Peru prepares route towards four new railways

BnamericasPublished: Monday, July 13, 2026

Rail line

Peru declared the development of four railway projects to be of national interest, within the framework of its strategy to strengthen the country’s territorial integration and logistical competitiveness.

The projects are Puma Train, Huancavelica–Ica Railway, Macusani–Azángaro–Juliaca–Puno–Ilave–Desaguadero and San Juan de Marcona–Andahuaylas.

The San Juan de Marcona–Andahuaylas project has an estimated cost of US$8.162 billion (bn) and is in the detailed engineering stage. It will enable logistical linkage between the port of San Juan de Marcona and the southern regions.

The project includes the construction of a railway that will increase mineral exports and facilitate passenger transportation in the central and southern parts of the country.

The train will connect the regions of Ica, Ayacucho and Apurímac, areas with significant mining production. It is a mixed project, both for passengers and for cargo of agricultural and livestock production and mineral concentrates.

The Puma Train, for passengers and cargo, will be located in the southern Andean corridor and will include the Puno–Juliaca and Juliaca–Arequipa sections.

The Huancavelica–Ica Railway seeks to promote tourism and productive development between the highlands and the south-central coast.

The Macusani–Azángaro–Juliaca–Puno–Ilave–Desaguadero Railway, located in Puno, seeks integration in the southern highlands.

The prioritization of these projects takes place alongside the presentation of the Railway Master Plan to 2050, which seeks to integrate a network of 7,489 km of railway tracks, with investments of around US$89.1bn.

Peru is burdened by an infrastructure gap estimated at US$110bn, concentrated in sectors such as drinking water, transportation, education, health and roads, to which are added nearly 2,241 halted works at the three levels of government, equivalent to around US$18.25bn in registered projects, according to what Karla Gaviño, a specialist in public management and infrastructure, recently told BNamericas.

Peru's railway portfolio includes initiatives such as the Chancay-Pucallpa Railway (US$14.38bn), Lima Metro Line 3 (US$6.924bn) and the Lima-Ica Railway (US$6.5bn).