The Biotren () is an at-grade urban

commuter rail Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter town ...

system that serves a large part of the city of Concepción, Chile, capital of the region of Bío-Bío, also known as

Greater Concepción Gran Concepción is the third largest conurbation in Chile, after Greater Santiago and Greater Valparaíso, with 945,650 inhabitants according to the 2012 pre census. Overview It takes its name after the city of Concepción, the regional cap ...

or Concepción Metropolitan Area, both synonyms of "city" according to the urbanistic standards and laws of

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

, of which this city is the second biggest, most populous and important of the country. Biotren connects the boroughs or comunas of Concepción Centro (downtown borough),

Talcahuano Talcahuano () (From Mapudungun ''Tralkawenu'', "Thundering Sky") is a port city and commune in the Biobío Region of Chile. It is part of the Greater Concepción conurbation. Talcahuano is located in the south of the Central Zone of Chile. ...

Hualpén Hualpén () is a Chilean city and commune belonging to Concepción Province and the Biobío Region. It is part of the conurbation of Greater Concepción. The commune spans an area of . Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National ...

, San Pedro de la Paz,

Chiguayante Chiguayante () is a Chilean List of cities in Chile, city and Communes of Chile, commune in Concepción Province, Chile, Concepción Province, Biobío Region. It is part of Greater Concepción. Demographics According to the 2002 census of the Nat ...

and Hualqui. The system is managed by Ferrocarriles Suburbanos de Concepción S.A. (Fesub), which name comes from the former metrorail system of the city and is a subsidiary of

Empresa de los Ferrocarriles del Estado Empresa de los Ferrocarriles del Estado (abbreviated EFE, lit. ''State Railway Company'') is the national railway and the oldest state-run enterprise in Chile. It manages the infrastructure and operating rail services in the country. Track gauge ...

(EFE), Chilean State Railways. Biotren is part of the Plan and Authority of Integrated Transit of Concepción, Biovías. The system was partially inaugurated on 24 November 2005 in a ceremony that counted with the presence of the then

President of Chile The president of Chile (), officially the president of the Republic of Chile (), is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Chile. The president is responsible for both Government of Chile, government administration and s ...

Ricardo Lagos Ricardo Froilán Lagos Escobar (; born 2 March 1938) is a Chilean lawyer, economist and social-democratic politician who served as president of Chile from 2000 to 2006. During the 1980s he was a well-known opponent of the Chilean military di ...

History

It began to fully operate in 2006 because during the year 2005 the railroad lines were being upgraded for the new system. The AEL and AES trains that the former system used were replaced by UT-440 MC(Modelo Concepcion) units that were specially upgraded for the city of

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Renfe Renfe (, ), officially Renfe-Operadora, is Spain's national state-owned railway company. It was created in 2005 upon the split of the former Spanish National Railway Network (RENFE) into the Administrador de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias ( ...

Architecture

Biotren stations or Bio Stations have a totally renewed architecture compared to the former system. The platforms have roofs and access for the handicapped. The fare is paid at the entrance and exit of the stations using a prepayment card called Biovías, with a deferred payment system according to the distance travelled. The card's recharge can be made in any station.

Rolling stock

The Empresa de Los Ferrocarriles del Estado (''EFE'') invested a total of

US $ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

16.800.000 for the trains used in the system. The current fleet is composed of eight trains UT-440 Modelo Concepción of three wagons each, bought from the Red Nacional de Ferrocarriles Españoles (Spain State Railways, RENFE). The trains are painted orange and have 321 seats (20

folding seat A folding seat is a seat that folds away so as to occupy less space. When installed on a transit bus, it makes room for a wheelchair or two. When installed on a passenger car, it provides extra seating. In churches, it may have a projection cal ...

s) and a capacity of 590 passengers.

Lines

Line 1

Line 1: It crosses all Concepción from North to South, from "Mercado" Terminus Station (Port of Talcahuano) to "Hualqui" Terminus Station (Hualqui). Bio Stations: * Mercado * El Arenal * Hospital Higueras * Los Cóndores * Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María * Lorenzo Arenas * Concepción * Chiguayante * Pedro Medina * Manquimávida * Leonera * Hualqui

Line 2

Line 2: It crosses the Bío-Bío river on the upgraded Puente Ferroviario (

Railroad Bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somet ...

) Bío-Bío, the longest of its kind in Chile. The line starts, from downtown to west side, in the "Concepción" Exchange (or Intermodal) Station (Civic District, Concepción Centro) and ends in the "intermodal coronel" Terminus Station (comuna de Coronel). Bio Stations: * Concepción * Juan Pablo II * Diagonal Bío-Bío * Alborada * Costa Mar * El Parque * Lomas Coloradas * Cardenal Raúl Silva Henríquez * Hito Galvarino * Los Canelos * Huinca * Cristo Redentor * Laguna Quiñenco * Coronel

Exchange System

The Exchange or Intermodal Bio Stations have personal bicycle parking lockers for those who arrive by cycle paths (except for El Arenal) to take the Biotren and synchronization with combination buses called Biobuses.

References

External links

Plan and Authority of Integrated Transit of Concepción, Biovías

Subsidiaries of EFE
General information about Ferrocarriles Suburbanos de Concepción S.A. {{Authority control Concepción, Chile Rapid transit in Chile Transport in Biobío Region 2005 establishments in Chile