Rail transport in Peru
Encyclopedia
Rail transport in Peru has never consisted of a true network, primarily comprising separate lines running inland from the coast.

Many of the lines owe their origins to contracts granted to United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 entrepreneurs Henry Meiggs
Henry Meiggs
Henry Meiggs , was a promoter/entrepreneur and railroad builder. He was born in Catskill, New York. He came to New York City in 1835 and began a lumber business, but was ruined by the Panic of 1837. He restarted his business, this time in Brooklyn, but again met with failure...

 and W. R. Grace and Company
W. R. Grace and Company
W. R. Grace and Company is a Columbia, Maryland, United States based chemical conglomerate.The company has two main divisions, Davison Chemicals and Performance Chemicals. The Davison unit makes chemical catalysts, refining catalysts, and silica-based products that let other companies make...

 but the mountainous nature of Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

 made expansion slow and much of the surviving mileage is of twentieth-century origin. It was also challenging to operate, especially in the age of the steam locomotive
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...

.

In the latter part of the 1880s, the principal public railways, the Central and Southern, with others, passed to the control of The Peruvian Corporation, registered in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 and controlled by Americans Michael
Michael P. Grace
Michael Paul Grace was an international businessman who was a shareholder and Chairman of the Board of Directors of W. R. Grace and Company of New York City and of Grace Brothers & Co. Ltd...

 and William R. Grace
William Russell Grace
William Russell Grace was the first Roman Catholic mayor of New York City and the founder of W. R. Grace and Company.-Biography:He was born on May 10, 1832 in Ballylinan, County Laois, Ireland....

. In 1972 they were nationalized
Nationalization
Nationalisation, also spelled nationalization, is the process of taking an industry or assets into government ownership by a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to private assets, but may also mean assets owned by lower levels of government, such as municipalities, being...

 as Empresa Nacional de Ferrocarriles del Perú
Empresa nacional de ferrocarriles del Peru
The Empresa Nacional de Ferrocarriles del Perú is a public company which ensures the management and the commercial use of the railway network of Peru....

 (ENAFER), but this survived as an operator only until 1999 when most surviving lines were privatized
Privatization
Privatization is the incidence or process of transferring ownership of a business, enterprise, agency or public service from the public sector to the private sector or to private non-profit organizations...

. Regular passenger traffic now operates over only a small proportion of the mileage.

The Tacna-Arica line crosses the boundary with Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

 (but is not directly connected with the rest of that country’s lines) and the Southern Railway provides connection with Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...

 by ship across Lake Titicaca
Lake Titicaca
Lake Titicaca is a lake located on the border of Peru and Bolivia. It sits 3,811 m above sea level, making it the highest commercially navigable lake in the world...

.

Principal lines

The Central Railway, Ferrocarril Central del Perú (FCC), incorporates the first railway in Peru opened on May 17 1851 linking the Pacific
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

 port of Callao
Callao
Callao is the largest and most important port in Peru. The city is coterminous with the Constitutional Province of Callao, the only province of the Callao Region. Callao is located west of Lima, the country's capital, and is part of the Lima Metropolitan Area, a large metropolis that holds almost...

 and the capital Lima
Lima
Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...

 (13.7 km (8.5 mi) of standard gauge
Standard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...

). This was expanded to form the Callao, Lima & Oroya Railway, opened to Chicla by 1878, the original contractor being Henry Meiggs and engineer being Ernest Malinowski
Ernest Malinowski
Ernest Adam Malinowski was a Polish engineer.Malinowski constructed at that time the world's highest railway Ferrocarril Central Andino in the Peruvian Andes in 1871-1876.-External links:...

 assisted by Edward Jan Habich
Edward Jan Habich
Edward Jan Habich was a Polish engineer and mathematician. In 1876, he founded the National University of Engineering , a renowned engineering school in Lima, Peru. He was a member of the Peruvian Geographic Society and an Honorary Citizen of Peru...

. The line reached La Oroya
La Oroya
La Oroya is a city of about 33,000 people on the River Mantaro in central Peru. It is situated on the Altiplano some 176 km east-north-east of the national capital, Lima, and is capital of the Yauli Province...

 by 1893 and Huancayo
Huancayo
Huancayo with a rock') is the capital of the Junín Region, in the central highlands of Peru. It is located in Junín Province, of which it is also capital. Situated near the Mantaro Valley at an altitude of 3,271 meters, it has a population of 377,000 and is the fifth most populous city of the...

