International Railroad Discussion > Venezuela: Caracas-Valencia line inches forward

Construction continues of the railway between Caracas and Valncia and then on to Puerto Cabello, but at a slow pace. To my knowledge the the line is only in service between Caracas and Charallave, about one third of the 150 miles between Caracas and Valencia.

At the present pace of construction I don't think the line will be completed for years. The Venezuelan government is currently facing budgetary difficulties, partly a consequence of low international oil prices. Venezuela relies on oil exports for 96% of its foreign exchange earnings. It's budgetary situation is not helped by a policy of providing what is effectively free gasoline and diesel fuel to users.

Apologies for the quality of the photos which were taken from a bus using an iPhone.

The first photo shows one features of the construction, the use of massive steel beams supported on piers to elevate the line, even in places where this appears unnecessary. I would have thought using fill to raise the track would have been cheaper. Large steel beams are used for longer spans as in the left hand side of the photo. The beams are all unpainted, so I imagine the steel is of a quality that not require painting.

The second photo shows the line near Maracay.

The third photo shows a trainset, stored near Valencia on a part of the line not yet connected to the the operating part of the system. You can just see the trainset through the trees.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/05/14 02:35 by mukinduri.

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Budgetary difficulties? The principal reason for said 'difficulties' is they're into the 15th year of a dictatorship that has no clue. You can't even find toilet paper in most stores...the majority of food has to be imported because farmers are letting fields lie fallow, etc. Now with the drop in world oil prices they're getting squeezed even further. We have Venezuelan friends here who are afraid to go home to visit parents in Caracas for the holidays due to one of the highest violent crime rates in the world. These communist/socialist leaders never seem to learn that that system flat ass doesn't work. Never has never will. Until the dictatorship goes it's only going to get worse.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/05/14 05:57 by masterphots.

Outside the politics, what kind of train set would that be? Looks something like you find in Spain. CAF, Talgo or Alstom built?

I think I read somewhere that the trains are of Japanese origin, but can't be sure. I was surprised to see it parked on the unfinished portion of the line as I don't imagine it can be used from that location for several years. Perhaps it was ordered before construction delays.

As for politics, I'd just note that I'm in Caracas at the moment. I also recommend an September 2014 article which I believe you can find on the Internet "Venezuela: terminal crisis of the rentier petro-state model?" by Edgardo Lander.

masterphots Wrote:
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> Budgetary difficulties? The principal reason for
> said 'difficulties' is they're into the 15th year
> of a dictatorship that has no clue. You can't
> even find toilet paper in most stores...the
> majority of food has to be imported because
> farmers are letting fields lie fallow, etc. Now
> with the drop in world oil prices they're getting
> squeezed even further. We have Venezuelan friends
> here who are afraid to go home to visit parents in
> Caracas for the holidays due to one of the highest
> violent crime rates in the world. These
> communist/socialist leaders never seem to learn
> that that system flat ass doesn't work. Never has
> never will. Until the dictatorship goes it's only
> going to get worse.

This never seems to dawn on posters here and the media. It's just a matter of time until they get another military take over.

>
> This never seems to dawn on posters here and the
> media. It's just a matter of time until they get
> another military take over.

Are posters really expected to give a political analysis with each posting and then only post if the analysis reaches an anti government conclusion? I tried to stick to the facts about budget problems and keep a neutral (neither pro nor anti government) tone. I thought the construction methods being used with the extensive use of steel beams would be of interest to readers. As I mentioned earlier in this thread I've never seen anything similar. I'm not an engineer and thought other TO members might be able to comment

Absolutely and thanks very much for the photos. Its always an interest to me to see how its done in other parts of the world.
Roger Beckett

It sure looks like one of the Japanese units, even painted that way.

mukinduri Wrote:
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> I think I read somewhere that the trains are of
> Japanese origin, but can't be sure.