Rail project worth US$3.3bn in Colombia moves forward without taking off
BnamericasPublished: Friday, April 10, 2026
Politics Investment Passenger transport Freight railway Rail line
Colombia began the public consultation process for the preliminary studies of the Villavicencio–Puerto Gaitán rail project. However, the initiative shows limited progress within the government’s broader rail plan, which is unlikely to see meaningful advances before the change in administration.
The initiative involves an investment of 12.2 trillion (tn) pesos (US$3.3 billion) and a 193km line in the department of Meta, intended for freight and passenger transport.
The technical studies and designs are being carried out by two consortiums: Férreo del Meta HE, responsible for the 69.5km Villavicencio–Puerto López section, and Conexión Férrea INT, in charge of the 123.5km Puerto López–Puerto Gaitán section.
The scope of the studies includes demand analysis, land, environmental and social aspects, railway engineering, intermodal systems, operation and maintenance, capex and opex estimation, work scheduling, tariff evaluation and territorial analysis. The cost of the studies amounts to 60.55bn pesos, with execution periods of seven months for the first section and ten months for the second.
This corridor is part of the six rail projects prioritized by Gustavo Petro's government, whose total investment is estimated at 142tn pesos.
Among them are the Caribbean–Pacific Interoceanic Train, the Pacific corridor, Buenaventura–Palmira, La Caro–Central Rail Corridor, Villavicencio–Puerto Gaitán and Jumbo–Caimalito.
In 2023, the government announced plans to award railway projects worth around 30tn pesos during the four-year term and highlighted initiatives such as the Central Rail Corridor and the Pacific network, which include the Barranquilla–Santa Marta–Cartagena train, the Eje Cafetero train, the Jaumandí commuter train, and the Regiotram del norte.
Four months before the change of government, progress on rail initiatives is limited. With the presidential elections scheduled for May 31, 2026 and the inauguration of the new government on August 7, it is unlikely that major developments will be finalized before the transition, so the final decisions will be in the hands of the next administration.
The Villavicencio–Puerto Gaitán train represents an effort to diversify transport infrastructure and strengthen integration in the Orinoquía region, but it also reveals tensions between long-term planning and political cycles.
The start of the feasibility studies is a first step in a process that will require sustained commitment to materialize the vision for rail development set out in the development plans.
(The original version of this content was written in Spanish)
