List of town tramway systems in Chile

This is a list of town tramway systems in Chile by region. It includes all tram systems, past and present. Regions of Chile are arranged geographically, from north to south.

XV Arica-Parinacota

Name of System	Location	Traction Type	Date (From)	Date (To)	Notes
	Arica	?	?	?	see note.

• Note for Arica: Morrison (1992) states that old postcards show rails in the streets of this town, but no other evidence of a town tramway could be found.

I Tarapacá

Name of System	Location	Traction Type	Date (From)	Date (To)	Notes
	Iquique	Horse	1885	192_
		Accumulator (storage battery)	1916 (or 1917	?
		Petrol (gasoline)	?	1930	Heritage tramway opened October 24, 2004.
	Pisagua	Horse	1889	1917

II Antofagasta

Name of System	Location	Traction Type	Date (From)	Date (To)	Notes
	Antofagasta	Horse	1893	1914
	Tocopilla	Horse	1904	1909 (?)

III Atacama

Name of System	Location	Traction Type	Date (From)	Date (To)	Notes
	Copiapó	Horse	1890	1904 (?)

IV Coquimbo

Name of System	Location	Traction Type	Date (From)	Date (To)	Notes
	Coquimbo	Horse	1895	1929
	La Serena	Horse	1887	1922

V Valparaíso

Name of System	Location	Traction Type	Date (From)	Date (To)	Notes
	Cartagena	Horse	1909	ca. 1935
	Los Andes	Horse	1889	?
	Limache	Horse	1884	193_
	Quillota	Horse	1884 (?)	1923 (?)
	San Antonio	Horse	188_	?
		Steam	?	?
		Petrol (gasoline)	?	193_
	San Felipe	Horse	1886	1933 (?)
	Valparaíso	Horse	Mar 4, 1863	1907
		Electric	Dec 26, 1904	Dec 30, 1952	. See also Trolleybuses in Valparaíso.
	♦ Viña del Mar	Horse	1888	1906
		Electric	see Valparaíso – Viña del Mar
	♦ Valparaíso – Viña del Mar	Electric	Jan 28, 1906	1947	(Morrison (1992, page 33) states that horse trams worked much of the service until full electric operation began on Nov 11, 1906).

RM Región Metropolitana de Santiago

Neighboring and suburban tramway systems in the Santiago region, arranged anti- (counter-) clockwise, northwest to east.

Name of System	Location	Traction Type	Date (From)	Date (To)	Notes
	Santiago (de Chile)	Horse	Jun 10, 1858 1920	1912 1942	.
		Petrol (gasoline)	1922	1940	.
		Electric	Sep 2, 1900	Feb 21, 1959	.
		Electric	Jan 11, 1902	Apr 30, 1910	Electric rack tramway, on Cerro Santa Lucía hill.
	Renca	Horse	?	?	.
	Batuco	Horse	194_	ca. 1975	Horse tramway operation on branch of Santiago – Valparaíso railway (Morrison (1992, page 54)) .
	♦ Santiago – Pudahuel	Horse, Steam	1903	192_
		Petrol (gasoline)	192_	1934	Part of line electrified in 1934; remainder of line to Pudahuel and branches to Cerro Navia and Resbalón. Electrified segment closed 1951
	♦ Quinta Normal	Horse	1904	1929	.
		Electric	1929	after 1965	.
	♦ Maipú	Horse	1910 (?)	193_
	♦ Malloco – Peñaflor	Horse	1915 (?)	after 1936	.
	♦ Melipilla	Horse	1915	1932	.
	♦ Santiago – San Bernardo	Horse	1901	1907 (?)
		Electric	Feb 9, 1907	1945 (?)	, .
	♦ La Cisterna – La Granja	Horse	1907	1942	.
	♦ Nos – Santa Inés	Horse	1890	1940	.
	♦ Santiago – Puente Alto	Electric	1925	195_ (by 1963)	.
	♦ Buin – Santa Rita	Horse	?	1938 (?)	.
	♦ Buin – Maipo	Horse	1918 (?)	?	.
	♦ Puente Alto	Electric	1925	195_ (by 1963)	.
	♦ Chacarilla	Horse	?	1923 (?)	.

VI O'Higgins

Name of System	Location	Traction Type	Date (From)	Date (To)	Notes
	Graneros	Horse	1920	after 1934 (?)
	Rancagua	Horse	Jul 1905	1918
		Electric	Jul 8, 1918	1930	Morrison describes unsuccessful efforts to find photographs of the Rancagua tramway.
	Rengo	Horse	1872	1918 (?)
		Electric	Mar 14, 1918	1923
		Petrol (gasoline)	1923	ca. 1927	Morrison states that no photographs of the Rengo tramway could be found.

VII Maule

Name of System	Location	Traction Type	Date (From)	Date (To)	Notes
	Cauquenes	Horse	1900	1915 (?)
	Constitución	Horse	ca. 1915	1934
	Molina	Horse	by 1915	1927
	Parral	Horse	ca. 1911	1928
	San Javier	Horse	1906	1927
	Talca	Horse	ca. 1884	1916
		Electric	1916	1933	Operation suspended Dec 1, 1928 because of damage caused by earthquake. Part of system restored Dec 25, 1928.
	Villa Alegre	Electric	Aug 29, 1915	Nov 26, 1926	Closed Oct 1923, reopened Sep 1925 by a new undertaking.
		Petrol (gasoline)	1926	1931	Horse traction also used during 1926 – 1931.

• Curicó Morrison states that Chilean government statistics reported an animal-powered tramway in Curicó Province, but that histories of Curicó town state that no tramway was built.

VIII Bío-Bío

Name of System	Location	Traction Type	Date (From)	Date (To)	Notes
	Chillán	Horse	1877 (or 1884)	194_
		Electric	1921	1936
	Concepción	Horse	1886	1910
		Electric	Jul 4, 1908	Nov 21, 1941	See note.
	♦ Concepción – Talcahuano	Electric	Jul 4, 1908	Nov 21, 1941	See note.
	♦ Talcahuano	Horse	1898	1928	Connected Talcahuano and San Vicente.
		Electric	1908	Nov 21, 1941	See note.
	Pemuco	Horse	1909	192_
	San Carlos	Horse	1894	1928

Non-public tramway:

Name of System	Location	Traction Type	Date (From)	Date (To)	Notes
	Lebu	Electric	1914	?

• Note for Concepción, Concepción – Talcahuano and Talcahuano: Operation suspended Jan 24, 1939 – Feb 1939 because of damage caused by earthquake.

IX Araucanía

Name of System	Location	Traction Type	Date (From)	Date (To)	Notes
	Curacautín	Horse (?)	192_ (?)	192_ (?)
	Temuco	Horse	1881	1920
		Electric	Mar 1919	1936	Southernmost electric tramway system in South America.
	Traiguén	Electric	1903	1929	Passenger service on electric goods (freight) railway (Morrison ).

• Collipulli: Morrison states that the tramway listed here in Chilean government statistics was in fact a goods (freight) railway, worked by electric traction.

X Los Lagos

Name of System	Location	Traction Type	Date (From)	Date (To)	Notes
	Puerto Montt	Horse	1927	1931

XII Magallanes y Antártica Chilena

Name of System	Location	Traction Type	Date (From)	Date (To)	Notes
Ferrocarril Mina Loreto	Punta Arenas	Horse	Jan 29, 1902	1950	Passenger service on railway, connecting docks to coal mine, with part of line built in streets.

References

• Books, Periodicals and External Links

See also

• List of town tramway systems
• List of town tramway systems in South America
• List of light-rail transit systems
• List of rapid transit systems
• List of trolleybus systems