Santiago to Concepción
19 September 2006

I felt like I could have spent longer in Santiago. I am sure I will return sometime in the future. But it is time to start my journey to the south, ultimately as far as Tierra del Fuego.

To my delight, there was another transport option available to me - the train! Like Argentina, Chile had an extensive railway network, but today has few operating long distance train services. Those that do run, start from Santiago and head south, fortunately for me. Empresa de Los Ferrocarriles del Estado (EFE), as its name implies, is still state owned. There is a functioning railway line from Santiago all the way down to Puerto Montt, a trip of just over 1000km. However, due to bridge repairs services only go as far as Chillán, over a third of the way. However, services do pick up again from the town of Victoria to Puerto Montt, roughly the last third of the way. I'll take any opportunity to travel by train when the option is available (not sure if I'll feel this way when I get to Bolivia).

There are two class, "Salón" (2nd) and "Preferente" (1st). Every service, from transportation to accommodation, in Chile seems to have a "tarifa alta" and a "tarifa baja" - high/low season price - depending on the day of the week, holidays etc. The Santiago metro even has a high fare for rush hour periods! I was astounded by that. Since I was traveling on the last day of the Chilean Independence holiday, I paid the "alta" price of CL$10,900 (US$20) for my "Salón" seat to Chillán.

The three car, electric train was fairly new and, of course, very clean. We pulled out of Santiago's Estación Central at 0930 exactly. Every hour a man came passed mopping the aisle floor. And when he was not mopping he was polishing the glass windows of the doors at either end of the carriage. After 15 minutes we had left the capital and were passing through the lush green countryside of the central portion of Chile. To the east, scenery was dominated by the Andean mountain range, and to the west, the slightly more diminutive coastal range. We passed countless numbers of vineyards, frequently mixed in the cherry trees just starting to blossom. This area is Chile's main wine producing region.

The train has a small buffet where you could get a cup of Nescafé for CL$600 (US$1.10). I opted for a cup of tea, which was somewhat spoiled by the bumpy ride and a tray table that was not horizontal. Though, there was a steward who brought it to my seat. Some people had breakfast brought to them. We arrived in Chillán on time, at 1415. From Chillán to Concepción, on the coast, took all of 1 1/4 hours by bus. There are frequent services between these two cities.