1.
Rail transport
–
Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, also known as tracks. It is also referred to as train transport. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles run on a flat surface. Tracks usually consist of rails, installed on ties and ballast, on which the rolling stock, usually fitted with metal wheels. Other variations are possible, such as slab track, where the rails are fastened to a concrete foundation resting on a prepared subsurface. Rolling stock in a transport system generally encounters lower frictional resistance than road vehicles, so passenger. The operation is carried out by a company, providing transport between train stations or freight customer facilities. Power is provided by locomotives which either draw electric power from a railway system or produce their own power. Most tracks are accompanied by a signalling system, Railways are a safe land transport system when compared to other forms of transport. The oldest, man-hauled railways date back to the 6th century BC, with Periander, one of the Seven Sages of Greece, Rail transport blossomed after the British development of the steam locomotive as a viable source of power in the 19th centuries. With steam engines, one could construct mainline railways, which were a key component of the Industrial Revolution, also, railways reduced the costs of shipping, and allowed for fewer lost goods, compared with water transport, which faced occasional sinking of ships. The change from canals to railways allowed for markets in which prices varied very little from city to city. In the 1880s, electrified trains were introduced, and also the first tramways, starting during the 1940s, the non-electrified railways in most countries had their steam locomotives replaced by diesel-electric locomotives, with the process being almost complete by 2000. During the 1960s, electrified high-speed railway systems were introduced in Japan, other forms of guided ground transport outside the traditional railway definitions, such as monorail or maglev, have been tried but have seen limited use. The history of the growth, decline and restoration to use of transport can be divided up into several discrete periods defined by the principal means of motive power used. The earliest evidence of a railway was a 6-kilometre Diolkos wagonway, trucks pushed by slaves ran in grooves in limestone, which provided the track element. The Diolkos operated for over 600 years, Railways began reappearing in Europe after the Dark Ages. The earliest known record of a railway in Europe from this period is a window in the Minster of Freiburg im Breisgau in Germany
2.
Chile
–
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a South American country occupying a long, narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, Chilean territory includes the Pacific islands of Juan Fernández, Salas y Gómez, Desventuradas, and Easter Island in Oceania. Chile also claims about 1,250,000 square kilometres of Antarctica, the arid Atacama Desert in northern Chile contains great mineral wealth, principally copper. Southern Chile is rich in forests and grazing lands, and features a string of volcanoes and lakes, the southern coast is a labyrinth of fjords, inlets, canals, twisting peninsulas, and islands. Spain conquered and colonized Chile in the century, replacing Inca rule in northern and central Chile. After declaring its independence from Spain in 1818, Chile emerged in the 1830s as a relatively stable authoritarian republic, in the 1960s and 1970s the country experienced severe left-right political polarization and turmoil. The regime, headed by Augusto Pinochet, ended in 1990 after it lost a referendum in 1988 and was succeeded by a coalition which ruled through four presidencies until 2010. Chile is today one of South Americas most stable and prosperous nations and it leads Latin American nations in rankings of human development, competitiveness, income per capita, globalization, state of peace, economic freedom, and low perception of corruption. It also ranks high regionally in sustainability of the state, Chile is a founding member of the United Nations, the Union of South American Nations and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States. There are various theories about the origin of the word Chile, another theory points to the similarity of the valley of the Aconcagua with that of the Casma Valley in Peru, where there was a town and valley named Chili. Another origin attributed to chilli is the onomatopoeic cheele-cheele—the Mapuche imitation of the warble of a locally known as trile. The Spanish conquistadors heard about this name from the Incas, ultimately, Almagro is credited with the universalization of the name Chile, after naming the Mapocho valley as such. The older spelling Chili was in use in English until at least 1900 before switching over to Chile, stone tool evidence indicates humans sporadically frequented the Monte Verde valley area as long as 18,500 years ago. About 10,000 years ago, migrating Native Americans settled in fertile valleys, settlement sites from very early human habitation include Monte Verde, Cueva del Milodon and the Pali Aike Craters lava tube. They fought against the Sapa Inca Tupac Yupanqui and his army, the result of the bloody three-day confrontation known as the Battle of the Maule was that the Inca conquest of the territories of Chile ended at the Maule river. The next Europeans to reach Chile were Diego de Almagro and his band of Spanish conquistadors, the Spanish encountered various cultures that supported themselves principally through slash-and-burn agriculture and hunting. The conquest of Chile began in earnest in 1540 and was carried out by Pedro de Valdivia, one of Francisco Pizarros lieutenants, who founded the city of Santiago on 12 February 1541. Although the Spanish did not find the gold and silver they sought, they recognized the agricultural potential of Chiles central valley
3.
Track gauge
–
In rail transport, track gauge is the spacing of the rails on a railway track and is measured between the inner faces of the load-bearing rails. All vehicles on a network must have running gear that is compatible with the track gauge, as the dominant parameter determining interoperability, it is still frequently used as a descriptor of a route or network. There is a distinction between the gauge and actual gauge at some locality, due to divergence of track components from the nominal. Railway engineers use a device, like a caliper, to measure the actual gauge, the nominal track gauge is the distance between the inner faces of the rails. In current practice, it is specified at a distance below the rail head as the inner faces of the rail head are not necessarily vertical. In some cases in the earliest days of railways, the company saw itself as an infrastructure provider only. Colloquially the wagons might be referred to as four-foot gauge wagons, say and this nominal value does not equate to the flange spacing, as some freedom is allowed for. An infrastructure manager might specify new or replacement track components at a variation from the nominal gauge for pragmatic reasons. Track is defined in old Imperial units or in universally accepted metric units or SI units, Imperial units were established in United Kingdom by The Weights and Measures Act of 1824. In addition, there are constraints, such as the load-carrying capacity of axles. Narrow gauge railways usually cost less to build because they are lighter in construction, using smaller cars and locomotives, as well as smaller bridges, smaller tunnels. Narrow gauge is often used in mountainous terrain, where the savings in civil engineering work can be substantial. Broader gauge railways are generally expensive to build and require wider curves. There is no single perfect gauge, because different environments and economic considerations come into play, a narrow gauge is superior if ones main considerations are economy and tight curvature. For direct, unimpeded routes with high traffic, a broad gauge may be preferable, the Standard, Russian, and 46 gauges are designed to strike a reasonable balance between these factors. In addition to the general trade-off, another important factor is standardization, once a standard has been chosen, and equipment, infrastructure, and training calibrated to that standard, conversion becomes difficult and expensive. This also makes it easier to adopt an existing standard than to invent a new one and this is true of many technologies, including railroad gauges. The reduced cost, greater efficiency, and greater economic opportunity offered by the use of a common standard explains why a number of gauges predominate worldwide
4.
Santiago Metro
–
The Santiago Metro is the underground railway network serving the city of Santiago, Chile. This network is one of the most modern in Latin America, being the second largest following the Mexico City Metro and it currently has five lines,108 stations, and 103 kilometres of revenue route. This service is administered by the state-owned Metro S. A. and is the first of three railway systems in Chile, along with the Biotrén of Concepción and Merval of Valparaíso. The Santiago Metro carries around 2.5 million passengers every day and its highest passenger peak was reached on 31 October 2012, reaching 2,780,666 passengers. Investment for the construction of extensions is of nearly US$2. 7bn and is expected to reach 120 million annual trips.8 kilometres of tracks by 2020. It was also announced that analytical studies would begin for the construction of a new line, Line 7 to cross the city from east to west to relieve congestion on Line 1. In March 2012, the Santiago Metro was chosen as the best underground system in the Americas, however, ideas would begin to take shape in the 1960s, when the government released an international tender for the development of an urban transport system. On 29 May 1969, works began for the construction of the first line, which would link the Civil District. On 15 September 1975, the first line of the metro was opened by Augusto Pinochet during the military regime, Line 1, during its opening stage, was mostly underground from San Pablo to La Moneda, running below the Alameda. In 1977, the line was extended towards Providencia and by 1980, in March 1978, Line 2 was opened. Its initial section ran at ground level from Los Héroes to Franklin, by December, the second segment of the line was opened, running underground towards the south along the Gran Avenida up to Lo Ovalle. Despite the fast growth of the network, the economic crisis that affected the country in 1982 halted the original plans. Furthermore, studies showed that southeast Santiago was becoming more populated than the end of the capital. Meanwhile, Line 3 was projected through Independencia and Irarrázaval to supply the area that Line 2 was supposed to run. However, these plans were affected once again when an earthquake struck the Chilean Central Valley on 3 March 1985, most of the funds destined for the construction of the Line 2 extension and Line 3 were used to rebuild the city. The opening of two new stations towards the north in 1987 were the only finalised works from these plans, Santa Ana and Mapocho stations on Line 2. The latter would change its name later, as remains of the old Calicanto Bridge –emblem of the city for over a century– were discovered during the excavation process and that same year, the Metrobús service was launched with services operating from Escuela Militar, Lo Ovalle and Las Rejas. Institutionally, the management of Metro de Santiago was changed at the end of the decade
5.
