Rail transport in El Salvador
Encyclopedia
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
. The national railroad corporation is FENADESAL (Ferrocarriles Nacionales de El Salvador), a division of CEPA (Comisión Ejecutiva Portuaria Autónoma, port authority). It oversees 554.8 km of mostly disused narrow gauge lines connecting major cities (San Salvador
San Salvador
The city of San Salvador the capital and largest city of El Salvador, which has been designated a Gamma World City. Its complete name is La Ciudad de Gran San Salvador...
, Santa Ana
Santa Ana, El Salvador
Santa Ana is the second largest city in El Salvador, located 64 kilometers west of San Salvador, the capital city. Santa Ana has approximately 274,830 inhabitants and serves both as the capital of the department of Santa Ana and...
, Acajutla
Acajutla
Acajutla is a seaport and municipality in Sonsonate Department, El Salvador. The town is located at on the Pacific Coast of Central America and is El Salvador's principal seaport from which a large portion of the nation's exports of coffee, sugar, and balsam are shipped. As a municipality,...
, Sonsonate, Soyapango
Soyapango
Soyapango is a municipality in the San Salvador department of El Salvador. Soyapango is a commercial center; it is home to a new modern mall called Plaza Mundo.The municipality is the third most populated area in the country, with 290,412 inhabitants...
, Zacatecoluca) and formerly linked with Guatemala railroads
Rail transport in Guatemala
Although Guatemala still has a network of narrow gauge railroads, no passenger or freight trains currently run, except for occasional chartered tourist trains.- History :...
at Anguiatú.
History
The first railroad in El Salvador was opened between Sonsonate and the port of AcajutlaAcajutla
Acajutla is a seaport and municipality in Sonsonate Department, El Salvador. The town is located at on the Pacific Coast of Central America and is El Salvador's principal seaport from which a large portion of the nation's exports of coffee, sugar, and balsam are shipped. As a municipality,...
on June 4, 1882. In the following years, the lines extended to Santa Ana, San Salvador and other places. Parts of network were managed separately by The Salvador Railway Company Limited (later nationalized and renamed FES - Ferrocarril de El Salvador) and IRCA - International Railways of Central America (a United Fruit company, later nationalized and renamed FENASAL - Ferrocarril Nacional de El Salvador). In 1975, based on a governmental decree, the two companies merged into FENADESAL - Ferrocarriles Nacionales de El Salvador, managed and administered by CEPA
CEPA
CEPA may refer to:* Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between India and Republic of Korea. Enforced on 1 January, 2010.* Canadian Environmental Protection Act* Center for Economic Policy Analysis at New School University, New York City...
(port authority) on behalf of the state.
All rail transport was suspended in October 2002. Passenger trains between San Salvador and Soyapango
Soyapango
Soyapango is a municipality in the San Salvador department of El Salvador. Soyapango is a commercial center; it is home to a new modern mall called Plaza Mundo.The municipality is the third most populated area in the country, with 290,412 inhabitants...
were briefly restored from October 2004 until April 2005 to help alleviate traffic congestion after a collapse of a road bridge which connected these two cities.
In 2006 CEPA presented a pilot scheme for reviving the rail network. Commuter services could be introduced between San Salvador and Apopa, requiring the refurbishment of seven passenger vehicles.
In November 2007 the CEPA plan was put into effect and the service to Apopa was restarted with two return trips each morning and evening aimed at commuter traffic. The fare is on 10¢ US
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
for the 12 km trip, and to ensure safety four police officers ride each train. The plan is to repoen the whole route to the provinical capital of Sonsonate in stages over the next 12 months with the next stage to Nejapa due to reopen in March.
See also
- El SalvadorEl SalvadorEl Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
- Transport in El SalvadorTransport in El Salvador-Railways:*total: 602 km . Rehabilitation in progress*narrow gauge: 602 km gauge...
- Rail transport by countryRail transport by countryThis page provides an index of articles on Rail transport by country.Other indexes available include:*List of railway companies by country*List of countries by rail transport network size*Rail usage statistics by country...