The first railway in Bolivia was the Ferrocarril de Antofagasta a Bolivia (FCAB), which opened in 1894 from Antofagasta (Chile) to Oruro. About 480km of this line lie in Bolivian territory. It was built to metre gauge, which was also used for subsequent expansion in the country.
The present day network consists of two distinct groups of lines. Both operate passenger and freight services on their major routes. The passenger services are generally reliable; those on the Andina system are of high quality and well advertised.
The Andina system now includes those parts of the FCAB that lie in Bolivian territory. The Andina has a cross border connection with Argentina, two with Chile, and connections with Peru by ferry across Lake Titicaca. The Oriental system has cross border connections with Argentina and Brazil. All the international connections are freight only.
© 2006-2012
Glyn Williams
Flag image from CIA World Factbook
