115-714: Emprendimientos Ferroviarios S.A. (Emfer) was an Argentine rail rolling stock manufacturer based in San Martín, Buenos Aires . The company also remodelled and repaired rail vehicles and had previously manufactured rolling stock for the Sarmiento and Mitre commuter rail lines in Buenos Aires. The Emfer rail rolling stock ran on the two lines until 2014 when they were replaced with CSR Corporation Limited Electric Multiple Units . The company's main factory in San Martín once belonged to
230-620: A 20 km (12 mi) line to Puerto Tirol with 16 stations. From the intermediate station of Cacuí in the Puerto Tirol Line leaves the interstate line to Los Amores in the province of Santa Fe . The whole network uses the former General Belgrano Railway 1,000 mm ( 3 ft 3 + 3 ⁄ 8 in ) gauge tracks. Buenos Aires Western Railway The Buenos Aires Western Railway (BAWR) (in Spanish: Ferrocarril Oeste de Buenos Aires ), inaugurated in
345-533: A Chile , the latter named because of a decree in December 1868 which ordered the line to be extended up to the Andes . However, it never reached Chile . The train initially consisted of four carriages each carrying 30 passengers, with a central entrance on one side. The carriages were wooden and had four axles, lit by oil lamps and very luxurious. There were 12 cargo wagons which could each carry up to 5 tons. Rain prevented
460-526: A line from Merlo to Aires and then to Azul , but the Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway (BAGSR) proposed in 1871 to extend its line (it had reached Chascomús in 1865) from that city to Dolores then reaching Azul. The Provincial Legislature approved the project brought by BAGSR in 1872, so the FCO had to drop its own project. In 1871, during the epidemic of yellow fever in Buenos Aires ,
575-584: A low price. They had good reason for this, which was not related to earnings from its operation, but rather to what was said by the British government minister in Buenos Aires, Edward Thorton , in a report to the Foreign Office . This document, referring to the creation of the British line "Gran Sur de Buenos Aires", pointed out that this company "would open up a new market for British manufactured products". In effect, locomotives, bricks, bridges, sanitation tools for
690-641: A portion is in service with diesel trains. It is expected that the San Martín Line will finish the electrification of its diesel segments in 2022., and there are plans to electrify the Belgrano Sur Line and remaining parts of the Sarmiento Line . Both the Mitre and Sarmiento lines received completely new CSR electric multiple units in 2014. The Roca line's 300 coaches of the same type are in service, as
805-557: A railway line was added to function as a receiver of coffins. This branch left from Bermejo station, located on the south-east corner of the homonymous street (now Jean Jaurés) and Avenida Corrientes , and reached what is now the Parque Los Andes, where there was a cemetery which was later moved to the current La Chacarita Cemetery . It was known as the "train of death", and as well as the mortuary in Bermejo there were two others located on
920-431: A route parallel to present-day Bartolomé Mitre up to the triangle formed by the current streets Medrano, Pelufo and Lezica, where the (also wooden) unmanned station Almagro was located. This area only contained a few scattered farmhouses and ceased to function in 1887. At that time Medrano street was called the "Camino del Límite" (Boundary Road), which indicated the city limits of Buenos Aires, and on crossing this street
1035-463: A significant decline in Argentina's railways. In 1965, 25% of cargo and 18% of passengers were transported by rail, while by 1980 this figure had dropped to 8% and 7% respectively and Ferrocarriles Argentinos was losing US$ 1 million per day maintaining an ageing system with dwindling passenger numbers. Between 1976 and 1980, 560 stations were closed, along with 5,500 km (3,400 mi) of track, while
1150-484: A terminal once the Belgrano Sur Line is extended to Constitución. The Retiro and Constitución train stations are linked by Line C of the Buenos Aires Underground , Once is served by Line A of the underground via its " Plaza Miserere " station and by Line H 's Once station , while Federico Lacroze is served by Line B . The smaller Buenos Aires Station is accessible by some city bus services and it
1265-516: A westerly heading to enter the West Market (now Plaza Miserere ) and the wooden Once de Septiembre (later replaced by the current station ), reached by Ecuador to the west and named after 11 September 1852, the date of the rebellion of Buenos Aires Province against the Federal Government. Workshops functioned between Corrientes, Paso, Tucumán and Pueyrredón until 1887. The line then followed
SECTION 10
#17328518924501380-499: Is beautiful. It runs parallel to the main street to Flores, passing estates and fields on both sides, presenting the most beautiful panorama for viewing. We travelled at 20 miles per hour of the 400 "rail" shafts. We had to pass opposite Flores: some miscreant had ripped out one of the hidden crossbars on which the rails rest (...) Just as bad was the removal of poles and wires which surrounded the line in order to keep out horses on Sunday night, which could be seen by their footprints and by
