West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954), Tuesday 30 November 1909, page 5


TRANS-ANDINE RAIL- WAY. CHILIAN AND ARGENTINE SECTIONS JOINED. London, November 29. The Trans-Andine railway tunnel, which is 3,280 yards in length, has been completed, and the Chilian and Argen-tine sections of the line have been joined. [A feature of the Trans-Andine Railway is (states "Hazell's Annual" for 1908) a spiral tunnel made for the purpose of carrying the railway through the summit on the Andes range. It will have a very steep gradient, viz., 1 in 12½, and traffic will be worked on the Abt rack system. To ensure additional security, the rack will be trebled. The dis-tance covered by the tunnel will be about five miles, but its actual length will be nearly double. Mr. Arthur Stan-ley, M.P., at the ordinary meet-ing of the Company, on December 13, 1906. said that since the last annual report the construction work had been going on well on both sides of the Andes, and only about 14 miles were now traversed by coach or mule. The distance between Buenos Ayres and Valparaiso could be covered in about 38½ hours.