Estación Central de Santiago

Estación Central, also called Alameda, is Santiago's main passenger-rail terminal. The first station opened here in 1857, when this was still the western edge of the city. The present iron-and-masonry complex took shape from 1885, with its great shed supplied by the French firm Schneider-Creusot and enlarged again in 1897 and 1912. It is not an Eiffel building, despite the story that gets repeated about it.

The station became the anchor of an entire commercial and industrial district and was declared a National Historic Monument in 1983. EFE trains to Nos, Rancagua, San Fernando, Talca, and Chillán leave from the modern platforms beneath and beyond the historic structure. Santiago Metro Line 1 is next door, but it has separate gates and payment.