The construction of the first railway line in Venezuela began in 1873. Four years later, The line connecting the port of Tucacas with the copper mines in Aroa, known as Ferrocarril Bolívar, was put into operation. In 1891 the line was extended to Barquisimeto. The trains ran at an average speed of 20 km/h and covered the 163-kilometer route in nine hours. The line was built by the English company New Quebrada Company Limited.
Over the next thirty years, several branches were built and the railway network was 232 kilometers long.
Last updated: 29.01.2024
In the 1930s, numerous roads were built to transport crude oil extracted from numerous oil fields. Trucks and cars were much faster than trains and the role of railways in transport has decreased significantly.
In the 1940s, trains ran sporadically.
In the following decade, due to enormous losses the line was closed in 1954.
In 1990s the public railway network had been reduced to only one railwa line from Barquisimento to Puerto Caballo (173 km).
Train travel in Venezuela – current situation
Currently, passenger trains in Venezuela run on the following lines:
Caracas – Cua (41.4 km)
Chivacoa – Barquisimeto (62.2 km)
The rest of the railway lines are neglected and disused or are used for freight transport. The iron ore company Ferrominera Orinoco owns standarg gauge railway network used only for freight traffic.
There are suburban trains in Caracas, Los Teques, Maracaibo and Valencia.
The rehabilitation of the railway line from the Puerto Cabello in the Portuguesa state to Acarigua via Barquisemeto and Yaritagua is underway.
Train travel in Venezuela – international trains
There are no international passenger trains in Venezuela. Venezuela has a railway link to Colombia but it’s non-operational. There were announced plans to build the railway corridor from Argentina to Venezuela through Brazil but the project was later abandoned.
Passenger trains are operated by state-owned Instituto Ferrocarriles del Estado (IFE).
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