Transport and Telecommunications Minister Gloria Hutt and Empresa de los Ferrocarriles de Chile (Chilean Railways Company, EFE) President Pedro Pablo Errázuriz led the ceremony to start work on the future Tres Poniente station. The station will be part of the Tren a Melipilla (Train to Melipilla) project, and its construction will take place alongside the renovation of the Vespucio and Ciudad Satélite stations, in addition to various other civil works that began in April 2021.
These will be the project’s first three stations, located in the municipality of Maipú, and will form part of a total 11 stations of the service that is expected to start operating in 2026.
At the event, Transport Minister Gloria Hutt stated, “it is a dream to recover the railways. By 2027, we will triple the number of passengers, reaching 150 million, and 50 million of them will use this Alameda-Melipilla service. This project is therefore one of the most important things that we’ve been working on.” The event was also attended by community leaders and the mayors of the eight municipalities included in the project, along with congressmen and company representatives.
EFE President Pedro Pablo Errázuriz indicated that “at EFE, we’re very proud of the progress we’ve made. The Tren a Milipilla project will be the most massive service that we’ll have, with more than 50 million passengers per year. They will see their quality of life improved by reduced travel times and an improved public transport service, which we’ll be able to offer them from 2026.”
EFE CEO Patricio Pérez highlighted the progress and investment involved in the megaproject, stating “this huge investment, part of Chile Sobre Rieles (Chile on Rails), includes major works between Estación Central and Melipilla. It is 61 kilometers long and will have three tracks to Malloco and two to Melipilla for the transportation of passengers and cargo.”
The new Tren a Melipilla project will have 22 cutting-edge electric trains, for which bidding is underway, along with 15 under/overpass crossings for vehicles, 49 under/overpass crossings for pedestrians, 12 automated level crossings, a workshop and garages, total confinement of the railway and the installation of new signaling, communications and electrical power systems.
The estimated investment for the project is US$1.5 billion, and it will be completed in five years.
The initiative will allow up to two hours to be saved on traveling times per day. It will be 61 kilometers long, with three tracks to Malloco (two for passengers and one for cargo) and two to Melipilla (one for passengers and one for cargo), and will have connections to Metro lines 1 and 6.
The Tren Melipilla will be the EFE’s most massive service, almost tripling the number of users that travel on the Puerto-Limache and Nos-Estación Central services today. With this project, EFE will double the number of passengers per year.
Five of the eight municipalities that will benefit from the project are currently not part of the transportation system, so this project will be their gateway to the RED system. There will be an integrated fare between Santiago and Maipú (Ciudad Satélite) using the BIP! card. Between Melipilla and Ciudad Satélite, the fare will be charged according to the journey made.