The use of electricity as a motive power in Chile, is in its
incipiency. Electric car systems now in operation are, the street
railways in Santiago, Valparaiso, Concepcion and Talca, and their
respective suburbs, a few lines in mountainous districts, used for
carrying ores from the mines to the reducing stations, an interurban
line connecting Concepcion with the ports of Talcahuano and Coronel,
and one extending from Valparaiso to Viña del Mar. A government
concession has been granted for the building of an electric railway
from Santiago to Valparaiso, and plans are being made for the
electrification of some of the government roads.
Connecting with the railways of the country are cart roads, the
best of which may be classed as bad, and the branches connecting
with the principal highways are nothing more than trails over a
rough mountainous country. Few new roads are being built, and little
attention is given to the improvement or maintenance of those already
constructed.