Santiago
–
Santiago de Chile, or simply Santiago, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chiles largest and the most densely populated conurbation, the city is entirely located in the countrys central valley, at an elevation of 520 m above mean sea level. Founded in 1541, Santiago has been the city of Chile since colonial times. The city has a core of 19th century neoclassical architecture and winding side-streets, dotted by art deco, neo-gothic. Santiagos cityscape is shaped by several hills and the fast-flowing Mapocho River. The Andes Mountains can be seen from most points in the city and these mountains contribute to a considerable smog problem, particularly during winter. The city outskirts are surrounded by vineyards and Santiago is within a few hours of both the mountains and the Pacific Ocean, Santiago is the cultural, political and financial center of Chile and is home to the regional headquarters of many multinational corporations. The Chilean executive and judiciary are located in Santiago, but Congress meets mostly in nearby Valparaíso, Santiago is named after the biblical figure St. James. In Chile, there are entities which bear the name of Santiago that are often confused. The Commune of Santiago, sometimes referred to as downtown or Central Santiago, is a division that comprises roughly the area occupied by the city during its colonial period. The city and regions demonym is santiaguinos and santiaguinas, according to certain archaeological investigations, it is believed that the first human groups of the X millennium settled in the Santiago basin. The groups were mainly nomadic hunter-gatherers, who traveled from the coast to the interior in search of guanacos during the time of the Andean snowmelt. The villages established in the belonging to picunches groups or promaucaes, were subject to the Inca Empire throughout the late fifteenth century. The Incas settled in the valley of mitimaes, the main installation settled in the center of the present city, with strengths as Huaca de Chena, the area would have served as a basis for the failed Inca expeditions southward road junction as the Inca Trail. Having been sent by Francisco Pizarro from Peru and having made the journey from Cuzco. The hosts of Valdivia camped by the river in the slopes of the Tupahue hill, the natives accepted and even recommended the foundation of the town on a small island between two branches of the river next to a small hill called Huelén. On 12 February 1541, Valdivia officially founded the city of Santiago del Nuevo Extremo in honor of St. James, patron saint of Spain, near the Huelén, renamed by the conqueror as St. Lucia. Following colonial rule, Valdivia entrusted the layout of the new town to master builder Pedro de Gamboa, in the center of the city, Gamboa designed a Plaza Mayor, around which various plots for the Cathedral and the governors house were selected
6.
Sodium nitrate
–
Sodium nitrate is the chemical compound with the formula NaNO3. This alkali metal salt is also known as Peru saltpeter to distinguish it from ordinary saltpeter. The mineral form is known as nitratine, nitratite or soda niter. Sodium nitrate is a solid very soluble in water. It has been mined extensively for these purposes, with time, however, the mining of South American saltpeter became a profitable business. Chile fought against the allies Peru and Bolivia in the War of the Pacific 1879-1884, in 1919, Ralph Walter Graystone Wyckoff determined its crystal structure using X-ray crystallography. The largest accumulations of naturally occurring sodium nitrate are found in Chile and Peru, by the 1940s, this conversion process resulted in a dramatic decline in demand for sodium nitrate procured from natural sources. Chile still has the largest reserves of caliche, with mines in such locations as Pedro de Valdivia, María Elena and Pampa Blanca. Sodium nitrate, potassium nitrate, sodium sulfate and iodine are all obtained by the processing of caliche, the former Chilean saltpeter mining communities of Humberstone and Santa Laura were declared Unesco World Heritage sites in 2005. It can be combined with iron hydroxide to make a synthetic resin, sodium nitrate can be combined with sulfuric acid and nitric acid distilled off. At lower pressure the temperature needed results in less decomposition. The theoretical 2 moles of nitric acid per 1 mole of sulfuric acid results in a high end temperature, much decomposition. When this reaction was important industrially, it was practice to operate with sulfuric acid in excess to end on a mostly bisulfate product poured molten out of the retort. Hobbyist gold refiners use sodium nitrate to make a hybrid aqua regia that dissolves gold, sodium nitrate is also a food additive used as a preservative and color fixative in cured meats and poultry, it is listed under its INS number 251 or E number E251. It is approved for use in the EU, USA and Australia, sodium nitrate should not be confused with sodium nitrite, which is also a common food additive and preservative used, for example, in deli meats. Less common applications include as an oxidizer in fireworks, replacing potassium nitrate commonly found in black powder, sodium nitrate is used together with potassium nitrate and calcium nitrate for heat storage and, more recently, for heat transfer in solar power plants. A mixture of sodium nitrate, calcium nitrate and potassium nitrate is used as material in prototype plants, such as Andasol Solar Power Station. It is also used in the industry for facultative microorganism respiration
7.
Mining
–
Mining is extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth usually from an orebody, lode, vein, seam, reef or placer deposits. These deposits form a mineralized package that is of economic interest to the miner, ores recovered by mining include metals, coal, oil shale, gemstones, limestone, chalk, dimension stone, rock salt, potash, gravel, and clay. Mining is required to obtain any material that cannot be grown through agricultural processes, Mining in a wider sense includes extraction of any non-renewable resource such as petroleum, natural gas, or even water. Mining of stones and metal has been a human activity since pre-historic times, Mining operations usually create a negative environmental impact, both during the mining activity and after the mine has closed. Hence, most of the nations have passed regulations to decrease the impact. Work safety has long been a concern as well, and modern practices have significantly improved safety in mines, levels of metals recycling are generally low. Unless future end-of-life recycling rates are stepped up, some rare metals may become unavailable for use in a variety of consumer products, due to the low recycling rates, some landfills now contain higher concentrations of metal than mines themselves. Since the beginning of civilization, people have used stone, ceramics and, later and these were used to make early tools and weapons, for example, high quality flint found in northern France, southern England and Poland was used to create flint tools. Flint mines have been found in areas where seams of the stone were followed underground by shafts. The mines at Grimes Graves and Krzemionki are especially famous, other hard rocks mined or collected for axes included the greenstone of the Langdale axe industry based in the English Lake District. The oldest-known mine on archaeological record is the Lion Cave in Swaziland, at this site Paleolithic humans mined hematite to make the red pigment ochre. Mines of an age in Hungary are believed to be sites where Neanderthals may have mined flint for weapons. Ancient Egyptians mined malachite at Maadi, at first, Egyptians used the bright green malachite stones for ornamentations and pottery. Later, between 2613 and 2494 BC, large building projects required expeditions abroad to the area of Wadi Maghareh in order to secure minerals and other resources not available in Egypt itself. Quarries for turquoise and copper were found at Wadi Hammamat, Tura, Aswan and various other Nubian sites on the Sinai Peninsula. Mining in Egypt occurred in the earliest dynasties, the gold mines of Nubia were among the largest and most extensive of any in Ancient Egypt. These mines are described by the Greek author Diodorus Siculus, who mentions fire-setting as one used to break down the hard rock holding the gold. One of the complexes is shown in one of the earliest known maps, the miners crushed the ore and ground it to a fine powder before washing the powder for the gold dust
8.
