Transport in Venezuela

Venezuela is connected to the world primarily via air (Venezuela's airports include the Simón Bolívar International Airport near Caracas and La Chinita International Airport near Maracaibo) and sea (with major sea ports at La Guaira, Maracaibo and Puerto Cabello). In the south and east the Amazon rainforest region has limited cross-border transport; in the west, there is a mountainous border of over 1,375 miles (2,213 km) shared with Colombia. The Orinoco River is navigable by oceangoing vessels up to 400 km inland, and connects the major industrial city of Ciudad Guayana to the Atlantic Ocean.

Venezuela has a limited national railway system, which has no active rail connections to other countries; the government of Hugo Chávez has invested substantially in expanding it. Several major cities have metro systems; the Caracas Metro has been operating since 1983. The Maracaibo Metro and Valencia Metro were opened more recently. Venezuela has a road network of around 100,000 km (placing it around 47th in the world); around a third of roads are paved.

Railways

Main article: Instituto de Ferrocarriles del Estado

total: 7000 km (?) (248 km privately owned, including Orinoco Mining Company)
standard gauge: 682 km (40 km electrified) 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in) ()

Cities with underground railway systems

• Caracas (El Metro de Caracas, operated by C.A. Metro de Caracas)
• Los Teques Metro - opened in 2006.

See also

• East-West Railway, Venezuela

Railway links with adjoining countries

• Guyana - no
• Brazil - no
  • Brazil
• Colombia - yes, but inoperative (Railroad of Cúcuta) - proposed rebuilding
  • Colombia

Maps

• UNHCR Atlas Map
• Future Map

• Encarta

Standards

• Gauge: 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in)
• Coupling: AAR
• Brakes: Air
• Electrification: 25 kV AC 60 Hz

Stations

Main article: Railway stations in Venezuela

Timeline

2009

• March 2009 - China to help build new network

2008

• On August 23, 2008, a deal was signed between Argentina (Argentina), Brazil (Brazil) and Venezuela to develop an electified railway link between these countries. A minor hurdle is the use of both 50 Hz and 60 Hz.

• July 5 - meeting between Venezuela, Colombia (Colombia) and Ecuador (Ecuador) regarding a railway for freight and passengers to link the three countries, and linking the Pacific with the Atlantic also.

2006

• Venezuela awards contracts worth $2.2 billion to build two new railway lines. Construction on the two new lines connecting San Juan de los Morros to San Fernando de Apure and connecting Chaguaramas to Cabruta is expected to begin in Q2 2006 and is expected to take six years to complete. April 2006 in rail transport.

• In October 2006, Venezuela opened a new Caracas-Cúa railway, the first new railway in the country for 70 years

• "Towards the end of this month, we would have final discussions with Mittal Steel," said Mr Kapur, adding that the initial discussions took place in March. Moreover, Ircon is also likely to construct a new rail line in Venezuela at an estimated cost of $350 million.

Highways

Automobile transport is encouraged by the fact that Venezuela has the lowest gas prices in the world, at $0.48 per gallon ($0.13 per liter). In some cases, gas is less expensive than bottled water.

Troncal 7 (Trans-andes highway)

total: 96,155 km
paved: 32,308 km
unpaved: 63,847 km (1997 est.)

Waterways

7,101 km; Rio Orinoco and Lago de Maracaibo accept oceangoing vessels

Pipelines

• crude oil 6,370 km
• petroleum products 480 km
• natural gas 4,010 km

Ports and harbors

Amuay Bajo Grande El Tablazo La Guaira La Salina Maracaibo Matanzas

Palua Puerto Cabello Puerto la Cruz Puerto Miranda Puerto Ordaz Puerto Sucre Punta Cardon

Merchant marine

total: 34 ships (1,000 gross register tons (GRT) or over) totaling 488,584 GRT/888,764 metric tons deadweight (DWT)
ships by type: (1999 est.)

bulk carriers 5 cargo ships 10 combination bulk carriers 1 gas carrying tankers 2

passenger/cargo ships 1 petroleum tanker 7 roll-on/roll-off 7 short-sea passenger 1

Airports

366 (1999 est.)

Airports - with paved runways

Simón Bolívar International Airport

total: 122
over 3,047 m: 5
2,438 to 3,047 m: 10
1,524 to 2,437 m: 32
914 to 1,523 m: 58
under 914 m: 17 (1999 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total: 244
1,524 to 2,437 m: 10
914 to 1,523 m: 93
under 914 m: 141 (1999 est.)

Heliports

1 (1999 est.)

Cable car

At one time Venezuela had the world's highest cable car. The Mérida cable car opened in 1960, connecting Mérida with the top of the Sierra Nevada de Mérida. It was closed indefinitely in 2008, having reached the end of its service life.

See also

• Venezuela