Hight Speed Bullet Train in Chile?

[Alejandro_SCL]

Hi!!.

It is a project that has been gaining strength despite its high implementation cost.

 

The objective is to link the Valparaíso commuter:

https://cache.enlaceinmobiliario.cl/Blog/metroblog_5aa942c27ea336.png

(from: https://www.enlacevalparaiso.cl/blog/Actualidad/metro-valparaiso-tne)

 

with line 5 of the Santiago metro:

https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_Rr8WflwQ3U/Wg3xwoUc5MI/AAAAAAAAJAE/POvV5zH_1-IP0LwHGsZY3G-ekwLat_ycQCLcBGAs/s640/L2+Puente+Huérfanos.JPG

(From: http://administracionytransportes.cl/2017/12/11/todo-de-linea-2-metro-de-santiago/)

 

There would be freight at 85 km/h and passengers at 200 km/h.

 

The project is a consortium formed by China Raylway Group and a Chilean Group (Sigdo Koppers), so I think they would use something similar to the Hexie Hao train:

 

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/76/CRH380CL-5618%40BJN_(20160518090144).jpg/2560px-CRH380CL-5618%40BJN_(20160518090144).jpg

(from: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_Railway_High-speed)

 

This is the official web of the project, in spanish:

 

http://www.trentvs.cl/

 

 

 

 

[Socimi]

Personally speaking, i think that in this case a fully new high-speed train would be useless.

 

Santiago de Chile and Valparaiso are distant only 116 Km (the exact same distance between Tokyo station and Utsunomiya station), thus making a 200 Km/h high-speed train completely redundant.

 

Furthemore, there are a lot of not-exactly-clear points in the project description from the website, such as the "85 Km/h freight trains":

 

A) Being an high-speed railway, freight trains should not be allowed.

B) How on earth is possible that freight trains will only travel at 85 Km/h while passenger trains will travel at more than double that speed (on a newly constructed line, among other things) ?

 

Also, why link it to Line 5 of santiago metro (at wich station?) when you already have the alive and functioning central railway station connecting to line 1 (in the section where line 1 actually parallels Line 5, located a few blocks to the north).

 

Now a consideration,

 

Among all the railway networks of southern america, the chilean one is with all due probability the one in the best situation, as it has the highest percentage of electrified railways (3Kv DC), and it runs on the spanish board gauge (1676mm), wich does not poses strict speed limitations typical of narrow gauge (the AEZ electric multiple unit, based on the JNR series 80, had a maximium speed of 180 Km/h).

Most of the very obsolete rolling stock has also been replaced by relatively modern second-hand spanish stock (class 444 and rebuilt class 440 electric multple units, for instance).

 

My proposal would be for a modern electrifed railway in the style of the "direttissima", built to high-speed standards (and easily upgradable, if the need ever arises), but used by all trains (altought with a minimium running speed of 120 Km/h).

Here the freight trains would travel at speeds between 120 and 140 Km/h, and passenger trains at speeds of 160-220 Km/h.

You'll just need to buy a dozen or so of good electric locomotives and a about a hundred-and-fifty between passenger coaches and freight wagons capable of high speeds.

 

If the project is being funded by china, their HXD1 locomotives are a good choiche, as they're based on a well proven and widely used design (siemens eurosprinter).

 

 

Finally, a map showing the current passenger railway status in chile

 

https://i.ibb.co/cDGspYc/chilean-railway-status.png

 

Edited March 21, 2019 by Socimi

[Yavianice]

I hope Chile won't bite off more than they can chew. Because China's infrastructure investments are full of small print and a way for China to get political power on the world stage in exchange for a loan a country is unable to pay back on its own.

[Alejandro_SCL]

Socimi

Yes, indeed, the restriction proposed for freight trains is one of the controversial points of the project. It is said by the sponsoring consortium that "the road would have the capacity to be shared", but it is not specified as.

 

The arrival would not be for the central station given that this would be a completely new layout that does not cross the Santiago downtown. Specifically it would be for this intermodal: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Del_Sol_(estación)

 

[Alejandro_SCL]

15 minutes ago, Yavianice said:

I hope Chile won't bite off more than they can chew. Because China's infrastructure investments are full of small print and a way for China to get political power on the world stage in exchange for a loan a country is unable to pay back on its own. 

Yavianice,

Actually, this is a private initiative; not public. Now, the point is if effectively the demand of the project will provide the expected profits ... but that risk is of the investor and not of the state.

Regards

Alejandro