Physical integration of Mercosur-Bolivia-Chile-Peru: The potential contribution of the railway systems

This edition of the Bulletin highlights sections of a recent study carried out by the Transport Unit of ECLAC on behalf of the Institute for Latin American Integration (INTAL) entitled Physical Integration of Mercosur-Bolivia- Chile-Peru: the potential contribution of the railway systems. One of the conclusions stresses the need for the railway and other companies involved in the construction of any major project to sign formal agreements relating to the allocation of freight, track utilization fees and other factors on which operation of the railway to be constructed will depend.

Analysis of railway privatization in Latin America and the Caribbean

Latin American railway privatization has achieved significant results, since the situation today is better than if the railways had remained under management and operation by the State. Traffic volumes have generally increased, although with wide variations between individual cases; government subsidies have been cut, and productivity has improved. On the other hand, the privatization of railways in Latin America has not been an unqualified success, because of certain features of the privatization models used and the environment of the transport sector in which the railways have to compete.

The current state of metro and railway systems in Latin America

This issue of the FAL Bulletin describes how metro and railway systems contribute to sustainable mobility, looking at some of the current challenges and their technical solutions.