Catalan operator to oversee plans for Ecuadorian freight network

Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB), the operator of Barcelona’s subway network, is to oversee a preliminary study for a planned freight network in Ecuador.

TMB has been given 300 days to identify the potential benefits and challenges of building an electrified freight network between the South American country’s “major production centres” with the Pacific ports and international links to Peru and Colombia.

The study will also explore the possibility of running passenger services between Ecuador’s major cities and a dedicated line connecting mines in the country’s south-eastern provinces.

TMB’s consultancy arm has played some role in a series of rail projects in South America, including systems in Buenos Aires, Santiago de Chile and Panama City.