1495-525: Is currently only one Premetro line (E2), originally many other lines were planned to run as feeder services to the Buenos Aires Underground , however due to their planned construction coinciding with the privatisation of the Underground network, these never materialised. The creation of new lines has been proposed as late as 2012, however it is now accepted that, with the creation of the Metrobus network in 2011,
1610-404: Is electrified with new rolling stock, stations and track, with works having commenced in 2014 and completed in 2017. This line also provides commuter services to La Plata's city centre from neighborhoods like Tolosa , Ringuelet , City Bell and Villa Elisa , with a frequency of one train every 25 minutes, which is expected to drop to 12 minutes after the electrification is completed. Up until
1725-413: Is in the process of replacing, the existing infrastructure with continuous welded rails on concrete sleepers and undertaking other works such as renovating level crossings and building new railway bridges. The freight network has also received significant investment from China, with two investments totalling US$ 4.8 billion made in 2013 and 2015. While from 2008 to 2014 there were many indications that
1840-429: Is presently an ongoing modernisation plan so as to provide much needed improvement in services, and the trend is towards electrification of several lines. Similarly, ongoing maintenance and investment has continued on existing electric lines, such as with the $ 845 million purchase of 705 CSR electric multiple unit cars from China for the Mitre, Sarmiento and Roca lines in 2013. The first line to receive this improvement
1955-510: Is so expensive" (this method of powering trains had already been used in Europe). The motive behind this request is not clear, but it may have been because most of the population had never seen a locomotive and believed that this would be dangerous for the surrounding buildings because of the resulting vibration, or perhaps the company considered locomotives to be too costly and the expected number of passengers were low. It must be taken into account that
2070-568: Is the only railway terminus in Buenos Aires that has no access to the Buenos Aires Underground, though it is connected to the Metrobus Sur line. Most trains leave at regular 8-20 minute intervals, though for trains travelling a longer distance service may be less frequent. Fares are cheap and tickets can be purchased at ticket windows or through the SUBE card machines at stations. Most of
2185-724: Is unusual in the sense that, unlike the rest of railway services in Argentina, the rail cars on this line run on the righthand track instead of the left. The tram serves the metropolitan area of Mendoza , which includes the departments of Las Heras, Central district, Godoy Cruz, Maipú and Luján de Cuyo. As of 2013, only one line runs a 12.5 km (8 mi) stretch between Mendoza Central Station and General Gutierrez in Maipú , on double-track 1,435 mm ( 4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ) standard gauge track. The finished project includes four lines, 46.5 km (29 mi) in length and 50 stations, also connecting downtown with
2300-600: The American West , the railways also played a key role in the creation and expansion of new population centres and boomtowns in remote parts of the country. The importance of foreign capital in the construction of the Argentine railways is perhaps overstated, with initial construction of the network beginning in 1855 at first with Argentine finance, which continued throughout the network's development. The Buenos Aires Western , Great Western and Great Southern railways (today
2415-601: The Greater Buenos Aires area. Commuter rail services from the suburbs is mostly operated by SOFSE , though some private operators remain. The rail lines converge at five rail terminals, all of them in Buenos Aires, with two, Retiro and Constitución rail terminals being the busiest train stations in Argentina, though there is a plan to connect all the lines in one central underground station for easy transfer. Buenos Aires City's commuter rail provides 1800 trains carrying 1.4 million passengers each business day in
SECTION 20
#17328518924502530-562: The Mitre Line at Maipú–Bartolomé Mitre station in the northern suburb of Olivos for direct access to Retiro terminus in the centre of the city. An experimental project of a short run tramway line, Tranvía del Este , was inaugurated in 2007 in the Puerto Madero district of Buenos Aires. The 2 km (1.2 mi) prototype line ran between the Córdoba and Independencia avenues, ridership
2645-484: The World Bank and intended to make investments in the country's railways. However, by 1961 its aims had changed significantly and the plan had evolved into one which prioritised automobile transportation and began lifting sections of railway - an act which was put to an end following a series of strikes by railway workers in opposition to the plan. The government favoured road transport and opened car and truck factories in
2760-579: The 1980s, there were also other commuter services on the General Roca Railway to nearby towns and suburbs, however they are no longer in use and there are no indications that they will be reactivated. The Metrotranvía Mendoza (Spanish for Mendoza Light Rail or fast tramway) is a public light rail transport system for the city of Mendoza , Argentina, served by articulated light rail cars operating on newly relaid tracks in former- Ferrocarril General San Martín mainline right-of-way . The tram system