Iquique
–
Iquique is a port city and commune in northern Chile, capital of both the Iquique Province and Tarapacá Region. It lies on the Pacific coast, west of the Pampa del Tamarugal which is part of Atacama Desert and it had a population of 180,601 according to the 2012 census. It is also the main commune of the Greater Iquique, the city developed during the heyday of the saltpetre mining in Atacama Desert in the 19th century. Originally a Peruvian city with a large Chilean population it was ceded to Chile as result of War of the Pacific, today it is one of only two free ports of Chile. Although the city was founded in the 16th century, there is evidence of habitation in the area by the Chango people as early as 7,000 BC. During colonial times, Iquique was part of the Viceroyalty of Peru as much of South America was at the time, iquiques early development was due in large part to the discovery of mineral riches, particularly the presence of large deposits of sodium nitrate in the Atacama Desert. In July 1835, Charles Darwin, during his voyage on the Beagle, traveled to Iquique and described it as a very much in want of everyday necessities, such as water. These necessities had to be brought in from considerable distances, Darwin also visited the saltpeter works. The city has been devastated by earthquakes, including the 1868 Arica earthquake, the 1877 Iquique earthquake. The 2014 Iquique earthquake occurred with a moment magnitude of 8.2 on April 1,2014, territorial disputes between Bolivia and Chile triggered the War of the Pacific in 1879. The Battle of Iquique was fought in the harbor of Iquique on May 21,1879, now commemorated as Navy Day, the outcome of the war gave Chile this portion of the Peruvian territory. Over the years there was emigration from other parts of Chile to this area which was called the Norte Grande. In subsequent years the further exportation of Chilean saltpeter significantly helped in the development of the city, attracting foreigners, the workers had marched into town to protest their working conditions and wages. Somewhere between 500 and 2,000 people were killed, the folk group Quilapayún recorded an album in remembrance of the event in 1970. In December 2007 a series of cultural and ceremonial activities were planned, mars 96 launched by Russia in 1996, but failed to leave Earth orbit, and re-entered the atmosphere a few hours later. The two RTGs onboard carried in total 200 g of plutonium and are assumed to have survived reentry as they were designed to do. They are thought to now lie somewhere in a northeast-southwest running oval 320 km long by 80 km wide which is centred 32 km east of Iquique, Chile. As a commune, Iquique is an administrative division of Chile administered by a municipal council
9.
Puerto Montt, Chile
–
The commune spans an area of 1,673 km2 and had a population of 175,938 in 2002. It is bounded by the communes of Puerto Varas to the north, Cochamó to the east and southeast, Calbuco to the southwest and Maullín and Los Muermos to the west. Puerto Montt has gained renown and grown due to the rise of Chile as the second largest salmon producer of the world during the 1990s and 2000s. However, the Chilean salmon aquaculture crisis of the late 2000s resulted at least temporarily in severe unemployment, originally, the site was covered by thick forest and was called Melipulli. It was selected as an entrance to Lake Llanquihue when its proximity to the sea was discovered. By December, after the forest was cut down, the area was burned to clear the land in anticipation of completing the settlement plan. The city itself was founded on February 12,1853, after government-sponsored immigration from Germany that began in 1848 populated the region and it was named after Manuel Montt, President of Chile between 1851 and 1861, who set in motion the German immigration. In 1912, the city was connected by train with Santiago, making it an important point of entry to the Chilean Patagonia as well as increasing quickly the commercial, by 1950 It had a population of 27500 with an important increase of demographics and urbanization. But an earthquake took place in May 1960 destroyed Puerto Montt, by collapsing the port. With time it recovered thus giving a new city, becoming more modern, more populated, on March 4,1969, they settled on farmland belonging to an absentee landlord. Having been denied titles by the authorities, these families simply moved onto the empty. They did so seeking squatters rights, and without making any payment of rent, some four or five days later, the local Police Chief Rolando Rodríguez Marbán reassured the squatters that they would not be disturbed and could proceed with their home construction. However, a change of plans by the ministry of the interior led to new orders. At midnight on March 9, Luis Espinoza was charged with breaking the law, arrested, following direct orders from Interior Minister Edmundo Pérez Zujovic,250 armed policemen launched an assault on the squatting families that dawn. Eight of the persons were shot dead and two, a 9-month child and an adult, died afterwards. All of the newly built homes were burned to the ground, the massacre is poignantly memorialized by singer-songwriter Víctor Jara in his song Preguntas por Puerto Montt. By 1979 Puerto Montt was nominated and later becoming it, the Capital of Los Lagos Region as being the principal administrative, political and commercial centre in Southern Chile. According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Puerto Montt spans an area of 1,673 km2, of these,192,473 lived in urban areas and 26,385 in rural areas
10.
Chilean Army
–
The Chilean Army is the land arm of the Military of Chile. This 50, 000-strong army is organized into six divisions, a special operations brigade, in recent years, and after several major reequipment programs, the Chilean Army has become one of the most technologically advanced and professional armies in America. The Chilean Army is mostly supplied with equipment from Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United States, Israel, France, the Army of the Kingdom of Chile was created on December 2,1810 by order of the First National Government Junta of Chile. The army was involved in the Independence War, which was fought against royalist troops in battles such as Yerbas Buenas, San Carlos, Quechereguas, Rancagua, Chacabuco. The Armys first commander-in-chief was José Miguel Carrera, after obtaining independence from Spain, the newly formed Republic reorganized its military structure by creating the Military Academy of Chile, which was founded by General OHiggins in 1817. Diego Portales set up a militia, the Guardia Nacional. The militia was created in 1825 but Portales developed this parallel army to compensate the armys might, the Chilean Conscription Law of 1900 marked the beginning of the end of the Guardia Nacional. During the War of the Pacific, many high-ranking officers won valuable insights into the state of the army and became aware that the army required rebuilding. Other factor that supported the emulation, the deliberate systematic imitation of the technology, organisation. The emulation was backed by a coalition of civil and military leaders. Chile hired a French military training mission in 1858, and the Chilean legation in Berlin was instructed to find a mission during the War of the Pacific in 1881. But large-scale emulation of the Prussian Army began in 1886 with the appointment of Captain Emil Körner, also appointed were 36 Prussian officers to train officer cadets in the Chilean Military Academy. The emulation was focused in armaments, conscription, officer recruitment and instruction and it was extended also into military logistics and medical services, promotions, retirement, salary regulation and even uniforms, marching styles, helmets, parades, and military music. Armaments, Prior to 1883, the army was equipped with a variety of rifles, mostly French, from 1892 to 1902, the Chilean-Argentine Arms Race, marked the peak of Chilean arms purchase. 100,000 Mauser rifles and new Krupp artillery was bought for 3,000,000 DM in 1893,2,000,000 DM in 1895 and 15,000,000 DM in 1898, ammunition factories and small arms manufacturing plants were established. Conscription, Like others armies in South America, Chile had had an army of long-term service officers and soldiers. For a modern, professional and technically trained officer corps, the best alumni were candidates for general staff service. By the mid-1890s Körner organized the courses for a Noncommissioned Officers School, during the 1891 Chilean Civil War Körner was removed from duty by José Manuel Balmaceda
11.
Argentina
–
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a federal republic in the southern half of South America. With a mainland area of 2,780,400 km2, Argentina is the eighth-largest country in the world, the second largest in Latin America, and the largest Spanish-speaking one. The country is subdivided into provinces and one autonomous city, Buenos Aires. The provinces and the capital have their own constitutions, but exist under a federal system, Argentina claims sovereignty over part of Antarctica, the Falkland Islands, and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. The earliest recorded presence in the area of modern-day Argentina dates back to the Paleolithic period. The country has its roots in Spanish colonization of the region during the 16th century, Argentina rose as the successor state of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, a Spanish overseas viceroyalty founded in 1776. The country thereafter enjoyed relative peace and stability, with waves of European immigration radically reshaping its cultural. The almost-unparalleled increase in prosperity led to Argentina becoming the seventh wealthiest developed nation in the world by the early 20th century, Argentina retains its historic status as a middle power in international affairs, and is a prominent regional power in the Southern Cone and Latin America. Argentina has the second largest economy in South America, the third-largest in Latin America and is a member of the G-15 and it is the country with the second highest Human Development Index in Latin America with a rating of very high. Because of its stability, market size and growing high-tech sector, the description of the country by the word Argentina has to be found on a Venice map in 1536. In English the name Argentina probably comes from the Spanish language, however the naming itself is not Spanish, Argentina means in Italian of silver, silver coloured, probably borrowed from the Old French adjective argentine of silver > silver coloured already mentioned in the 12th century. The French word argentine is the form of argentin and derives of argent silver with the suffix -in. The Italian naming Argentina for the country implies Argentina Terra land of silver or Argentina costa coast of silver, in Italian, the adjective or the proper noun is often used in an autonomous way as a substantive and replaces it and it is said lArgentina. The name Argentina was probably first given by the Venitian and Genoese navigators, in Spanish and Portuguese, the words for silver are respectively plata and prata and of silver is said plateado and prateado. Argentina was first associated with the silver mountains legend, widespread among the first European explorers of the La Plata Basin. The first written use of the name in Spanish can be traced to La Argentina, a 1602 poem by Martín del Barco Centenera describing the region, the 1826 constitution included the first use of the name Argentine Republic in legal documents. The name Argentine Confederation was also used and was formalized in the Argentine Constitution of 1853. In 1860 a presidential decree settled the name as Argentine Republic
12.
