2024-07-25 23:18:47
Passengers experience daily uncertainty when traveling on trains that are not sufficient or do not meet schedules, accusing the area of abandonment in terms of transportation, which leaves them without many alternatives when traveling to Santiago daily. At the time of closing this note, in fact, the train service to Rancagua was suspended due to the inspection of a car in San Bernardo, which forced the evacuation of the occupants.
The fateful train crash The accident that occurred on June 20 and left two dead and nine injured has exacerbated the series of problems of the Central Station – Rancagua servicesince after the stoppage of the drivers, the State Railways Company (EFE) reduced the mobilization capacity by 30%where the most affected have been the users of intermediate stations.
Added to the above are the repeated track failures, delays, railways in poor condition and suspension of services without prior notice. Due to this situation, uncertainty has taken hold of passengers who travel daily between the Metropolitan Region and O’Higgins, who have seen how their trip to work or their return home has become a nightmare.
In fact, during this Sunday the train Estación Central – Rancagua was partially suspended from 3:00 p.m. due to the fall of a tree, which caused the interruption of the power supply, for which only operated between Alameda and Paine. In this context, users claimed that they were forced to get off the machine by station staff, without any solution to reach their destinations or refund of tickets.
“Today we are moving about 20 thousand passengers daily from Rancagua, and in regular conditions we move about 30 thousand“, they explained from EFE to THE DYNAMO.
Delays and overcrowded trains: the unsolved problems of the Metrotren
“It’s an everyday thing,” Consuelo Arce told THE DYNAMO about the problems caused by the lack of frequency and the repeated delays, which can even last for an hour. “Most of the time (the train) is late and has service failures. In Paine in the morning it is filled with many people and The service cannot cope”explained the young woman who is a regular passenger on the Metrotren.
“There are several delays and the worst thing is that they don’t give any notice. I feel that the price they charge for the service has nothing to do with it, because they are late, the old trains are really bad, they don’t have heating or air conditioning and they can’t cope with the number of people who use the service. In addition, there is a lack of coordination between the drivers and the people at each station, which makes the service worse,” he added.
Another user, at the exit of the Paine station, said: “I get paid a bonus for being punctual at work. I have lost the last three bonuses. We are talking about $120 thousandwhat I need at home. We look like pigs, all crowded together and there are still people at the station, nobody takes us into account.”
“If you don’t get on at the initial stations, it’s chaos getting on the train.“, commented Constanza Fuentes, who until the train accident traveled every day from San Francisco de Mostazal to Santiago.
How the lack of transportation affects rural areas
Within the intermediate stations of the train service between Estación Central and Rancagua, users belonging to the commune of Paine have been among the most affected. This is due to the fact that the Buses Paine SAA, the only company that provides the service in the area, has significantly reduced the routes of its intercity buses, leaving people traveling to Santiago with no other alternatives.
Faced with this situation, the mayor of Paine, Rodrigo Contreras, asked the Ministry of Transport to take measures to mitigate the problem affecting the inhabitants of the area. However, the municipality claims that the response has been null.
“As a commune, since 2022 we have been dragging the problem of public transportation to Santiago. This is due to the low availability of transportation for rural areas. One looks at the province of Santiago, how it advances in terms of transportation, electromobility and tariff integration. Meanwhile, the residents of Paine suffer from having to travel to Greater Santiago, without being sure how they will leave or how they will return,” said the communal leader.
To which he added: “We are in a complete state of abandonment in rural communities in terms of public transportsince before the neighbors trusted the EFE service, but after the fateful accident on June 20 they live in total uncertainty.”
In this regard, Rodrigo Contreras pointed to the Government for the high prices that residents have to pay ($1,760 during peak hours), which is added to using the RED system transport. “We have repeatedly requested that Paine should be integrated in terms of tariff integration, which would be very favorable for the residents. But unfortunately, to date we have had no response from the Government,” he said.
When will the frequency of the Estación Central – Rancagua train be adjusted again?
Earlier this month, EFE announced that travel by peak hours during July were to be carried out every 30 minutes. Unlike the usual route where trains left every 15 minutes.
There are currently 42 services a day on Mondays and Fridays, between 5:30 a.m. and 9:30 p.m., while at the weekend there are 29 services for the entire journey.
Considering that the special itinerary is only for this month of July, it is expected that the usual frequency will return during the month of August.
Given the large influx of people that gathers at Estación Central between 6:00 p.m. and 7:50 p.m., THE DYNAMO EFE asked if they were considering any solution, specifically regarding the inclusion of shuttle buses that they implemented during the drivers’ strike. However, the company ruled out this measure.
