Transport in Chile is mostly by road. The far south of the country is not directly connected to central Chile by road, and water transport also plays a part there. The railways were historically important in Chile, but now play a relatively small part in the country's transport system. Because of the country's geography and long distances between major cities, aviation is also important.

Road transport

Highways

''Total:'' 85,983 km
''Paved:'' 21,289 km
''Unpaved:'' 64,695 km (2020 est.)Red Vial de Chile
/ref> * Chile Highway 5 *

Chile Highway 7 The Carretera Austral (CH-7, ''in English: Southern Way'') is the name given to Chile's Route 7. The highway runs south for about from Puerto Montt to Villa O'Higgins, passing through rural Patagonia. Carretera Austral provides road access t ...

* Chile Highway 9 *

Chile Highway 68 Chile Route 68 (Ruta 68) is a highway in central Chile. It runs from Santiago to Valparaíso. Route description It begins at the western terminus of Avenida Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins. In its first kilometers the highway is straig ...

* Chile Highway 181

Freeways

3,347 km (2020 est.)< *

Chile Freeway 6 Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

* Chile Freeway 8 * Autopista del Sol * Autopista del Itata

Buses

Buses are now the main means of long-distance transportation in Chile, following the decline of the rail network. The bus system covers the whole country, from Arica to Santiago (a 30-hour journey) and from Santiago to Punta Arenas (about 40 hours, with a change at Osorno). There are also international services to most other countries in South America. Longer-distance services are mostly on ''semi-cama'' (reclining seat) or ''cama'' (sleeper) buses, often double deck. Santiago began its public bus system Transantiago in 2007. Concepción's "

Bio Bus Bio or BIO may refer to: Computing * bio(4), a pseudo-device driver in RAID controller management interface in OpenBSD and NetBSD * Block I/O, a concept in computer data storage Politics * Julius Maada Bio (born 1964), Sierra Leonean politici ...

" integrates with the electric train,

Biotren The Biotren ( es, Biotrén) is an at-grade urban commuter rail system that serves a large part of the city of Concepción, Chile, capital of the region of Bío-Bío, also known as Greater Concepción or Concepción Metropolitan Area, both syn ...

, and is based on a dedicated right of way for buses.

Railways

*''total:'' 6,782 km *''

broad gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , commonly known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union (CIS ...

:'' 3,743 km ' '' gauge'' (1,653 km electrified) *'' narrow gauge'': 116 km '' gauge''; 2,923 km ' (40 km electrified) (1995) *' 40 km (from Arica to Tacna, Peru) Not all lines connect. Chile's railways (except for a few dedicated industrial lines ) are operated by the state owned company '' Empresa de los Ferrocarriles del Estado'' (EFE), which completed a major investment programme in 2005. The rail system once served the entire country, running rail lines from Arica in the north to Puerto Montt in the south. Due partly to the nature of the terrain and evolution in transportation systems, rail travel has suffered greatly at the hands of bus and air competition. The train usually takes longer to reach a destination than a bus, and the comfort is comparable. Prices also tend to be uncompetitive. Rail freight transport has also suffered at the hands of the trucking industry and will continue to do so due to the immense leverage the truck driver's union can bring to bear if they were to feel threatened. The Ferrocarril de Antofagasta a Bolivia is a metre gauge railway in the north of the country. It was originally constructed in gauge. The northern rail line out of Santiago is now disused past the intersection with the Valparaíso line. Until there, it is used nearly exclusively for freight. Although the rest of the northern line is still in place, it is in a state of serious disrepair. The southern line runs as far as

Puerto Montt Puerto Montt (Mapuche: Meli Pulli) is a port city and commune in southern Chile, located at the northern end of the Reloncaví Sound in the Llanquihue Province, Los Lagos Region, 1,055 km to the south of the capital, Santiago. The commune spa ...

and is electrified as far as the city of Temuco, from where diesel locomotives are used. Due to lack of budget and care, the 389 km Temuco to Puerto Montt section was abandoned in 1992 but after a $44m upgrade it has been back in use since 6 December 2005 with daily service between Victoria (north of Temuco) and Puerto Montt; today, however, only the service between Victoria and Temuco still operates. Work to build/restore(?) the Trans-Andean Railways, South Trans-Andean Railway link between Zapala, Argentina and Lonquimay, Chile was underway in 2005. Possible break-of-gauge. Possible rack railway. Construction was undertaken by Patagonia Ferrocanal SA, formed and funded by the province. The first 7 km was completed by January 2006. Commuter rail lines in Santiago are planned to connect to Melitrén, Melipilla and Santiago - Batuco commuter rail, Batuco. There have been repeated case studies regarding the installation of a high-speed line between the cities of Valparaíso and Santiago, some even considering maglev trains, but no serious action has ever been taken on the matter.

Rail links with adjacent countries

* Rail transport in Bolivia, Bolivia - yes - same gauge - from Arica to La Paz, Bolivia * Rail transport in Argentina, Argentina - Trans-Andean Railways#Central Trans-Andean, Central Trans-Andean Railway - abandoned 1984 – 100 km of mountain railway of gauge with rack railway sections - break of gauge / at either end. Concession planned to re-open line. * Rail transport in Peru, Peru - yes - a single gauge connection between the northern Chilean city of Arica and Tacna in Southern Peru.

Cities with Metros

* Santiago de Chile, Santiago (Metro de Santiago de Chile, Metro de Santiago
website
* Valparaíso, Chile, Valparaíso (Valparaíso Metro
website

Ports and merchant marine

Ports

Merchant marine

''total:'' 45 ships ( or over) totaling / ''ships by type:'' (1999 est.)

Aviation

Airports - with paved runways

*''total:'' 62 *''over 3,047 m:'' 6 *''2,438 to 3,047 m:'' 6 *''1,524 to 2,437 m:'' 20 *''914 to 1,523 m:'' 20 *''under 914 m:'' 10 (1999 est.) Arturo Merino Benitez International Airport, located in Santiago de Chile, Santiago, is Chile's largest aviation facility.

Airports - with unpaved runways

*''total:'' 310 *''over 3,047 m:'' 1 *''2,438 to 3,047 m:'' 4 *''1,524 to 2,437 m:'' 12 *''914 to 1,523 m:'' 68 *''under 914 m:'' 223 (1999 est.)

National airlines

*LATAM Chile *Sky Airline *JetSmart *Latin American Wings (defunct)

Bridges

Chacao Channel

Chacao Channel bridge is a planned suspension bridge that was to link the island of Chiloé Island, Chiloé with mainland Chile crossing the Chacao Channel. It was one of the several projects that were planned to commemorate the Chile's bicentennial in 2010. If completed, it would have been the List of largest suspension bridges, largest suspension bridge in South America.

Pipelines

* crude oil 755 km * petroleum products 780 km * natural gas 320 km

Mountain passes

* Cardenal Antonio Samoré Pass, Los Lagos Region, Route 215-CH * Carirriñe Pass, Los Ríos Region * Chungara–Tambo Quemado, Arica and Parinacota Region * Paso de Jama, Antofagasta Region * Huahum Pass, Los Ríos Region * Icalma International Pass, Araucanía Region * Paso Internacional Los Libertadores, Valparaíso Region * Lilpela Pass, Los Ríos Region * Paso de Los Patos, Valparaíso Region * Mamuil Malal Pass, Araucanía Region * Pino Hachado Pass, Araucanía Region * San Francisco Pass, Atacama Region * Uspallata Pass, Valparaíso Region

Notes

References

External links

Empresa de los Ferrocarriles del Estado
{{DEFAULTSORT:Transport In Chile Transport in Chile,