Renfe Operadora
–
The name Renfe is derived from that of the former Spanish National Railway Network, RENFE created on 24 January 1941 with the nationalisation of Spains railways. As per EU Directive 91/440, RENFE was divided into Renfe-Operadora, the Railway Sector Act,2003 separated the management, maintenance and construction of rail infrastructure from train operation. Renfe Operadora inherited the management model of the units of the old RENFE. However, control of some Cercanías services were transferred to Spains Autonomous communities, dirección General de Servicios de Larga Distancia, responsible for long-distance intercity and high-speed rail services. Dirección General de Servicios de Mercancías y Logística, responsible for freight services, the company operates some 12,000 km of railways,7,000 km of them electrified. The newer high-speed network has been built to the standard gauge of 1,435 mm in anticipation of its eventual connection to the rest of the European railway system. For this reason, the 1,435 mm gauge is generally termed European gauge in Spain, the Spanish high-speed system is called AVE. The logo incorporates a feature which resembles a bird, the high-speed lines are built to the standard European gauge. Construction of the rail line between Madrid and Seville began in 1988 and operation commenced in 1991. Train speed on the Seville line is 300 km/h, the second high-speed rail line was completed in 2007 with the inaugural service commencing at 06,00 on 20 February 2008. The operational speed on this route is 350 km/h, the greater part of the line was placed into service on 11 October 2003, with connection to Huesca from Zaragoza. The third high-speed line was opened in November 2005, followed by the spur from Córdoba to Málaga as far as Antequera in 2007. Another high-speed route from Madrid to Valladolid was opened in 2007, the line from Madrid to Valencia was opened in 2010, a line to Lisbon is being designed. Other lines operated by Renfe include Euromed, a line between Barcelona and Valencia. In addition to intercity transport, Renfe operates commuter train systems, known as Cercanías, in metropolitan areas, including Madrid. In some cities, Renfe shares the market with other railway operators. Renfe Operadora utilises the following rolling stock and commercial products inside of its two divisions, All classes are designated by three numbers, federación Castellano Manchega de Amigos del Ferrocarril Renfes official website
13.
Quillota
–
Quillota is a city located in the Aconcagua River valley of central Chiles Valparaíso Region. It is the capital and largest city of the Quillota Province where many live in the surrounding farm areas of San Isidro, La Palma, Pocochay. It is an important agricultural center, mainly because the plantations of avocado, Quillota is connected with the city of La Calera by the small town of La Cruz. The areas agriculture and landscape was described by Charles Darwin in his book The Voyage of the Beagle, nearby La Campana National Park holds a plaque at a viewpoint Darwin once visited. Quillota is 120 kilometres from the national capital Santiago and 60 km from the regional capital Valparaíso, the Quillota valley has been densely populated for about 2,000 years. At the outset, the area was inhabited by Native Americans of the Bato and Lleo-Lleo cultures and these natives where later influenced by Mapuches and Diaguitas. The Diaguitas are credited with the evolution of the culture of the Aconcagua zone and were well known for their pottery. Later, Quillota was mitimae and the capital of Qullasuyu, the southern Inca Empire, diego de Almagro arrived in the valley in 1536. Incan scouts directed him to a beautiful and very fertile valley where the Quillotas lived, Almagro was delighted with the valley, but as he was searching for gold and found none he returned to Peru. Almagro crossed the valley of Quillota and its environs, and having found the Aconcagua river overflowed and with few possibilities of finding gold, he deemed the land too difficult and returned to Peru, where he was executed. Later, in 1540, Pedro de Valdivia arrived in Chile with the title of Governor of Chile and he arrived in the valley and built farms and houses, mainly for the slaves and the Indians who were working for him. Almost the whole area occupied by present-day Quillota was Valdivias property, after the conquest and during the Colonial period, population was increasing with the mix of races and culture. Until 1585, Quillota was declared a corregimiento, and it was the place of a large province between Illapel and Casablanca. In the 16th century were some tries to founding in the Quillota valley a village with all features and requirements ordered by Spanish kingdom, but it did not succeed. It was only on November 11,1717, St. Martins Day, the city was founded by the bishop, Luis Romero, and the governor, Don José de Santiago Concha y Salvatierra. According to data from the 2002 Census of Population and Housing, Quillota had 75,916 inhabitants, at that time, there were 37,191 men and 38,725 women. A large part of Quillotas population is descendants of Spanish settlers, there are still a few families with lands in the valley given by the Spanish governors. Quillotas motto is Ciudad creada con cariño meaning City created with care, Quillota remains one of the most traditional cities in Chile in that its layout still mainly corresponds to the original colonial Spanish layout of seven blocks square
14.
Commuter rail
–
Trains operate following a schedule, at speeds varying from 50 to 200 km/h. Distance charges or zone pricing may be used and they primarily serve lower density suburban areas, and often share right-of-way with intercity or freight trains. Some services operate only during peak hours and others uses fewer departures during off peak hours, average speeds are high, often 50 km/h or higher. These higher speeds better serve the longer distances involved, some services include express services which skip some stations in order to run faster and separate longer distance riders from short-distance ones. The general range of commuter trains distance varies between 15 and 200 km, sometimes long distances can be explained by that the train runs between two or several cities. Distances between stations may vary, but are much longer than those of urban rail systems. In city centers the train either has a station or passes through the city centre with notably fewer station stops than those of urban rail systems. Toilets are often available on trains and in stations. Their ability to coexist with freight or intercity services in the same right-of-way can drastically reduce system construction costs, however, frequently they are built with dedicated tracks within that right-of-way to prevent delays, especially where service densities have converged in the inner parts of the network. Most such trains run on the standard gauge track. Some light rail systems may run on a narrower gauge, some countries, including Finland, India, Pakistan, Russia, Brazil and Sri Lanka, as well as San Francisco in the USA and Melbourne and Adelaide in Australia, use broad gauge track. The fact that the terminology is not standardised across countries further complicates matters, most S-bahns typically behave like commuter rail with most trackage not separated from other trains, and long lines with trains running between cities and suburbs rather than within a city. The distances between stations however, are usually short, in larger systems there is usually a high frequency metro-like central corridor in the city center where all the lines converge into. Typical examples of large city S-Bahns include Munich and Frankfurt, S-Bahns do also exist in some mid-size cities like Rostock and Magdeburg but behave more like typical commuter rail with lower frequencies and very little exclusive trackage. A similar network exists in Copenhagen called the S-tog, in Hamburg and Copenhagen, other, diesel driven trains, do continue where the S-Bahn ends. Regional rail usually provides rail services between towns and cities, rather than purely linking major population hubs in the way inter-city rail does, Regional rail operates outside major cities. Unlike Inter-city, it stops at most or all stations between cities and it provides a service between smaller communities along the line, and also connections with long-distance services at interchange stations located at junctions or at larger towns along the line. Alternative names are local train or stopping train, examples include the former BRs Regional Railways, Frances TER, Germanys DB Regio and South Koreas Tonggeun services
15.
