|
Trans-Andean Railways
The Trans-Andean railways provide rail transport over the Andes. Several are either planned, built, defunct, or waiting to be restored. They are listed here in order from north to south. Colombian Railways * Feb 2011 - The Chinese Government plans to cooperate with Colombia in building a 220 km transcontinental railway which would link Colombia's Atlantic and Pacific coasts, according to a British newspaper. Ecuador Trans-Andean Railway Much of Ecuador's Trans-Andean Railway (a railway network that once ran from Guayaquil to Quito) has been rendered useless by natural disasters. Torrential rains from the 1982–83 and 1997-98 El Niño caused massive landslides that damaged the railway line. The network is operated by Empresa de Ferrocarriles Ecuatorianos. Only three sections remain operational: a segment connecting Quito and Cotopaxi National Park, a stretch between Ibarra and Primer Paso, and the mountainous five-hour, excursion from Riobamba to Sibambe. Peru A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Galera Railway Station
Galera is the third highest railway station in the Western Hemisphere with an elevation of 4,781 m (15,681 ft). Overview It is situated in the Andes in Peru at km 172.7 on the Ferrocarril Central Andino (FCCA) line from Lima to Huancayo, immediately east of the 1.2 km (6860 ft) Galera summit tunnel (4,783 m (15,694 ft) above sea level). The standard gauge line through the station was opened in 1893. In the years 1992-2003 it was out of use as was the whole line through this point because of the terrorist threat by the group Sendero Luminoso. There are now regular monthly train services on the line, including through Galera. Its place in the league table of the world's highest stations was surpassed by the opening in 2006 of the Qinghai–Tibet Railway's Tanggula railway station in the Tanggula Mountains, Tibet, which at 5,068 m is the world's highest railway station.Xinhua News Agency (24 August 2005)New height of world's railway born in Tibet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Train Ferry
A train ferry is a ship (ferry) designed to carry railway vehicles. Typically, one level of the ship is fitted with railway tracks, and the vessel has a door at the front and/or rear to give access to the wharves. In the United States, train ferries are sometimes referred to as "car ferries", as distinguished from "auto ferries" used to transport automobiles. The wharf (sometimes called a "slip") has a ramp, and a linkspan or "apron", balanced by weights, that connects the railway proper to the ship, allowing for tidal or seasonal changes in water level. While railway vehicles can be and are shipped on the decks or in the holds of ordinary ships, purpose-built train ferries can be quickly loaded and unloaded by roll-on/roll-off, especially as several vehicles can be loaded or unloaded at once. A train ferry that is a barge is called a car float or rail barge. History An early train ferry was established as early as 1833 by the Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway. To extend th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lake Titicaca
Lake Titicaca (; es, Lago Titicaca ; qu, Titiqaqa Qucha) is a large freshwater lake in the Andes mountains on the border of Bolivia and Peru. It is often called the highest navigable lake in the world. By volume of water and by surface area, it is also the largest lake in South America.Grove, M. J., P. A. Baker, S. L. Cross, C. A. Rigsby and G. O. Seltzer 2003 Application of Strontium Isotopes to Understanding the Hydrology and Paleohydrology of the Altiplano, Bolivia-Peru. ''Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology'' 194:281-297. Lake Titicaca has a surface elevation of . The "highest lake" claim is generally considered to refer to commercial craft. Numerous smaller bodies of water (that are not considered lakes) around the world are at higher elevations. For many years, the largest vessel afloat on the lake was the 2,200-ton (2,425 U.S. tons), SS ''Ollanta''. Today, the largest vessel is most likely the similarly sized train barge/float ''Manco Capac'', operated ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Puno
Puno (Aymara and qu, Punu) is a city in southeastern Peru, located on the shore of Lake Titicaca. It is the capital city of the Puno Region and the Puno Province with a population of approximately 140,839 (2015 estimate). The city was established in 1668 by viceroy Pedro Antonio Fernández de Castro as capital of the province of Paucarcolla with the name San Juan Bautista de Puno. The name was later changed to San Carlos de Puno, in honor of king Charles II of Spain. Puno has several churches dating back from the colonial period; they were built to service the Spanish population and evangelize the natives. Overview Puno is an important agricultural and livestock region; important livestock are llamas and alpacas, which graze on its immense plateaus and plains. Much of the city economy relies on the black market, fueled by cheap goods smuggled in from Bolivia. Puno is served by the Inca Manco Capac International Airport in nearby Juliaca. Puno is situated between the shores ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cusco
Cusco, often spelled Cuzco (; qu, Qusqu ()), is a city in Southeastern Peru near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cusco Region and of the Cusco Province. The city is the list of cities in Peru, seventh most populous in Peru; in 2017, it had a population of 428,450. Its elevation is around . The city was the capital of the Inca Empire from the 13th century until the 16th-century Spanish conquest of Peru, Spanish conquest. In 1983, Cusco was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO with the title "City of Cuzco". It has become a major tourist destination, hosting nearly 2 million visitors a year. The Constitution of Peru (1993) designates it as the Historical Capital of Peru. Spelling and etymology The indigenous name of this city is . Although the name was used in Southern Quechua, its origin is found in the Aymara language. The word is derived from the phrase ('rock of the owl'), related to the city's foundation myth of the Ayar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Matarani
