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The RegioTram project in the western region is moving forward at full speed after receiving approval from the National Environmental Licensing Authority (Anla). Speaking to Portafolio about the progress of the work, Orlando Santiago Celis, general manager of the Férrea regional company, said that They will begin intervening on the existing rail network by the end of this month.He highlighted the challenges facing the corridor and their hope that the project will be ready by 2027.
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ANLA gave them freedom in environmental protection, what’s next?
Decree No. 510 recognizes that environmentally friendly rail projects that utilize existing corridors do not need to go through a permitting process, but equates them to other types of public transportation projects, such as the Bogotá Metro, which do not require a permitting process because they are located in the same city and within the same jurisdiction, because the environmental benefits outweigh the impacts.
This does not mean that we will no longer comply with environmental guidelines. Quite the contrary, the tool we will start using is the Program for Adaptation of Environmental Guidelines, better known as PAGA, which will allow us to have an environmental tool for the development of works, complying with all the requirements and having to move forward to obtain the permits from the territorial authorities.
How is the project progressing as planned?
We are doing well according to plan. Our goal is to complete the construction phase by the end of 2026. Once completed, next comes the validation phase to make sure that what is built is well built, especially since it is a 100% electric train whose electrical system must function perfectly along the road, this phase is called white walk.
This contract inspection is expected to last up to six months, so we hope that by mid-2027 we will be able to achieve commercial operation of the trains.
Initially scheduled to begin operations in 2026, what caused the delay?
Well, the schedule has changed. The main thing that made the schedule go smoothly was getting the environmental permit, which we failed to get last year, and without the permit we couldn’t build, and now with this new number we already have the space to build.
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Orlando Santiago Celis, general manager of the railroad
Sergio Steele
How much is the construction investment?
The concession contract has several phases. First there is the advance design and construction, then the construction phase, and then the operation and maintenance phase, which lasts for more than 20 years.
In terms of costs, part of it is paid during the construction phase, but the trains, for example, will be paid for during operation. Overall, excluding the trains, the investment is expected to be $2.7 billion.
When did the railway construction begin?
We are currently finalizing all the design themes, but we are finding that some areas have exhausted the design themes and are ready to start working, so we are in the transition stage from design to 100% construction.
During the intermission we saw an opportunity to start some work early. One of these was the Corso workshop, which is where the trains are maintained and sleep. This work, one of the largest on the project, started in the middle of last year and is now 16% complete.
Soon, as the design is finalized, we will be able to start construction on the main corridor.
When will the construction of the second workshop patio begin?
It’s an annex to the corridor, it’s not a large infrastructure that needs to be started early like some of the other buildings, so we will build that courtyard when we build in that area around 68th Avenue.
When do they start working on the corridor?
We are about to close our business. What we want to do is find a lot where the design issues are on the other side and we don’t need to apply for environmental permits. At the same time, we start applying for the permits that are needed along the way so that when they are obtained, we can work in more areas.
But will they start working on it this year or next?
We hope to start before the end of this semester. That is our goal, but we need to align the design schedule with the permit application to get started.
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Regional Tram de Occidente.
Private Archives
What challenges did you face during the project?
One of the challenges is the definition of network transmission. In this corridor of about 40 kilometers, the networks of about 18 different public service operators were disturbed, such as aqueducts, or even electricity, telephone or internet services.
Perhaps the most difficult network to solve in this case is the fuel network that crosses the corridor, managed by Ecopetrol and Cenit. We have to make complex transfers from a technical and economic point of view. For this, we asked the national government to help pay for the transfer of these networks concentrated in specific places. The president told us that they will pay for these transfers through Ecopetrol, which eliminates the risk that the project will not be completed.
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What are the huge benefits of this project?
Fundamentally, it has two major benefits. The first is saving travel time. Today, it takes about three hours for a person in Facatativá to reach the city center, and the project will seek to reduce that time to one hour.
The second huge benefit is from an environmental point of view, let’s remember that this is a 100% electric train, which will help reduce pollution. According to our estimates, it will save up to about 165,000 tons of CO2 emissions in 20 years of operation.
Paula Galeano Balaguera
Portfolio Reporter
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