Limache
–
Limache is a Chilean city and commune in the Marga Marga Province, Valparaíso Region. Limache is the commune of Chile that has two cities. First San Francisco de Limache is to the north of the Matting of Limache, Limache is famous by the exports of tomato and the celebration of The Virgin of the 40 Hours. Limache spans an area of 293.8 km2 in Chiles Zona Central. The Feast of the Virgin of 40 Hours begins in Limache 40 hours before the last Sunday in February with masses every hour, according to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute Limache has 39,219 inhabitants. Of these,34,948 lived in areas and 4,271 in rural areas. The population grew by 12. 6% between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, as a commune, Limache is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by a municipal council, headed by an alcalde who is directly elected every four years. Actual alcalde is Daniel Morales Espíndola, within the electoral divisions of Chile, Limache is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by Mr. Marcelo Schilling and Mr. Arturo Squella as part of the 12th electoral district. The commune is represented in the Senate by Ignacio Walker Prieto and Lily Pérez San Martín as part of the 5th senatorial constituency
16.
Biotren
–
Biotren connects the boroughs or comunas of Concepción Centro, Talcahuano, Hualpén, San Pedro de la Paz, Chiguayante and Hualqui. Biotren is part of the Plan and Authority of Integrated Transit of Concepción, the system was partially inaugurated on 24 November 2005 in a ceremony that counted with the presence of the then President of Chile, Ricardo Lagos. It began to operate in 2006 because during the year 2005 the railroad lines were being upgraded for the new system. The AEL and AES trains that the system used were replaced by UT-440 MC units that were specially upgraded for the city of Valencia. Biotren stations or Bio Stations have a totally renewed architecture compared to the former system, the platforms have roofs and access for the handicapped. The fare is paid at the entrance and exit of the using a prepayment card called Biovías. The cards recharge can be made in any station, the Empresa de Los Ferrocarriles del Estado invested a total of US $16.800.000 for the trains used in the system. The current fleet is composed by 8 trains UT-440 Modelo Concepción of 3 wagons each, the trains are painted orange and have 321 seats and a capacity of 590 passengers. Line 1, It crosses all Concepción from North to South, Bio Stations, Line 2, It crosses the Bío-Bío river on the upgraded Puente Ferroviario Bío-Bío, the longest of its kind in Chile. The line starts, from downtown to west side, in the Concepción Exchange Station, list of suburban and commuter rail systems Metrotrén Plan and Authority of Integrated Transit of Concepción, Biovías. Subsidiaries of EFE General information about Ferrocarriles Suburbanos de Concepción S. A
17.
Talcahuano
–
Talcahuano is a port city and commune in the Biobío Region of Chile. It is part of the Greater Concepción conurbation, Talcahuano is located in the south of the Central Zone of Chile. Together with ten other municipalities, it part of the Concepción Province. According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Talcahuano spans an area of 145.8 km2 and has 250,348 inhabitants, of these,248,964 lived in urban areas and 1,384 in rural areas. The population grew by 59. 9% between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, with a population density of 1,873 inhabitants per square kilometre, it is the seventh most populated city of the country. The official foundation date of Talcahuano is November 5,1764 when Antonio Guill y Gonzaga declared an official port, in 1601 Alonso de Ribera built Fort Talcahueno to defend remaining Spanish settlements near Concepción. The city is named after an Araucanian chief, Talcahueñu, who inhabited the region at the arrival of the Spanish, in Mapudungun, the language of the indigenous Mapuches, Talcahuano means “Thundering Sky”. The port was known to American whaleships of the 19th century. They often put in for water, food, and various forms of entertainment for the crews. On February 27,2010 Talcahuano was devastated by the 8.8 magnitude 2010 Chile earthquake and these back-to-back disasters left 80% of the citys residents homeless. The tsunami is estimated to have more than 7.5 feet high. After a week, there are only 20 reported deaths, and 18 missing, the city government estimates that it will take 10 years to recover from the quake and tsunami. The local government has been turning away tent aid, as they want to make permanent shelters rather than have permanent tent camps. Talcahuano contains Chiles main naval base which is home of the relic, the Huáscar, a Peruvian ironclad ship. It is also the base of the Chilean submarine fleet and the ASMAR shipyard, as a commune, Talcahuano is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by a municipal council, headed by an alcalde who is directly elected every four years. The 2008-2012 alcalde is Gastón Saavedra Chandía, the commune of Talcahuano has seventeen districts, the three most populous being Carriel, San Vicente and San Miguel, which together account for about 46% of the population of the commune. Only two of the districts contain any rural population, Tumbes with 5% rural and Carrie with ½%, within the electoral divisions of Chile, Talcahuano is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by Jorge Ulloa and Cristián Campos as part of the 43rd electoral district. The commune is represented in the Senate by Alejandro Navarro Brain and Hosain Sabag Castillo as part of the 12th senatorial constituency, Talcahuano entered football history when Ramón Unzaga Asla, a player for the local club Estrella del Mar, invented the famous bicycle kick there in 1914
18.
Hualqui
–
Hualqui is a Chilean city and commune in the Concepción Province, Biobio Region. It is also part of the Greater Concepcion conurbation, although it maintains a rural profile and it had a population of 22,892 inhabitants according to the 2012 census. Its name comes from the Moluche Aillarehue and rehue of Hualqui that existed there at the beginning of the Conquest of Chile, in the beginning of 1756 Governor Manuel de Amat y Juniet erected a town there, named San Juan Bautista de Gualqui. It served as capital to the Corregimiento de Puchacay and then Partido de Puchacay until 1799, according to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Hualqui spans an area of 530.5 km2 and has 18,768 inhabitants. Of these,14,756 lived in areas and 4,012 in rural areas. The population grew by 16. 2% between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, as a commune, Hualqui is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by a municipal council, headed by an alcalde who is directly elected every four years. The 2008-2012 alcalde is Ricardo Fuentes Palma, within the electoral divisions of Chile, Hualqui is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by Sergio Bobadilla and Clemira Pacheco as part of the 45th electoral district. The commune is represented in the Senate by Alejandro Navarro Brain and Hosain Sabag Castillo as part of the 12th senatorial constituency. Francisco Solano Asta-Buruaga y Cienfuegos, Diccionario geográfico de la República de Chile, D. Appleton y Compania, Nueva York,1899, Pg.293 Gualqui
19.
San Pedro de la Paz
–
San Pedro de la Paz is a Chilean city and commune located in the Concepción Province, Biobío Region. It has some 80,447 inhabitants according to the 2002 national census, in 2005, the Pedro Aguirre Cerda avenue, the main avenue in the city, was completed. Most of the inhabitants of this comuna commute daily to Concepción - either by car and it is considered to be part of Greater Concepción conurbation. San Pedro was established during the Conquest of Chile first as fort la Candelaria which was destroyed following the death of Governor Martín García Óñez de Loyola in 1599 and it was rebuilt as part of La Frontera by Alonso de Ribera as fort San Pedro de la Paz in 1603. A small settlement grew up around it, during the Chilean War of Independence the town was burned in 1821, by the royalist Juan Manuel Picó on the order of Vicente Benavides during the Battle of San Pedro. The fort was ruined by the 1835 Concepción earthquake, according to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, San Pedro de la Paz spans an area of 112.5 km2 and has 80,447 inhabitants. Of these,80,159 lived in areas and 288 in rural areas. The population grew by 18. 6% between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, as a commune, San Pedro de la Paz is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by a municipal council, headed by an alcalde who is directly elected every four years. The 2008-2012 alcalde is Audito Retamal Lazo, within the electoral divisions of Chile, San Pedro de la Paz is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by José Miguel Ortiz and Enrique Van Rysselberghe as part of the 44th electoral district. The commune is represented in the Senate by Alejandro Navarro Brain and Hosain Sabag Castillo as part of the 12th senatorial constituency, diccionario geográfico de la República de Chile, SEGUNDA EDICIÓN CORREGIDA Y AUMENTADA, NUEVA YORK, D. APPLETON Y COMPAÑÍA. Pg.721 San Pedro de Bío-Bío Francisco Solano Asta Buruaga y Cienfuegos Municipality of San Pedro de la Paz
20.
Laja, Chile
–
Laja is a city and commune located in the Bío Bío Province of the Bío Bío Region of Chile. The city of Laja is the communal capital and it is bounded on the north by the Laja River, on the west by the Biobío river, and the south and the east by the commune of Los Ángeles. According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Laja spans an area of 339.8 km2 and has 22,404 inhabitants, of these,16,288 lived in urban areas and 6,116 in rural areas. The population fell by 8% between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, as a commune, Laja is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by a municipal council, headed by an alcalde who is directly elected every four years. The 2008-2012 alcalde is Vladimir Fica Toledo, within the electoral divisions of Chile, Laja is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by Juan Lobos and José Pérez as part of the 47th electoral district. The commune is represented in the Senate by Victor Pérez Varela and Mariano Ruiz -Esquide Jara as part of the 13th senatorial constituency
21.
