Train travel in Panama

Train travel in Panama is limited to passenger train between Panama City to Colón. The railway line runs alongside the Panama Canal passing through lush rainforests and is considered as one of the great train rides of the world. Passenger service between two largest cities in Panama began in 2001. Panama City has a subway officially opened on April 4, 2014. It is the second subway in Central America after the subway in Mexico City.

Last updated: 29.01.2024

Panama Canal Railroad

The only active railway in Panama is the Panama Canal Railroad, 76.6km long, with a passenger service running from Panama City to Colon, while tracks extend to the ports. The line is mainly used for freight transport, because trains cover the distance within an hour, and ships have to pass through many locks, which increases the time needed to cross the Panama Canal by 8 to 10 hours.

The Panama Canal Railroad was built much earlier than the Panama Canal. The idea of building a railway or a canal connecting the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean appeared in documents already at the beginning of the 19th century.

On 15 April 1850, the Panama Railroad Company was established, and works on the construction of the line began just a month later. The authorities of the then New Granada granted the company a concession to use the railway for 45 years after the construction was completed. Work progressed very slowly, despite the involvement of thousands of workers who were decimated by malaria, alligators and poisonous snakes in the jungle and rivers. Additionally, a cholera epidemic, mudslides, dysentery, smallpox and wild tribes living in the jungle significantly slowed down the progress of construction works.

Despite these problems, in March 1852 the first 24-kilometer-long section from the then Aspinwall (present day Colón) was inaugurated. In July of 1852 another section of 14 kilometers of tracks were put into operation to the city of Barbacoas, where construction of a bridge over the Chagres River was underway. Towards the end of the works, a flood occurred and the bridge had to be built again.

On January 27, 1855, at midnight, in darkness and heavy rain, the construction of a railway connecting two oceans and two continents was completed. A day later, the first transcontinental train crossed the entire line.

Construction of the Panama Canal began in 1881. On August 15, 1914, the Panama Canal was officially opened, and the first ship sailed through the newly built canal.

The railway offers passenger service between the cities of Panama and Colon, with a fixed schedule Monday through Friday, departing from Panama at 07:15 a.m., and returning from Colon at 05:15 p.m.

The passenger train is comprised of a diesel locomotive and stylish carriages – a panoramic carriage, buffet carriage, observation car and ordinary seating carriages. The hour-long ride is one of Panama’s most popular tourist attractions for American tourists. Tickets are a bit expensive but it’s worth the price.

Panama train
Passenger train from Panama City to Colón
Train travel in Panama
Interior of the train from Panama City to Colón

Ferrocarril de Chiriquí (history)

In December 1913, R. W. Hebard & Co. Inc. developed a project to build a railway network connecting the city of David (Ciudad David) with the coast and the Pacific Ocean. In February 1914, the Minister of Development of Panama approved the construction of four railway lines. Work began in April this year. By the end of 1916, four railway lines had been built:

David-Pedregal; 6.5 km
David – La Concepción; 29 km
David – Boquete 45.1 km
Dolega – Potrerillos 12.1 km

The official opening of the Ferrocarril Nacional de Chiriquí railway network took place on April 22, 1916. The ceremony was attended by numerous residents and guests from other countries.

In 1928, the La Concepción – Puerto Armuelles section was opened. Initially, the government of Panama had only 5% of the shares in the company, but by decree of February 10, 1945, the shares of Ferrocarril Nacional de Chiriquí were divided between the central government and the provincial government. Two years later, the railway network was over 200 kilometers long. The Ferrocarril Nacional de Chiriquí railways operated both freight and passenger transport. The gauge was 914 mm.

In 1969, the state took over all shares in Ferrocarril Nacional de Chiriquí. Narrow-gauge railways were already losing the competition with road transport and it was clear that the railways would be soon bankrupt. The decline was by a series of train accidents and derailments due to the poor condition of the tracks, and the final nail in the coffin seemed to be the opening of the David to Puerto Armuelles section of the Pan-American Highway.

The decline of the railway was influenced by a series of accidents and derailments of trains due to the poor technical condition of the tracks, and the final nail in the coffin seemed to be the opening of the section of the Pan-American Highway from David to Puerto Armuelles.

Until the end of the 1970s, railways operated well and were cheaper than buses, so passengers from rural areas used railways. Unfortunately, the beginning of the 1980s saw the expansion of bus transport. On major routes buses ran every 15-20 minutes, so the days of the railway were numbered. In 1982, passenger traffic was suspended on all routes except David – La Concepción – Puerto Armuelles. Freight trains ran on request.

In 1986, there were two trains a day between David and Puerto Armuelles. They covered the route in three hours, buses covered the same route in an hour and a half and ran several times per hour, so it was clear that the railway had no chance. Passenger transport was ceased in 1988, and a few years later freight transport was also stopped.

In the early 1990s, Ferrocarril Nacional de Chiriquí officially suspended its operations.

In 2002, there were plans to rebuild and reinstate the David – Boguete section, but they failed In 2006, former employees of Ferrocarril Nacional de Chiriquí were hired to dismantle the remaining sections of the track. The former stations were converted into houses, libraries and schools. In fact, the only remnant of the Ferrocarril Nacional de Chiriquí is the former railway station in David.

Chiriqui
Ferrocarril Nacional de Chiriquí train in 1925 (Public Domain)

Sixaola Bridge (history)

In 2017, a road and rail bridge connecting Panama and Costa Rica collapsed during a flood. The old bridge has been replaced by a new one, but due to the railway tracks running in the middle of the road it is worth mentioning the railway history in this area.

In the province of Bocas del Toro, a network of narrow-gauge railways was built to transport bananas from plantations at the beginning of the 20th century. At first, a short line was built from the port of Almirante to the city. The line was extended westward in stages until it finally reached the town of Guabito, on the Panamanian side of the Sixaola River.

In 1929, banana plantations near Almirante were hit by a plague called “Panama disease”, causing mass withering of banana trees, so the planters focused on crops on the other side of the Sixaola River. 8 kilometers of narrow gauge railway were built in Costa Rica with several short branches. In the 1930s, banana plantations flourished on both sides of the river, and the railway network was expanded. In 1951, the length of the tracks was 142 km. There were passenger trains also for workers.

The decline of the narrow-gauge railway network began in the 1990s, when the railways began to lose to trucks. On the Panama side, most of the tracks were dismantled in 2005, the last trains ran in 2008, a few weeks before the tracks were dismantled. In 2008, the tracks in Costa Rica were quickly dismantled, and the only traces that remained were the tracks on the Sixaola Bridge and the remains of the tracks in the city of Changuinola.

See also:

Railways in Americas by country

Sixaola Bridge
Old Sixaola Bridge (Photo: Arturo Sotillo, CC-BY-SA, Wikimedia Commons)