Matarani is a port city in Arequipa Region, Peru. It is a major port on the southern coast of Peru. The port is operated by Tisur. See also * PeruRail PeruRail is a railway operator providing tourist, freight, and charter services in southern Peru. It was founded in 1999 by two Peruvian entrepreneurs and the British company Sea Containers. The main line between the port of Matarani, Arequipa, ... which starts here. External links Official Website Populated places in the Arequipa Region Port cities in Peru {{Arequipa-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
PeruRail
PeruRail is a railway operator providing tourist, freight, and charter services in southern Peru. It was founded in 1999 by two Peruvian entrepreneurs and the British company Sea Containers. The main line between the port of Matarani, Arequipa, Cusco and Puno on Lake Titicaca was formerly known as the Ferrocarril del Sur (Peru Southern Railway), and was for a time owned and operated by the ENAFER state company. It is the third highest railway in the world after the Qinghai–Tibet Railway to Tibet and the FCCA line from Lima to Huancayo, and is the longest line in Peru. From Cusco, PeruRail provides passenger services on the gauge Ferrocarril Santa Ana to Aguas Calientes, delivering tourists for Machu Picchu. It operates in a 50/50 joint venture between Belmond Limited and Peruvian Trains and Railways, owned by two Peruvian entrepreneurs; Lorenzo Sousa Debarbieri is the chairman of the board of directors of the company. Routes PeruRail's routes are divided into two secti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Railway Gazette International
''Railway Gazette International'' is a monthly business magazine and news website covering the railway, metro, light rail and tram industries worldwide. Available by annual subscription, the magazine is read in over 140 countries by transport professionals and decision makers, railway managers, engineers, consultants and suppliers to the rail industry. A mix of technical, commercial and geographical feature articles, plus the regular monthly news pages, cover developments in all aspects of the rail industry, including infrastructure, operations, rolling stock and signalling. History ''Railway Gazette International'' traces its history to May 1835 as ''The Railway Magazine'', when it was founded by Effingham Wilson. The ''Railway Gazette'' title dates from July 1905, created to cover railway commercial and financial affairs. In April 1914 it merged with ''The Railway Times'', which incorporated '' Herapath's Railway Journal'', and in February 1935 it absorbed the ''Railway Engine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Standard Gauge
A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the most widely used track gauge around the world, with approximately 55% of the lines in the world using it. All high-speed rail lines use standard gauge except those in Russia, Finland, and Uzbekistan. The distance between the inside edges of the rails is defined to be 1435 mm except in the United States and on some heritage British lines, where it is defined in U.S. customary/Imperial units as exactly "four feet eight and one half inches" which is equivalent to 1435.1mm. History As railways developed and expanded, one of the key issues was the track gauge (the distance, or width, between the inner sides of the rails) to be used. Different railways used different gauges, and where rails of different gauge met – ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Huancavelica
Huancavelica () or Wankawillka in Quechua is a city in Peru. It is the capital of the department of Huancavelica and according to the 2017 census had a population of 49,570 people. The city was established on August 5, 1572 by the Viceroy of Peru Francisco de Toledo. Indigenous peoples represent a major percentage of the population. It has an approximate altitude of 3,676 meters; the climate is cold and dry between the months of February and August with a rainy season between September and January. It is considered one of the poorest cities in Peru. Geography The Huancavelica area features a rough geography with highly varied elevation, from 1,950 metres in the valleys to more than 5,000 metres on its snow-covered summits. These mountains contain metallic deposits. They consist of the western chain of the Andes, which includes the Chunta mountain range, formed by a series of hills, the most prominent of which are: Sitaq (5,328m), Wamanrasu (5,298m) and Altar (5,268m). ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gauge Conversion
Gauge conversion is the changing of one railway track gauge (the distance between the running rails) to another. Sleepers If tracks are converted to a narrower gauge, the existing sleepers (ties) may be used. However, replacement is required if the conversion is to a wider gauge. Some sleepers may be long enough to accommodate the fittings of both existing and alternative gauges. Wooden sleepers are suitable for conversion because they can be drilled for the repositioned rail spikes. Being difficult to drill, concrete sleepers are less suitable for conversion. Concrete sleepers may be cast with alternative gauge fittings in place, an example being those used during the conversion of the Melbourne–Adelaide railway from to . Steel sleepers may have alternative gauge fittings cast at production, may be drilled for new fittings or may be welded with new fittings. Structures Conversion from a narrow to a wider gauge may require enlargement of the structure gauge of the bridges, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