Temuco
–
Temuco is a city and commune, capital of the Cautín Province and of the Araucanía Region in southern Chile. The city is located 670 kilometres south of Santiago at the heart of the modern Araucanía Region, Temuco was founded in 1881 during the occupation of Araucanía and grew quickly into one of Chiles main cities. Temuco has recently been regarded as a university city as it houses two universities, University of the Frontier and Temuco Catholic University. Nobel laureates Gabriela Mistral and Pablo Neruda both lived in Temuco for some time, the word Temuco comes from the Mapudungun language, meaning temu water, temu is the common name of two native trees of the family Myrtaceae, Luma apiculata and Blepharocalyx cruckschankii. Both species are characterized by their bark and by having aromatic fruits. The blend between the words temu and co, probably reflects the fact that these trees frequently grow beside water bodies, the city was founded by Chilean army on February 24,1881 as a fort during the Occupation of the Araucanía. Manuel Recabarren, in charge of the project, named the place Fuerte Recabarren, formed as a military encampment, Temuco had in its origins the attributes of a camp, and a year after its founding, the first major streets started to form in the downtown area. On April 15,1888, the first city officers were elected including the first mayor José del Rosario Muñoz. The city grew quickly, a census in 1895 indicated a population of 7,708 people, Chilean poetry has deep roots in Temuco. Nobel laureates Gabriela Mistral and Pablo Neruda both lived in Temuco, Mistral was the principal of an all-girls school where Neruda would visit her and show her his first verses when he was around 15 years old. In 2010 Temuco was affected by the earthquake on February 27 centered 400 km to the north and it was one of the most affected regions of Chile besides Santiago, Concepcion, Valparaíso and others. The earthquake registered 8.8 Mw on the moment magnitude scale, though landlocked Temuco avoided the tsunamis the earthquake caused, many very strong aftershocks throughout the country followed, including a 7.1 MW earthquake 70 km northwest of the city. Nowadays, Temuco is a fast growing city with diversified commerce, according to the 2002 census by the National Statistics Institute, Temuco had a communal population of 245,347. Of these,232,528 lived in areas and 12,819 in rural areas. The population grew by 24. 4% between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, the INE projected the 2010 population to be 377,495, which makes it the second largest city south of Santiago, and the fourth largest in the country. One of the features of Temuco is the strong presence of the Mapuche culture, who make up 23. 05% of the population in the Temuco commune. Temuco proper has a population of 227,086, most inhabitants are of different origins. Temuco has a high percentage being of Basque ancestry other than Castilian, thus, one can find indigenous, mainly Mapuche, who account for 13% of the population of Temuco, which makes it the city of Chile with the largest indigenous presence
22.
Santiago Metropolitan Region
–
Santiago Metropolitan Region or simply Metropolitan Region is one of Chiles 15 first-order administrative divisions. It is the only landlocked administrative region and contains the nations capital. Most commercial and administrative centers are located in the region, including Chiles main international airport, with an area of 15,403.2 km2 and population over 6 million, it is Chiles smallest by area, most populated and most densely populated region. It is also the only region that does not have a Roman numeral identifier. The regions history of European influence started in 1542, a few days after Santiago was founded, when the Santiago cabildo was built, its function was to supervise the entire territory. Later, with the creation of the cities of La Serena and Concepción, on 30 August 1826,8 provinces were created, with the Santiago Province being one of them, but it wasnt until 1980 that the Metropolitan Region was created. Metropolitana is Chiles only landlocked region and lies in the Intermediate Depression valley between the Chilean Coast Range and the Andes mountains. Cerro San Cristóbal dominates the sprawling Santiago cityscape at a height of 880 m above sea level with city suburbs steadily climbing the foothills of the Andes to the east. The Tupungato stratovolcano, measures 6,570 m on the Argentine border, is one of South Americas highest peaks, the dominant drainage basin feeds into the Maipo River, its main tributaries are the Mapocho, Yeso and Colorado rivers. The climate of the Metropolitan Region is temperate Mediterranean cold, of the kind called continental, precipitation is concentrated in the winter months, generally as snow over 900 m above sea level and, in colder years, over the city of Santiago. Winter tends to be cold with frequent frosts during which temperature drops below 0 °C, the summer months are usually dry and hot. The Cordillera de la Costa acts as a screen and reduces marine influence. This situation becomes apparent when comparing precipitation from a location such as Valparaíso with that of Santiago de Chile. The annual median precipitation reaches 367 mm on average, the annual median temperature comes out to 13.5 °C, with a median high of 21 °C and a median low of 6 °C in urban areas. Rural areas tend to be colder, as temperature reaches −10 °C in the coldest months Most of the region is made up of an extremely fertile, the regions principal industries include manufacturing, services, retail, and financial services. The Plaza de Armas, the square in downtown Santiago, hosts the citys cathedral. Eight city blocks around the palace, La Moneda, are where most ministries, services. Vitacura and El Golf host most of the citys buildings and are also home to the Latin American headquarters of several United Nations organizations
23.
O'Higgins Region
–
The VI Libertador General Bernardo OHiggins Region, often shortened to OHiggins Region, is one of Chiles 15 first order administrative divisions. It is subdivided into three provinces and it is named in honour of Bernardo OHiggins Riquelme, one of Chiles founding fathers. It extends approximately between the parallels of 33°51’ and 35°01’ south latitude, and between the meridian of 70°02’ west longitude and the Pacific Ocean, the capital and largest city of the region is Rancagua. The second major town is San Fernando, in pre-Quaternary times extensive Nothofagus forests covered much of Libertador General Bernardo OHiggins Region. From 9000 BCE to 300 BCE, the humans who inhabited the region moved between the coast and the valley as well as the Andes, at sites such as Pichilemu, Cáhuil and Bucalemu, they left trash deposits or shell middens bearing testimony to their raids. During the Agroalfarero Period, the inhabitants experienced changes in their way of life, the most important being the cultivation of vegetables, from 600 CE onwards, they started cultivating beans, maize, squashes, pumpkins and quinoa. All of these except quinoa and some types of maize required irrigation, during the Colonial Period, the region became dominated, like the rest of the country, by the Spanish, and a system of ranching became predominant. The Libertador General Bernardo OHiggins region contains a part of the rural population. Amongst the highly populated cities, Rancagua stands out for having been transformed, in recent times and it is close being located 87 km south of Santiago. It is the capital of the Cachapoal Province as well the Libertador General Bernardo OHiggins Region, the main industrial and export activity takes place at CODELCO’s El Teniente mine, which contributes 7. 7% of Chile’s copper production. The ore is processed at the Sewell and Colón concentrator plants, smelted and refined at Caletones, agriculture contributes 30. 1% of the region’s GDP. One out of four hectares of fruit orchards in Chile is in the Libertador General Bernardo OHiggins Region. The main crops are apples and pears, followed by grapes, plums, kiwis. Manufacturing activity in the region is related to copper mining, agribusiness. One particular growth area is the production of fruit juices and pulp, over the past few years, there has been significant development in the forestry sector, especially plantations of eucalyptus and radiata pine. The region is governed by an intendant, who is appointed by the president, pablo Silva Amaya is the current intendant. The administration of the region rests with the government, which is headed by the intendant. The latter comprises sixteen regional administrators, who are elected indirectly, the provinces are subdivided into 33 communes
24.
