Why are railways so limited in Latin American countries?

[Tooting Carmen]

Not only European and North American countries but also most Asian and even many African countries have extensive rail networks. In contrast, to my knowledge not one country in Latin America does (at least for passengers, at any rate). Why is this?

[Tooting Carmen]

bump

[The Lawspeaker]

Geography, obviously. You can't really build a decent railway network through terrain like the Andes or the Amazone. That's why Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay and Southern Brazil used to have more extensive networks. Same goes for parts of Mexico.

[Ülev]

^^
we Andids do have railways to heaven...Machu Picchu actually

[PaleoEuropean]

Not only European and North American countries but also most Asian and even many African countries have extensive rail networks. In contrast, to my knowledge not one country in Latin America does (at least for passengers, at any rate). Why is this?

America is the same way now but we have an extensive interstate system.

[PaleoEuropean]

^^
we Andids do have railways to heaven...Machu Picchu actually

I would be nervous riding that line , especially because all of the earthquakes in that region.

[Tooting Carmen]

America is the same way now but we have an extensive interstate system.

Amtrak?

[Tooting Carmen]

Geography, obviously. You can't really build a decent railway network through terrain like the Andes or the Amazone. That's why Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay and Southern Brazil used to have more extensive networks. Same goes for parts of Mexico.

The key part is in bold. Why did they give them up?

[PaleoEuropean]

Amtrak?

Very sparse now, only really useful in the East Coast or in the Southwest.

[The Lawspeaker]

I mean.. you don't build this, this, this, this or this . if you don't or didn't have the matching infrastructure to boot.