 (346 km (215 mi)) in 1908. It is the second highest railway in the world (following opening of the Qingzang railway
Qingzang railway
The Qinghai–Xizang railway, Qingzang railway, or Qinghai–Tibet railway , is a high-elevation railway that connects Xining, Qinghai Province, to Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, in People's Republic of China....

 in Tibet), with the Galera summit tunnel under Mount Meiggs at 4783 m (15,692.3 ft) and Galera station
Galera railway station
Galera is the second highest train station in the Western Hemisphere with an elevation of 4,777 m . It is situated in the Andes in Peru at km 172.7 on the Ferrocarril Central Andino line from Lima to Huancayo, immediately east of the 1.2 km Galera summit tunnel .The standard gauge line...

 at 4777 m (15,672.6 ft) above sea level, requiring constructional feats including many switchbacks
Zig Zag (railway)
A railway zig zag, also called a switchback, is a way of climbing hills in difficult country with a minimal need for tunnels and heavy earthworks. For a short distance , the direction of travel is reversed, before the original direction is resumed.A location on railways constructed e.g...

 and steel bridges. Since 1999 it has been operated as the Ferrocarril Central Andino
Ferrocarril Central Andino
Ferrocarril Central Andino is the consortium which operates the Ferrovías Central railway in Peru linking the Pacific port of Callao and the capital Lima with Huancayo and Cerro de Pasco...

 (FCCA) (with its associated maintenance company Ferrovias Central Andina (FVCA)) by the Pittsburgh-registered Railroad Development Corporation. There is no regular passenger traffic but excursions are operated from the Lima Desamparados station
Desamparados station
The Desamparados station is an old railway station in Lima, Peru. It is situated on the left margin of the Rímac River, next to the Government Palace. The station was named after the church of Nuestra Señora de los Desamparados. The project began in 1890 by The Peruvian Corporation and three years...

. In April 1955 the Central Railway opened a spur line from La Cima on the Morococha
Morococha District
Morococha District is one of ten districts of the province Yauli in Peru.-References:...

 branch (4818 m (15,807.1 ft) above sea level) to Volcán Mine, reaching an (at the time) world record altitude of 4830 m (15,846.5 ft). Both branch and spur have since closed to traffic.
The Central is extended by the Ferrocarril Huancayo - Huancavelica which was authorised in 1904 (engineer: Charles Weber) but work was interrupted during the World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 and it was not opened throughout (148 km (92 mi) of gauge) until 1926. Work was continued but never completed on extending the line to the Pacific coast. After a period under provincial government control it was agreed in June 2006 by the Peruvian government that FCCA should go ahead with converting the line to standard gauge
Standard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...

 (as had in fact been intended prior to 1919). Estimated to take 16 months, the US$33m project was to be funded jointly by the government and the Andean Development Corporation.

Also connecting with the Central, at La Oroya, is the Cerro de Pasco railway opened in standard gauge form in 1904 to serve ore mining in the Cerro de Pasco
Cerro de Pasco
Cerro de Pasco is a city in central Peru. It is the capital of the Pasco region, and an important mining center. It is connected by road and by rail to the city of Lima.- Overview :...

 district. It was thoroughly North American in all its operations and, although primarily a mineral line, did run a passenger operation, latterly known as the “Flamingo” from the consist purchased from the Florida East Coast Railway
Florida East Coast Railway
The Florida East Coast Railway is a Class II railroad operating in the U.S. state of Florida; in the past, it has been a Class I railroad.Built primarily in the last quarter of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century, the FEC was a project of Standard Oil principal Henry Morrison...

. The owning company was nationalised as Centromín in 1974 and operation of the railway was taken over by FCCA. 80 km (49.7 mi) of gauge was completed of a Tambo del Sol-Pachitea line intended eventually to extend to the head of Amazon
Amazon River
The Amazon of South America is the second longest river in the world and by far the largest by waterflow with an average discharge greater than the next seven largest rivers combined...

 navigation on the Ucayali River at Pucallpa
Pucallpa
Pucallpa is a city in eastern Peru located on the banks of the Ucayali River, a major tributary of the Amazon River. It is the capital of the Ucayali region, the Coronel Portillo Province and the Calleria District....

