page_title: Ramal Talca-Constitución
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Ramal Talca-Constitución / History
caption_attribution_description: Español: Sobre este puente centenario, pasa el último tren del tipo ramal que queda en Chile, que transporta pasajeros en múltiples estaciones ubicadas en la ribera norte del río Maule, y que llega desde Talca a la ciudad costera de Constitución. This is a photo of a national monument in Chile: 2085
context_page_description: The Ramal Talca-Constitución, also known as the Ramal de Maule is the last remaining narrow-gauge ramal in Chile. Its 88-kilometre route follows the north bank of the Maule River and crosses the communes of Talca, Maule, Pencahue and Constitución, with Constitución the last station on the line. The route features views of the Andean foothills and the Pacific Ocean. The line can support a speed of 50 miles per hour. The railway is facing closure due to inactivity and an increased preference for private transport.
  Chile's last passenger metre gauge railway, the ramal runs through an area not served by other ground transportation. The Banco de Arena Railway Bridge over the Maule River, designed by architect Gustave Eiffel, was built from 1908 and 1915 by Schneider and Company. On May 25, 2007 the line was declared a national monument, a valued asset to the country which cannot be destroyed. It is included on the World Monuments Fund's 2018 list of monuments at risk, following damage from forest fires.
context_section_description: Rail transport came to the Maule Region when the North and South American Company began construction in 1889. The line opened on August 13, 1892, and the first train ran from Talca to Curtiduría (another commune in Chile). The second segment of the line, from Curtiduria to Pichamán (another commune) was completed on November 1, 1894. In 1902 construction progressed towards the northern bank of the Maule River, where the first Constitución station was built on a sandbank. The station was difficult to reach; passengers crossed the river from the city, and a convoy brought them to the Constitución station. It was used for 13 years, until 1915 (when the present Constitución station opened).
  Construction of the line took almost 25 years, under seven governments: 
  Jose Manuel Balmaceda (1886-1891)
  Jorge Montt Alvarez (1891-1896)
  Federico Errazuriz Echaurren (1896-1901)
  Germán Riesco (1901-1906)
  Pedro Montt Montt (1906-1910)
  Emiliano Figueroa (September–December 1910)
  Ramon Barros Luco (1910-1915)
  Juan Luis Sanfuentes (opened on December 19, 1915)
  The line had an uptick in tourism boom after the documentary, The Last Ramal, which was aired by several channels around the world. Televisión Nacional de Chile broadcast a December 2005 report, Fruit of the Country.
caption: The Banco Arena Bridge, designed by Gustave Eiffel
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