temuco, Padre Las Casas, Freire, Pitrufquén and Gorbea, generating a capacity to mobilize more than 4 million passengers per year, consolidating the train as a strategic axis for mobility in La Araucanía.
