Rail transport in Bolivia
The Bolivian rail network is made at present of two separate systems, one in the eastern lowlands centered on Santa Cruz and one centered along a north-south axis along Altiplano plateau and with multiple branch lines.
The network has had a varied development throughout its history but contrary to the road system that largelly unified in 1954 with the opening of the Cochabamba–Santa Cruz road the eastern and western rail systems in Bolivia have never joined.
Gauges
All railways in Bolivia are now Metre gauge. The Antofagasta to Uyuni line was originally gauge.Rail link to Peru
Bolivia built a line to the shores of Lake Titicaca.Lines in the south, east
A line from São Paulo, Brazil, enters Bolivia at Puerto Suarez and connects to this line at Santa Cruz. In the 1950s this last major rail system was completed. A line was intended to run from Santa Cruz to Trinidad, from where since 2014 an industrial spur is under construction to the ammonia/urea factory near Bulo Bulo.Spur lines were run to mining districts and the regional capital of Cochabamba.
Mamore and Madeira Railway
Another railway was a local line in the Amazonian jungle. The Madeira-Mamoré Railroad ran in a loop around the unnavigable section of the Mamoré River between Guajará-Mirim and Porto Velho in Brazil which was used to bring Bolivian rubber to market.Steel lines to the Silver at Potosi
Rio Mulatos-Potosí line is a train line in Bolivia, containing Cóndor station, the world's ninth highest railway station.Future plans
The government of Evo Morales has proposed a rail line uniting La Paz, Cochabamba, and Santa Cruz, connecting onwards to Brazil and the Pacific coast.The department of Cochabamba and the national government are contracting design studies in 2011 for regional trains to run on two routes: Cochabamba-Caluyo-Tarata-Cliza-Punata-Arani and Sipe Sipe-Vinto-Cochabamba-Sacaba-Chiñata. A 180-day study on Sipe Sipe-Chiñata line is being carried out between August 2011 and February 2012. This project, known as Mi Tren, is under construction and due for completion in 2020.
Chancay mega port
With the opening of the mega port at Chancay in 2025 comes the need for proper railway access. Unfortunately such access from the rest of South America is hamstrung by missing links and the multiplicity of track gauges, including 914mm, 1000mm, 1067mm, 1435mm, 1600mm, 1676mm and dual gauge,International rail links to adjacent countries
- Argentina – yes – both countries
- Brazil – yes – gauge both countries
- Chile – yes – gauge both countries
- Peru – ferry from railhead in Guaqui to railhead in Puno across Lake Titicaca
Incidents
In 2007 thieves had stolen 100 meters of Bolivian track overnight, and the morning freight had insufficient distance to stop.Photo of the site shows locomotives 1021 and 951 remained upright, but extensive damage ensued.