I travelled to Chile earlier this year and visited Atacama and Torres de Paine.
The thing that boggled my mind was that you can't drive between the two without a very long detour through Argentina. Chile has literally no road linking the northern part with the southernmost part without going outside the country.
It is also mind boggling that rail is not more popular there. A long, slim country is ideal for high speed rail.
Actually you can cross the entirety of Chile by car if you don't mind taking a ferry that starts in Puerto Montt and arrives in Puerto Natales. It is 4 day trip, but the scenery is gorgeous.
Regarding the rail system, Chile had a great rail system that went from Arica to Puerto Montt with lots of spurs going into inner towns. However it was slowly dismantled and now most of the rails are in disuse, or used for the transport of goods.
There is still a main rail for passenger transport, but most people prefers taking the bus or driving because of convenience.
Looking at the map of southern Chile, it's pretty obvious why this is so. It's just immense mountains and fjords. Building a road across that terrain would be a major challenge, requiring many bridges capable of surviving harsh conditions. All to deserve a minuscule population? Chile isn't Norway...
Latitude-wise, Torres de Paine is comparable to northern Belgium than it is to Norway. Even Ushoaia, the southernmost major city in Americas, looks more like Belfast in the UK, or Gdansk in Poland, which are both into way more nicer climates than Norway. I just think that having some infrastructure in place, linking the southern parts of Chile with the rest, may be exactly what is needed for addressing the stounted growth there.
I tried to cross the border into Argentina north of Puerto Montt. I wanted to check out the Argentinian side for a day or two. But they wouldn't let me across the border with my rental car, and I got turned back. I suppose the rules are a little bit different in the far south?
If you want to bring a Chilean rental car into Argentina you need to obtain and pay for a specific permit at least a few days before you pick up the rental car. Maybe that was missing? When I crossed the border they were very thorough with checking this permit.
> If you want to bring a Chilean rental car into Argentina you need to obtain and pay for a specific permit at least a few days before you pick up the rental car.
Classic Argentinian bureaucracy, making the country lose money since time immemorial
Actually it is because you need car insurance for accidents against third parties. This must be bought before going over the border. Usually there are shops in border towns that can help you with the paperwork.
I don't know anything about the history of trains or carriages, but in the heyday of railway development in Britain (iron rails, steam locomotive, etc.) it would have been far less acceptable than today too. And still all trains I'm aware of/have been on have two classes of carriage. Indian trains have several, and similar cultural need for that I imagine (I don't really know anything about Chile).
The thing that boggled my mind was that you can't drive between the two without a very long detour through Argentina. Chile has literally no road linking the northern part with the southernmost part without going outside the country.
It is also mind boggling that rail is not more popular there. A long, slim country is ideal for high speed rail.