; this aspiration was abandoned by the government in 1957.

The Southern Railway, Ferrocarriles del Sur del Perú (FCS), another Meiggs concession, was completed from Arequipa
Arequipa
Arequipa is the capital city of the Arequipa Region in southern Peru. With a population of 836,859 it is the second most populous city of the country...

 to Puno
Puno
Puno 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 100,000. The city was established in 1668 by viceroy Pedro Antonio Fernández de Castro as capital of the province of...

 in 1876 and to the coast at Matarani
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.-Pacific Ocean terminal of the Interoceanic Highway:...

. The railway also operated steamers (including the Yavari
Yavari (ship)
Yavari is a ship commissioned by the Peruvian government in 1861 for use on Lake Titicaca. She is named after the Javary River in the Loreto Region of Peru, bordering the Amazonas State ....

) and train ferries on Lake Titicaca
Lake Titicaca
Lake Titicaca is a lake located on the border of Peru and Bolivia. It sits 3,811 m above sea level, making it the highest commercially navigable lake in the world...

 connecting with Guaqui
Guaqui
Guaqui is a railhead and port in Bolivia on Lake Titicaca. A ferry connects with the Peruvian railhead and port on Puno.- Gauge :The railways on the Bolivian side are gauge, while the railways on the Peruvian side are gauge.- References :...

 in Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...

. Although work on the Juliaca
Juliaca
Juliaca is San Roman's capital city in Puno Region, which is situated in southeastern Peru. It is the region's largest city with a population of 225,146 inhabitants , on the Altiplano, Juliaca above sea level, is located in the Collao Plateau and it is northwest of Lake Titicaca...

Cuzco
Cusco
Cusco , often spelled Cuzco , is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cusco Region as well as the Cuzco Province. In 2007, the city had a population of 358,935 which was triple the figure of 20 years ago...

 section was begun in 1872 it was not completed through until 1908. The summit of this section is reached at La Raya (4313 m (14,150.3 ft) above sea level). Since 1999 it has been operated by PeruRail
PeruRail
PeruRail is a railway operator working tourist, freight, and charter services in southern Peru.The main line between the port of Matarani, Arequipa , Cuzco and Puno on Lake Titicaca was formerly known as the Ferrocarril del Sur , and was for a time owned and operated by the ENAFER state company...

, an affiliate of the Orient-Express Hotels
Orient-Express Hotels
Orient-Express Hotels Ltd is a hotel and leisure company that operates high end hotels, cruise and train services around the world. As of 2008 it owns or partly owns more than 40 individual deluxe hotels, three restaurants, six tourist trains and two river cruise businesses in more than 25...

 group, whose tourist trains form the only passenger services.

From Cuzco, the gauge Ferrocarril Santa Ana (Ferrocarril Cuzco á Santa Ana) (engineer: Mauro Valderrama) was authorised in 1907, originally at gauge, but the first section was not opened until the early 1920s. It was extended to Aguas Calientes
Aguas Calientes, Peru
Aguas Calientes is the colloquial name for "Hot Springs", a town in Peru on the Urubamba River. It is best known as the closest access point to the sacred historical site of Machu Picchu , which is away, about 1.5 hours walk. There are many hotels and restaurants for tourists, as well as natural...

 (113 km (70.2 mi)) in 1928, passing to government control in 1931. Although further extended in stages through to Quillabamba
Quillabamba
Quillabamba is a small town located in the south of Peru. It is the capital of La Convención Province, which is the largest province of Cusco. It is located in an area called the higher jungle. Agriculture is the most important activity, principally coffee, cacao, tea and coca. The town is a...

 (reached in 1978), landslides (attributed to effects of El Niño
El Niño-Southern Oscillation
El Niño/La Niña-Southern Oscillation, or ENSO, is a quasiperiodic climate pattern that occurs across the tropical Pacific Ocean roughly every five years...

) caused it to be abandoned beyond Hidroelectrica in 1998. It is now also operated by PeruRail and forms the only means of access for visitors to Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu is a pre-Columbian 15th-century Inca site located above sea level. It is situated on a mountain ridge above the Urubamba Valley in Peru, which is northwest of Cusco and through which the Urubamba River flows. Most archaeologists believe that Machu Picchu was built as an estate for...

