Colombia
2.4 Colombia Railway Assessment
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Overview

Map of the railway network currently in operation. Source: ANI (National Infrastructure Agency)


Given the geographic conditions in Colombia, natural corridors of the railway system have been built in a south-north direction, of which two corridors are located in the great valleys of the Cauca and Magdalena rivers. The third one is the eastern corridor passing through Bogotá. These three rail corridors are operating under regular maintenance and assessment divided into three Railway Networks: Atlantic, Central and Pacific networks.

In Colombia, 95% of the railway network is currently dedicated to the transportation of minerals, cement, coke, coal and containerized cargo.

At the regulatory level, Colombia lacks a General Law for the railway sector, as is the case in other countries that have reached a certain level of development for this means of transportation. However, the railway concession system is currently regulated. Concessioned railways are presently managed by the National Infrastructure Agency (ANI), responsible for structuring and operating State transportation infrastructure concessions.

After implementing the concession strategy launched in 2000, estimated benefits include reducing costs by 26% by 2030 and logistics chain times; attracting foreign investment; strengthening freight and raw material transportation services; and increasing the country's competitiveness indexes.

In terms of regional development, this strategy will contribute to consolidating decentralized markets under clear rules and modern technological tools. Furthermore, developing the railway infrastructure will contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, a significant step towards sustainable growth.

This strategy arose as a result of more than two years of joint work between the Vice-Presidency of Colombia, the Ministry of Transport, the National Roads Institute, the National Infrastructure Agency, the Inter-American Development Bank and the National Planning Department (DNP).

Map of the railway network currently in operation. Source: ANI (National Infrastructure Agency)

Atlantic Railway Network

Section

Length (km)

Cerrejón - Puerto Bolívar

130

Chiriguaná - Ciénaga

210

Ciénaga -Santa Marta

35

La Loma - Ciénaga

182

Puerto Nuevo, Puerto Drummond - Santa Marta

35

Total

592

Source: ANI (National Infrastructure Agency)


The Atlantic Railway Network comprises Santa Marta and the La Loma-Ciénaga and Chiriguaná - Ciénaga sections covering 592 km and passing through the departments of Cesar, Guajira and Magdalena.

In addition, a commercial railway covering 35 km from Puerto Nuevo to Puerto Drummond in Santa Marta is used for cargo transportation, mainly coal, and the Cerrejón - Puerto Bolívar railway, a 130-km standard gauge line built to transport coal from the Cerrejón mines to Puerto Bolívar.

Central Railway Network


Section

Length (km)

Bogotá - Belencito

262

Belencito - Paz de Río

39

Belencito - Lenguazaque

152

La Caro - Lenguazaque

76

Bogotá - La Caro - Zipaquirá

53

Bogotá - Facatativá

40

Bogotá - La Dorada

200

La Dorada - Barrancabermeja

243

Barrancabermeja - Chiriguaná

281

Grecia - San Rafael de Lebrija

189

Grecia - Barrancabermeja

115

Grecia - Cadena

145

Puerto Berrío - Medellín (Bello)

187

Bello - Envigado

9

Villavieja - Buenos Aires

307

TOTAL

2,298

Source: ANI (National Infrastructure Agency)

The Central Railway Network comprises Bogotá and the Bogotá - Belencito and Bogotá - Lenguazaque sections, covering 2298 km and passing through the departments of Santander, Boyacá, Antioquia, Cundinamarca, Caldas, Huila and Tolima.

The private railway network covers 39 km along the Belencito - Paz de Río lines.

The Grecia - Barrancabermeja - Grecia - Cadena line for passenger transportation covers 260 km. The Bogotá - La Caro - Zipaquirá line for passenger transportation covers 53 km.

Pacific Railway Network

Section

Length (km)

Buenaventura -Cali

174

Cali - Cartago

173

Cartago – La Felisa

112

Zarzal - Tebaida

40

TOTAL

499

Source: ANI (National Infrastructure Agency)

The Pacific Railroad Network covers 499 km in the Buenaventura - Cali - Zarzal - La Tebaida section through the departments of Valle del Cauca, Caldas, Quindío and Risaralda. The concession is held by Sociedad Red Férrea del Pacífico S.A. and Tren de Occidente S.A. Some of the goods transported are paper pulp and raw materials, sugar, sheet metal, sleepers, chemical products and supplies, spare parts, scrap metal, corn, raw materials, pipes and containerized cargo in general.

Distance Matrix

 

Bogotá

Cali

La Dorada

Cartago

Belencito

Buenaventura

Bogotá



 200 km


 262 km


Cali




 173 km


 174 km

La Dorada

 200 km






Cartago


173 km





Belencito

 262 km






Buenaventura


 174 km





Railway companies and consortiums

Ferrocarriles del Norte de Colombia (FENOCO S.A.)

FENOCO is a Colombian company responsible for operating the Atlantic railway network concession. The company gives users access to transport all types of cargo. In addition, it performs traffic control, maintenance and construction on 245 kilometers of railway line.

The purpose of this concession (Central and Atlantic Railway Network) is to rehabilitate and rebuild 1,107 km of railroad track and maintain the entire concessioned railway network, including 1,783 km previously rehabilitated by Ferrovías, for the provision of freight services. The concession term is 30 years starting on March 3, 2000.

https://www.fenoco.com.co/

Some business users of this railway network are:


Ferrocarril del Pacifico S.A.S. (*) and Tren de Occidente S.A.

The purpose of the Pacific Railway Network concession contract is to rehabilitate, rebuild, conserve and operate the railway corridor under concession. The concession term is 30 years. The concession started on March 14, 2000.

https://www.trendeoccidente.com/index.php

(*) Ferrocarril del Pacífico S.A.S. does not currently have an official website.

Capacity Table

Rail Operator Capacity

 

Drummond

Cerrejón

Fenoco

Ferrocarril del Oeste

Railway lines or sections

La Loma – Ciénaga

Chiriguaná - Ciénaga

Bogotá -Belencito

Buenaventura– Cali

Max train length and/or pulling capacity

50 tons per wagon

96 - 110 tons per wagon

59 tons per wagon

96 - 110 tons per wagon

Locomotive type

Diesel

Diesel

Diesel

Diesel

Covered freight wagon dimensions (m)

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Flatbed freight wagon dimensions (m)

N/A

N/A

12

10

High-sided freight wagon dimensions (m)

(124) -130

562

N/A

N/A

Dropside freight wagon dimensions (m)

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A


Main Railway Lines Strategic Information

The country does not have any railways connecting with bordering countries.

Key railway stations

Key station information

Puerto Bolívar

Puerto Drummond

Location

Atlántico

Atlántico

Additional comments

The entire coal loading, transport and unloading cycle averages approximately 12 hours.

The railway line used is currently under concession to Fenoco, which has been extended to a double-track line in more than 63% of the section.

Contact information

Cerrejón

Drummon LTD

Handling Equipment

Three stackers - Coal stackers

Rotary dumpers

Connections with other transport means

Sea port - Road

Sea port - Road

Handling equipment capacity

5500 ton per hour

5500 ton per hour

Storage capacity (square meters and cubic meters)

5.4 million metric tons

800,000 metric tons

Disclaimer: Provider registration shall not imply any business relationship between the provider and WFP/Logistics Cluster, which shall be solely used as a determinant of services and capabilities. Please note, WFP/Logistics Cluster shall maintain impartiality at all times and not be in a position to endorse any comments on the suitability of any company as a reputable service provider.

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