San Fernando, Chile
–
San Fernando is the capital of the province of Colchagua, in central Chile, and the second most populated urban center of the OHiggins Region. Located close to the Tinguiririca River in a valley, San Fernando sits 339 m above sea level. Founded in 1742, it became the capital in 1840. San Fernando is famous for its rodeos, thanks to its location at the heart of the country, the surrounding area yields wheat, forage crops, rice, legumes, and grapes. There is also a brand of Chilean wine called San Fernando, both the Pan-American Highway and Chiles main longitudinal railroad run through San Fernando. San Fernando is located at the tip of Chiles Colchagua Valley. This region is known as the heart of Chilean agriculture. Here you can find the route which will take visitors on a journey from San Fernando to Santa Cruz. Some major attractions in and around San Fernando include Casa Silva, a hotel, vineyard, hacienda Los Lingues, a traditional Chilean-style, colonial home of a hacienda patron or owner that has been turned into a hotel and restaurant. The hacienda offers horseback riding adventures into the precordillera of the Andes, most major producers of fresh fruit for export are located in and around San Fernando. These include, Frusan, Unifruti, and Agricola Panagro, within the orchards and farms of the region one can find almost every type of fresh produce, from citrus to premium quality fresh cherries. San Fernando is also the point of departure to begin a trip to Las Termas Del Flaco, Flaco can be reached by travelling east of ruta 5 on the road to Puente Negro. Las Termas the baths are open from mid-December to April and are located in a famous for its large populations of Tricahues, a type of native parrot. According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, San Fernando spans an area of 2,441.3 km2 and has 63,732 inhabitants, of these,51,136 lived in urban areas and 12,596 in rural areas. The population grew by 13. 1% between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, as a commune, San Fernando is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by a municipal council, headed by an alcalde who is directly elected every four years. The 2013-2017 alcalde is Luis Antonio Berwart Araya, within the electoral divisions of Chile, San Fernando is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by Mr. Javier Macaya and Ms. Alejandra Sepúlveda as part of the 34th electoral district. The commune is represented in the Senate by Alejandro García-Huidobro and Juan Pablo Letelier Morel as part of the 9th senatorial constituency, municipality of San Fernando Information about San Fernando San Fernando. The capital of the Province of Colchagua, Chile
25.
Rancagua
–
Rancagua is a city and commune in central Chile and part of the Rancagua conurbation. It is the capital of the Cachapoal Province and of the OHiggins Region and its first name was Santa Cruz de Triana. In 2012, its population was 232,211, the main economic activities range from mining, tourism, agriculture, timber, food production and services to minor industrial activities. The city also serves as the administrative and legal center of the region, next to Machalí and Gultro forms the Rancagua conurbation, and next to Curicó, Talca and Concepción, is one of the most important and populated cities of the south central zone of Chile. Rancagua was founded by José Antonio Manso de Velasco, who founded cities in the central area of Chile. The citys original name was Villa Santa Cruz de Triana, in recent years the city has become one of the most attractive cultural and tourist centers in the OHiggins Region, mainly due to the vineyards in the area. There are also archeological sites such as Pukara de La Compañia. Rancagua also offers sports centers and easy access to smaller villages, the city is connected to Santiago by the Panamerican Highway, and the Metrotren connects the metro service in Santiago to Rancagua by train. Rancagua is home of the University of Rancagua, the first private university to be established in the OHiggins Region. Rancagua is also known for El Teniente, the largest underground mine in the world. El Teniente is a division of the mining enterprise, Codelco. The citys Braden Copper Stadium was one of the four venues of the 1962 FIFA World Cup, more recently, it houses the OHiggins professional soccer club, one of the leading teams in Chilean professional soccer. Every year, the National Championship of Chilean rodeo is held in the Medialuna Monumental de Rancagua, on 2015, the city will be host the 2015 Copa América, receiving two matches of the tournament. The population of Rancagua is primarily either of Spanish descent or mestizo, furthermore, the city has seen increasing immigration from neighbouring South American countries such as Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia and Peru. According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Rancagua spans an area of 260.3 km2 and has 214,344 inhabitants, of these,206,971 lived in urban areas and 7,373 in rural areas. The population grew by 14. 4% between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, germán Riesco, President of Chile between 1901 and 1906. Óscar Castro Zúñiga, renowned poet, novelist and short story writer, José Victorino Lastarria, writer and politician. Mariano Díaz, photographer, graphic designer, and writer, as a commune, Rancagua is a third-level administrative division of Chile, administered by a municipal council and headed by an alcalde who is directly elected every four years
26.
Inter-city rail
–
Inter-city rail services are express passenger train services that cover longer distances than commuter or regional trains. There is no definition of inter-city rail, its meaning may vary from country to country. Most typically, an inter-city train is a train with limited stops. Inter-city rail sometimes provides international services and this is most prevalent in Europe, due to the close proximity of its 50 countries in a 10,180,000 square kilometre area. Eurostar and EuroCity are examples of this and this use of the term appeared in the United Kingdom in the 1960s and has been widely imitated. The speeds of inter-city rail lines are diverse, ranging from 50 km/h in a mountainous area or on undeveloped tracks to 200–350 km/h on newly constructed or improved tracks. As a result, Inter-city rail may or may not fall into the category of higher-speed rail or high-speed rail, ideally, the average speed of inter-city rail service would be faster than 100 km/h in order to be competitive with car, bus and other methods of transport. 50–100 km The distance of an inter-city rail journey is usually at least 50–100 km, although in large metropolitan areas commuter. 100–500 km A distance of 100–500 km is a common journey distance for inter-city rail in many countries, in many cases, railway travel is most competitive at about 2–3 hours journey time. Inter-city rail can compete with highways and short-haul air travel for journeys of this distance. 500–1,000 km In journeys of 500–1,000 km, development of high-speed rail in some countries increases the share of railway for such longer-distance journeys. The Paris-Marseille TGV and Tokyo-Aomori Shinkansen are examples of type of journey. In conventional non high-speed rail, overnight trains are common for this distance, in many other countries, such long-distance rail journey has been replaced by air travel except for tourism or hobbyist purposes, luxury train journeys, or significant cost benefit. Discount Eurail Pass in Europe, Amtrak in the United States, New high-speed lines from 200–350 km/h operation are constructed, and many conventional lines are also upgraded to 200 km/h operation. Currently there are seven High-Speed Inter-City lines in China, with up to 21 planned and they are operated independently from the often parallel High-Speed-Rail-Lines. Japan has six main regional railway companies, known collectively as Japan Railways Group or simply as JR. Many other cities are covered by a network of JRs limited express inter-city trains on 1,067 mm, narrow gauge, major cities are covered by convenient train services of every one hour or more frequent. In addition to the JR Group, Japan has several major regional carriers such as the Kintetsu, almost every major town and city in South Korea is linked by railway, run by Korail
27.
TerraSur
–
The TerraSur is a Chilean Inter-city rail service, opened in 2001 between Santiago and Chillán, on the Chilean Central Valley. It is operated by the Trenes Regionales Terra S. A. a subsidiary of the Empresa de los Ferrocarriles del Estado, covering almost 400 km in less than 5 hours, it is the fastest public transportation between those cities. Currently is the only inter-city service that operates in the country. Since June 2012, TerraSur has 3 daily services on each direction, TerraSur uses the Spanish made EMU UTS-444 series RENFE. Empresa de los Ferrocarriles del Estado TerraSur official website
28.
Talca
–
Talca is a city and commune in Chile located about 255 km south of Santiago, and is the capital of both Talca Province and Maule Region. As of the 2012 census, the city had a population of 201,142, the city is an important economic center, with agricultural and manufacturing activities, as well as wine production. It is also the location of the Universidad de Talca and the Catholic University of Maule, the Catholic Church of Talca has held a prominent role in the history of Chile. The inhabitants of Talca have a saying, Talca, Paris & London, born from a hat shop which had placed a ribbon stating that it had branches in Paris, the shop was owned by a French immigrant named Jean-Pierre Lagarde. According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Talca spans an area of 231.5 km2 and has 201,797 inhabitants, of these,193,755 lived in urban areas and 8,042 in rural areas. The population grew by 17. 8% between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, the city was founded in 1692 by Tomás Marín de Poveda and refounded as Villa San Agustín de Talca in 1742 by José Antonio Manso de Velasco. It was partially destroyed by the 1928 Talca earthquake and the 2010 Chile earthquake and it sits near the epicenter of the 2010, magnitude 8.8 earthquake and suffered severe shaking causing the collapse of much of the historic town centre. The city played a role in Chiles independence, here, Bernardo OHiggins signed the Chilean independence declaration in 1818. As a commune, Talca is an administrative division of Chile administered by a municipal council. The 2008-2012 alcalde is Juan Castro Prieto, the commune is represented in the Senate by Juan Antonio Coloma Correa and Andrés Zaldívar Larraín as part of the 10th senatorial constituency. The commune of Talca spans an area of 231.5 km2, the city of Talca is located 250 km south of Santiago, south of the confluence of the rivers Lircay and Claro, in the Central Valley. The city is bisected by the Pan-American Highway, Talca has a Mediterranean climate with dry summers and wet winters, though it is hotter in summer and cooler in winter than coastal cities like Valparaíso and Concepcíon. DELMAULE. CL
29.
