Chile - Santiago Estacion Central by Gustave Eiffel

[Traveller]

Another South American rail station, impressive in it's simplicity. Designed by Gustave Eiffel and built by a French civil engineering company in the 19th centrury.

Here's a few photos. Have to note it is a very busy station and difficult to photograph, but these photos give an accurate taste of a regular Sunday afternoon at the station.





Snow on the nearby Andean mountains







A pair of winged Llamas? Or the Chilean species Guanacos












Looking out

 

[cirdan]

Very impressive. Appears to be in very fine condition. I guess it must have been renovated recently.

Another notable station designed by Gustav Eifel is Nyugati Station in Budapest. It has a similarly elegant main roof but I think the span is smaller.

 

[JWM]

Chile is apparently upgrading the "Terra Sur" line which, at present, has the highest passenger train speeds in South America. A high-speed line is in the works to Valparaiso too apparently. I passed this station in April 2022 and it is a beauty.

 

[AmtrakMaineiac]

A high-speed line is in the works to Valparaiso too apparently. I passed this station in April 2022 and it is a beauty.

Interesting, given that they currently do not even have a through passenger service between Valparaiso and Santiago, only one that runs part way out of Valparaiso for some strange reason.

 

[JWM]

Interesting, given that they currently do not even have a through passenger service between Valparaiso and Santiago, only one that runs part way out of Valparaiso for some strange reason.

The original rail route for passengers was curvy, slow and the superhighway with busses killed it.

 

[cirdan]

Interesting, given that they currently do not even have a through passenger service between Valparaiso and Santiago, only one that runs part way out of Valparaiso for some strange reason.

I understand the old line is very sinuous which would slow down any train service and make it uncompetitive. Probably the reason passenger service was abandoned in the first place back in the 1980s. Even at the time of the abandonment it was said there were plans to build a new straighter line permitting more competitive speeds.. It would be great if this could finally be done. I understand the most recent plans involve a 140mph line that would be built with Chinese backing and technology. As far as I know nothing has been decided yet.

 

[Traveller]

At Santiago Estacion Central Metro station, saw this train... the wheels

 

[AmtrakMaineiac]

At Santiago Estacion Central Metro station, saw this train... the wheels

View attachment 34190

Looks like similar rubber tire technology as used by Paris and Montreal Metros

 

[cirdan]

It appears there are more installed systems than i would have guessed:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubber-tyred_metro#List_of_systems

 

[cirdan]

Very impressive. Appears to be in very fine condition. I guess it must have been renovated recently.

Otoh, the photos show there is netting under the roof, suggesting concerns over bits falling down. I do hope they renovate that to make it as nice as the rest of the station.

 

[Traveller]

Looks like similar rubber tire technology as used by Paris and Montreal Metros

I thought the wheel diameter looked larger than the Paris metro and don't remember seeing what looks like a wheel trim?

 

[railiner]

Interesting, given that they currently do not even have a through passenger service between Valparaiso and Santiago, only one that runs part way out of Valparaiso for some strange reason.

There’s numerous cruise ship passengers traveling between the Santiago airport and the port at Valparaiso.
A high speed train would probably get that business…

 

[Matthew H Fish]

At Santiago Estacion Central Metro station, saw this train... the wheels

View attachment 34190

I don't know if I just made this up, but I thought one of the reasons for rubber tires is the wide difference in elevation between the ends of the Santiago metro---I just looked and it seems to go between 500 meters in the west and 800 meters in the east. So my idea was that rubber tires allowed better traction when descending. I don't know if that makes sense.
I have also heard it is to get a better grip during earthquakes! But I also don't know if that is true. And neither of those make sense in light of the fact that other cities without those factors have similar systems.

 

[Matthew H Fish]

The original rail route for passengers was curvy, slow and the superhighway with busses killed it.

One reason why rail hasn't taken hold is that bus transport is cheap, efficient and comfortable. And frequent. One stop after Estacion Central is Universidad de Santiago and Terminal Alameda. There are at least two companies offering trips to Valpo or Vina at 15 minute frequencies, for usually something around $10. Its a non-stop trip in a very comfortable bus, and it takes a little less than two hours, which is reasonable given having to pass through some urban zones. So there isn't as much of a pressing need for train service, since in Chile there isn't the US prejudice against buses.
You can also get an overnight trip on a bus where you can get a bed or half-bed option, including having meals served to you.

 

[Traveller]

There’s numerous cruise ship passengers traveling between the Santiago airport and the port at Valparaiso.
A high speed train would probably get that business…

They are often bussed privately by the cruise companies.

 

[Trollopian]

I understand the old line is very sinuous...

Some things are easier to explain with a map. Or, y'know, a picture.

 

[Metra Electric Rider]

Otoh, the photos show there is netting under the roof, suggesting concerns over bits falling down. I do hope they renovate that to make it as nice as the rest of the station.

Or.... pigeon netting.

 

[Matthew H Fish]

Along with foreign tourists also being a possible source of train passengers, there are a lot of people living in the Santiago region. There are at least 5 million people living in Santiago, and about 1 million people living in Valparaiso.
If even 1% of Santiago's population want to visit Valparaiso on any given day, you have 50,000 potential railroad passengers. And another 10,000 people in Valpo who might want to visit Santiago. Obviously those numbers are estimates, but there is a gigantic potential market---who are also people who are used to the idea of taking trains in general.