. At the beginning of 2010 it was cut by landslides.

The isolated Ferrocarril Tacna á Arica was completed in 1856. Following the War of the Pacific
War of the Pacific
The War of the Pacific took place in western South America from 1879 through 1883. Chile fought against Bolivia and Peru. Despite cooperation among the three nations in the war against Spain, disputes soon arose over the mineral-rich Peruvian provinces of Tarapaca, Tacna, and Arica, and the...

 it and the surrounding territory passed to Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

; after a settlement in 1929 the Tacna
Tacna
- Rail :Tacna is served by a cross-border standard gauge railway to Arica, Chile.It is also the location of the National Railway Museum of Peru.-Air:Tacna is served by the Crnl. FAP...

 end of the line was returned to Peru while the port of Arica
Arica, Chile
Arica is a commune and a port city with a population of 185,269 in the Arica Province of northern Chile's Arica and Parinacota Region, located only south of the border with Peru. The city is the capital of both the Arica Province and the Arica and Parinacota Region...

 remained in Chilean hands. The British concession for the line reverted to the Peruvian government during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 and the line remains open for both passengers and freight, with a museum collection at Tacna station.

Other lines

The newest railway in Peru is a standard gauge line opened in 1959 by the Southern Peru Copper Corporation
Southern Copper Corporation
Southern Copper Corporation is a mining company originally founded in 1952. The current incarnation Southern Copper can be traced to the 2005 acquisition of Mexican copper producer Minera México by Southern Peru Copper Corporation....

from its opencast mine at Toquepala to the port of Ilo
Ilo
Ilo is a port city in southern Peru, with some 58,000 inhabitants. It is the largest city in the Moquegua Region and capital of the province of Ilo.-History:...

 (187 km (116.2 mi)) with a later branch largely in tunnel to its workings at Cuajone.

There were a number of other lines, all now closed, mostly for mineral or agricultural traffic, running inland from the coast north of Lima and in Pisco Province
Pisco Province
Pisco is a province of the Ica Region in Peru. Its capital is the town of Pisco, where the popular liquor of the same name originated.-Boundaries:* North: Chincha Province, Castrovirreyna Province...

. There were also lines serving nitrate
Nitrate
The nitrate ion is a polyatomic ion with the molecular formula NO and a molecular mass of 62.0049 g/mol. It is the conjugate base of nitric acid, consisting of one central nitrogen atom surrounded by three identically-bonded oxygen atoms in a trigonal planar arrangement. The nitrate ion carries a...

 deposits in the Tarapacá Region
Tarapacá Region
The I Tarapacá Region is one of Chile's 15 first order administrative divisions. It borders the Chilean Arica and Parinacota Region to the north, Bolivia's Oruro Department on the east, the Antofagasta Region on the south and the Pacific Ocean on the west. The port city of Iquique The I Tarapacá...

, ceded to Chile in 1883.

Some railway exhibits, including a working gauge pleasure line, are to be seen in the Parque de la Amistad in the Surco
Santiago de Surco
Santiago de Surco, commonly known simply as Surco, is a district of Lima, Peru. It is bordered on the north by the districts of La Molina, Ate and San Borja; on the south by Chorrillos; on the east by La Molina, Villa María del Triunfo and San Juan de Miraflores; and on the west by San Borja,...

 district of Lima.

See also

  • Empresa Nacional de Ferrocarriles del Peru
    Empresa nacional de ferrocarriles del Peru
    The Empresa Nacional de Ferrocarriles del Perú is a public company which ensures the management and the commercial use of the railway network of Peru....

  • Ferrocarril Central Andino
    Ferrocarril Central Andino
    Ferrocarril Central Andino is the consortium which operates the Ferrovías Central railway in Peru linking the Pacific port of Callao and the capital Lima with Huancayo and Cerro de Pasco...

  • PeruRail
    PeruRail
    PeruRail is a railway operator working tourist, freight, and charter services in southern Peru.The main line between the port of Matarani, Arequipa , Cuzco and Puno on Lake Titicaca was formerly known as the Ferrocarril del Sur , and was for a time owned and operated by the ENAFER state company...

  • Transport in Peru

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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