Trains and Railways in Colombia

Why is it important for society and how we approach to the topic? After making a comparison with other countries in which railways have been operating for years, we can realize the negative consequences that the abandonment of the railway net in Colombia has had in the development of the country.  That’s one of the main reasons why we found this topic so important for our society, since it would contribute to Colombia’s development in terms of competitiveness,  because transportation of goods, merchandise and passengers would be easier and cheaper, which consequently would improve the economy and quality of life of Colombian population in so many ways.

 Thousands of motorbikes and cars move through the country's roads, but these are also shared with buses and heavy-merchandise transport, like trucks. Similarly to railways, the roads network is not as developed as in other countries; most of roads have just one lane and two directions, that is why most of traffic can not move to a speed higher than 70 km/h and travelling between main cities takes a long time. The particular orography in Colombia presents different kind of challenges to the construction of transport infrastructure. Road that connects Bogotá and Bucaramanga, in the place known as "Pescadero", near to Chicamocha's Canyon. Trains would bring a lot of benefits. Merchandise and passengers had moved in a higher quantity and faster, which would reduce costs of transportation, there would be less traffic jams in roads because most of heavy loads would move exclusively though the railways, use of trucks would be reduced only to transport goods to remote places...

 The first railway was built in Panama, when it was still part of Colombia. Other lines were built in order to connect the main cities and the countryside, especially in zones of coffee growing. The centuries 19th and 20th were especially difficult to Colombia because economic deficit, bipartisan violence and non-existing industry and technology. There passed many years since the invention of the first locomotive in the world until the arriving of the first one to Colombia, and while railways were being built here, these were obsolete compared to other countries. Collection of historical images about the trains in Colombia, from a Señal Memoria's documentary film. For years, coffee has been the main exportation product of Colombia and trains eased the task of move it.

When we observe in detail the map of the railways existing in the world, it is easy to know developed countries have a large network of railways, unlike underdeveloped countries, which don't have a considerable functioning network.  World's railway system map. Deficiency of railways in Colombia seems to be the answer to the underdevelopment of the country.   In Colombia, there are about 3500 km of railways, but not all the network is functioning. The main line, which connects Santa Marta with Chiriguaná, is used by an American company to transport coal. As to passengers transport, Turistren uses the line between Bogotá and Zipaquirá with touristic purposes and to transport students of some universities in the north of Bogotá. Infography published in SEMANA magazine. Data obtained from the National Infrastructure Agency (ANI) of Colombia  Old railway that connected Bucaramanga and Barrancabermeja. Today is used by walkers and bikers.  Many Colombians have been wo...