Colombia Expands Green Rail and River Transport Across Key Tourism Regions

The country is making rapid progress in terms of investment in railways, rivers, and electric transport, moving toward a better-integrated national transport system. These developments have opened up new opportunities for linking the key cities, regions, and river towns, despite the unsupported claims about an officially approved “Bimodal Green Corridors” project featuring scenic railways powered by electricity and zero-emissions passenger ships on all rivers of the country. What is clear is that Colombia is moving toward an intermodal transport system. At the same time, Colombia is working on railroad revitalisation, river transport regulation improvement, Río Magdalena development, and electric transport corridors.

Colombia Puts Rail Back At The Centre

The national government is pursuing one of its most significant railway investment programmes in decades, with more than 1,500 kilometres of rail corridors at different stages of studies, feasibility, structuring or implementation.

Projects identified by the Ministry of Transport include La Dorada–Chiriguaná, Buenaventura–Palmira, Villavicencio–Puerto Gaitán, the Central Railway Corridor, Bogotá–Belencito and the Pacific Railway Network.

For tourism, the importance lies in the possibility of reconnecting destinations that have traditionally depended heavily on road transport.

Railway development can provide an additional option for travellers moving between urban centres and regional tourism areas, particularly when combined with local buses, river services and other forms of public transport.

Bogotá Is Already Seeing Electric Rail Development

One of Colombia’s clearest examples of railway electrification is the RegioTram de Occidente, currently under construction in the Bogotá metropolitan region.

The 39.6-kilometre regional railway will connect Bogotá with Facatativá, Madrid, Mosquera and Funza through 17 stations. The project is designed as Colombia’s first regional electric railway system and is expected to serve around 130,000 passengers a day once operational.

The project is primarily designed for regional mobility rather than tourism, but its development demonstrates that electric rail is becoming part of Colombia’s transport infrastructure.

That distinction is important because there is currently no official confirmation that newly rehabilitated narrow-gauge electric scenic railways are being synchronised with electric boats as a dedicated tourism corridor to the Pacific coast.

The Río Magdalena Is Becoming A Major Transport Corridor

At the same time, the Río Magdalena is receiving substantial government investment to maintain navigability and strengthen its role as a national transport artery.

For 2026, the government announced an investment of COP 248.633 billion to support dredging, navigation and safe operations along strategic sections of the river. Funding includes work around Barranquilla, the Barrancabermeja–Barranquilla navigable channel and the Brazo de Mompox.

The river has significance beyond freight. Its waterways connect communities, ports and historic settlements, while river-based tourism is becoming part of the wider discussion about how Colombia can diversify mobility and tourism experiences.

New Rules Strengthen River Tourism

In August 2026, Colombia introduced a new regulatory framework for public river transport, replacing provisions that had remained in place for decades.

The new rules cover passenger transport, cargo, tourism, special services, mixed transport and transfers. They also establish updated procedures for operator authorisation, route allocation, vessel registration, maintenance, insurance and passenger protection.

Importantly for tourism, the regulations specifically establish clearer rules for fluvial tourism and aquatourism.

The framework also introduces differentiated measures for rural municipalities and communities where rivers provide the main connection to other parts of the country. This could support tourism development in places where road infrastructure is limited.

Electric Mobility Is Expanding Beyond Rail

Colombia is also developing electric transport corridors outside the railway sector.

In June 2026, the Ministry of Transport and CALSTART launched Ruta-E: Energía Limpia en Movimiento, the country’s first electric freight corridor.

The planned route covers approximately 1,200 kilometres between Bogotá and Cartagena and is intended to connect major production centres, logistics platforms and Caribbean ports. The programme initially targets 50 electric freight vehicles during 2026, with ambitions to reach nearly 1,000 electric vehicles between 2030 and 2035.

The project is primarily focused on freight rather than passenger tourism, but it forms part of the same national shift towards lower-emission transport.

Pacific Connectivity Remains A Separate Development

The Pacific coast presents a different transport challenge.

Destinations such as Buenaventura and the more remote Pacific communities rely heavily on maritime and river transport, while tourism in areas such as Chocó is closely connected to waterways and coastal ecosystems.

Although Colombia is advancing the Buenaventura–Palmira railway corridor and wider Pacific rail infrastructure, official sources do not currently confirm an electric passenger railway extending from the Coffee Triangle to remote Pacific eco-lodges or a connected network of zero-emission tourist boats.

Any future integration would require coordination between rail infrastructure, ports, river terminals, passenger services and local tourism operators.

A Network Taking Shape In Stages

Based on the confirmed developments, the slow but steady construction of necessary infrastructure that would allow for an integrated transportation system seems to be taking place. An electrified rail system in Bogota, railroad reconstruction throughout various national corridors, considerable investments in Río Magdalena, and also electric transportation projects are being developed in parallel. Rules regarding river tourism are also becoming more institutionalised, creating a framework for passengers and tourists. As for foreign travellers, the long-term implications may well include better connections among cities of Colombia, river towns, mountainous regions, and its Pacific entrances. The integrated “Bimodal Green Corridors” which were mentioned in the initial claim have not been officially announced by the country yet. Instead, Colombia is constructing elements of a bigger multimodal transportation system.