Maule Region
–
The VII Maule Region is one of Chiles 15 first order administrative divisions. The region derives its name from the Maule River which, running westward from the Andes, bisects the region, the Maule river is of considerable historic interest because, among other reasons, it marked the southern limits of the Inca Empire. There are a number of flora and fauna present in Maule. For example, the endangered Chilean Wine Palm is found in a limited distribution that includes the Maule Region. The limited distribution Nothofagus allesandri is also found in the region, according to the 2002 census the population of the region was 908,097. With one third of its living in rural areas, Maule has a greater proportion of rural inhabitants than any other region of Chile. According to 2009 estimates by the Chilean National Service of Statistics and its most populated city is the regional capital, Talca, with 235,000 inhabitants, followed by Curicó and Linares. Other important cities are, Constitución, Parral, Cauquenes, Molina, the average density of the Maule Region is 32 inhabitants per km2, with less dense areas towards the mountains, and dense areas in the central valley. According to the pyramid of the population of the Region. The annual growth rate of the population of the Maule Region is 1. 06%, the average life expectancy in the Region is 76.3 years. Forestry and agriculture, led by wine grape plantations, are the economic activities. The Maule region is Chile’s leading wine-making region, producing 50% of all the country’s fine export wines, owing to its high concentration of vineyards, the Curicó valley, which means black water in Mapudungun – is considered the core of Chile’s wine industry. Wine-making is an activity, some vineyards dating back to 1830. The increased wine-growing area is matched by the development of the infrastructure, technology. In addition to wine, two export-oriented agricultural items have emerged dynamically, fruit, vegetables and flowers, electricity, gas and water are the second most important economic activity. The Maule River feeds five hydroelectric plants, including the Colbún-Machicura complex. The 4 provinces of the Maule Region are divided into 30 communes, thus, the Maule river, the long and wide artery that runs through the region, has been considered Chiles literary river par excellence. Many novels and short stories have had the river as their background or protagonist
30.
Rail freight transport
–
Rail freight transport is the use of railroads and trains to transport cargo as opposed to human passengers. Trains may haul bulk material, intermodal containers, general freight or specialized freight in purpose-designed cars, Rail freight practices and economics vary by country and region. When considered in terms of ton-miles or tonne-kilometers hauled per unit of energy consumed, maximum economies are typically realized with bulk commodities, especially when hauled over long distances. However, shipment by rail is not as flexible as by highway, moving goods by rail often involves transshipment costs, particularly when the shipper or receiver lack direct rail access. These costs may exceed that of operating the train itself, a factor that practices such as containerization aim to minimize. Traditionally, large shippers build factories and warehouses near rail lines and have a section of track on their property called a siding where goods are loaded onto or unloaded from rail cars, other shippers have their goods hauled by wagon or truck to or from a goods station. When long enough, or based on a schedule, each long distance train is dispatched to another classification yard. At the next classification yard, cars are resorted and those that are destined for stations served by that yard are assigned to local trains for delivery. Others are reassembled into trains heading to classification yards closer to their final destination, a single car might be reclassified or switched in several yards before reaching its final destination, a process that made rail freight slow and increased costs. Many freight rail operators are trying to reduce costs by reducing or eliminating switching in classification yards through techniques such as unit trains. In many countries, railroads have been built to haul one commodity, such as coal or ore, Rail freight uses many types of goods wagon or freight car. Most coal and aggregates are moved in wagons or gondolas or open wagons that can be filled and discharged rapidly. A major disadvantage of rail freight is its lack of flexibility, in part for this reason, rail has lost much of the freight business to road transport. Many governments are now trying to encourage more freight trains, because of the environmental benefits that it would bring. Compared tо road transport whісh employs thе uѕе оf trucks, rail transportation ensures thаt goods thаt соuld оthеrwіѕе bе transported оn а number оf trucks аrе transported іn а single shipment, thіѕ saves а lot аѕ fаr аѕ cost connected tо thе transportation аrе concerned. In Europe many manufacturing towns developed before the railway, many factories did not have direct rail access. This meant that freight had to be shipped through a station, sent by train. When lorries replaced horses it was economic and faster to make one movement by road
31.
Los Lagos Region
–
Los Lagos Region is one of Chiles 15 regions, which are first order administrative divisions, and comprises four provinces, Chiloé, Llanquihue, Osorno and Palena. The region contains the second largest island, Chiloé. Its capital is Puerto Montt, other important cities include Osorno, Castro, Ancud, the mainland portion of Los Lagos Region south of Reloncaví Sound is considered part of Patagonia. Los Lagos Region economy is dominated by the sector but based in fishing, salmon aquaculture, forestry. Tourism is economically important in Andes where ski resorts, hot springs, the region hosts Monte Verde, one of the oldest archaeological sites of the Americas. The largest indigenous group of the region are the Huilliche who lived in the area before the arrival of the Spanish, the Spanish crown settled Chiloé Archipelago in 1567 while the rest of the region begun to be slowly colonized by non-indigenous people only in late 18th century. In the 1850s Germans arrived to colonize the shores of Llanquihue Lake under a Chilean state-sponsored program, the region is bordered on the north by Los Ríos Region, on the south by Aisén Region, on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the east by Argentina. Wild environments can be seen along the area, such as Caleta Zorra. The region, in general, has a vegetation of Valdivian temperate rain forest. The coastal part, except for the south of the Chiloé Island, has a climate with cold winter rain. To the south, the climate is characterized by constant rain, protected areas include 7 national parks,2 private-owned parks and 2 natural monuments. National Parks El Tepual Airport lies a few miles west of Puerto Montt, also east of Osorno, the Cardenal Antonio Samoré Pass is a major mountain pass across the Andes to Argentina via Route 215
32.
Ferronor
–
Ferronor is a Chilean railway company operating on the old Red Norte of Empresa de los Ferrocarriles del Estado, which was privatised in 1997. Since 2004 the primary shareholder is APCO, currently Ferronor owns a railway network of about 2,300 kilometres, consisting of a 1,000 mm metre gauge main line between La Calera and Iquique and various spur lines. However, about 60% of the network are currently unused due to damage like landslides, washouts. Ferronor mostly transports mining supplies and products, other railway operators transport 2,200,000 tonnes of freight on Ferronor lines annually. The Diego de Almagro division connects Potrerillos with Llanta and Diego de Almagro, where the line connects to the Longitudinal Norte, and continues to Chañaral, the Longitudinal Norte is still used from Diego de Almagro northward to connect Mina Franke. At Chañaral, a branch was built to connect the harbor at Barquito with the railway network. Production at the mine started 10 years later, the railway was subsequently used to transport supplies to Potrerillos and refined copper to the harbor at Barquito. In 1959, the El Salvador mine opened and the mine at Potrerillos subsequently shut down, since then, the liquified ore is transported by pipeline from El Salvador to a filtration plant near Llanta, from where the dried ore concentrate is transported by railway to the Potrerillos plant. The copper refining process requires large quantities of acid, which is produced on-site at Potrerillos. Potrerillos also supplies other plants with acid, both by truck and railway. Facilities to transfer sulfuric acid from train to truck exist at Llanta, the Vallenar division connects the Los Colorados iron ore mine with the harbor at Huasco. It consists of a branch connects the mine with the Longitudinal Norte north of Vallenar. A further branch line then provides the link from Vallenar to Huasco, the Baquedano division used to transport natural gas via Palestina and the Socompa pass to Argentina. The locomotives have since been repaired and returned to service for Ferronor, Ferronor also owns various steam locomotives and other historic rolling stock, which is on display in an open-air museum at Baquedano. However, most of the locomotives are stored outside without any protection and are in bad condition. This is an incomplete list of locomotives used by Ferronor