2875-679: The Airport. Construction of the first line ( Línea Verde , or Green Line) began in March 2009. The system opened for regular service on 8 October 2012. In February 2014, the local Government announced the start of constructing works for the second line, linking the city centre with the North, up to Panquehua, in Las Heras Department . The Tren del Valle (Train of the Valley) is a service that runs between
2990-477: The Argentine rail network occurred up to this period and the Argentine state also played a large role, financing ferrocarriles de fomento (development railways) in rural areas not attractive to private interests, while the Argentine State Railway had a 9,690 km (6,020 mi) network. By 1914, the Argentine rail network attained significant growth having added 30,000 km (19,000 mi) to
3105-474: The Argentine railways are tied heavily with the history of the country as a whole, reflecting its economic and political situation at numerous points in history, reaching its high point when Argentina ranked among the 10 richest economies in the world (measured in GDP per capita) during the country's Belle Époque and subsequently deteriorating along with the hopes of the prosperity it came so close to achieving. In
3220-726: The British envoys had offered him a bribe of US$ 100 million if the state paid an extra m$ n 6 billion for the railways on top of the debt cancellation . After the 1948 nationalisation, the 47,000 km (29,000 mi) long Argentine railway network was separated into six divisions managed by State-owned company Ferrocarriles Argentinos . Of the 20 railways incorporated into Ferrocarriles Argentinos, 7 were Argentine, 10 were British and 3 were French prior to nationalisation. There were grouped together by track gauge and location and named after important figures in Argentine History . Maps of those division companies were as follows: Soon after
3335-566: The GCCR went to Argentina; see for instance Richard Francis Burton who mentions in his "Letters From the Battlefields of Paraguay" (1870) that the train he travelled in was pulled by an "asthmatic little engine—which, after serving its time upon the Balaklava line, and being condemned as useless at Buenos Aires, had been shipped off to Paraguay" A carriage pulled by 30 oxen brought the locomotive from
3450-631: The Government of the Province of Buenos Aires, the Western Railway was the line which was most luxurious, least wasteful in its bureaucratic-administrative expenditure and offered the most economical fares and cargo rates. It was a model company which was the pride of the Argentina, in relation to which all the English railway companies established in our country were, without exception, second-rate. In March 1865
3565-543: The Political Organization of the Argentina Republic that "the railway is the means of turning around what the colonizing Spaniards did on this continent". Domingo Faustino Sarmiento and Justo José de Urquiza had also defended the idea. On 17 September 1853 the above-mentioned Railway Society, formed by a group of traders, conscious of the progress in communications which its construction would lead to and
Emprendimientos Ferroviarios - Misplaced Pages Continue
3680-630: The Second World War, the United Kingdom owed Argentina m$ n 2 billion after the country had filled the gaps in food shortages during the war effort. Following what was then a worldwide trend, the private companies were nationalised by the government of Juan Perón , beginning in 1946 with the French railways and then purchasing the British railways after an agreement was signed cancelling the British debt in 1947. Perón later claimed in an interview that
3795-483: The Society. The outward journey presented no difficulties, but on the way back the overenthuiastic passengers persuaded British mechanic, John Allan, to ask for more speed, which led to a derailment adjacent to Almagro station breaking several metres of the track. Some of the passengers suffered light injuries. One of the witnesses commented as follows: The journey was slow and the train reached Floresta with no problems. With
3910-470: The State is the worst administrator". In 1887 the Western Railway has already been condemned to death (...) The unnecessary growth in spending, largely due to the disproportionate increase in employees, the unavoidable increase in capital invested in construction, the resulting decrease in returns and the rise in ticket prices made up a definite intent to sabotage: the Western Railway would quickly be discredited in
4025-642: The cities of Neuquén and Cipolletti in Neuquén and Río Negro provinces , expected to begin operating in July 2015 with 22 services per day. While in the first phase of the reactivation of this line (closed in the 1990s after the privatisation of the network) takes it between these two cities, after the opening, it will continue to be extended to General Roca , Plottier and Añelo in 2015 and 2016. The line uses Argentine-built Materfer CMM 400-2 DMUs and General Roca Railway tracks, which have been replaced along with
4140-795: The city of Buenos Aires on 29 August 1857, was the first railway built in Argentina and the start of the extensive rail network which was developed over the following years. The locomotive La Porteña , built by the British firm EB Wilson & Company in Leeds , was the first train to travel on this line. The BAWR was one of the Big Four broad gauge , 5 ft 6 in ( 1,676 mm ) British companies that built and operated railway networks in Argentina. The route initially measured 10 km (6.2 mi ), stretching from Del Parque station (now
4255-531: The city of Buenos Aires , its suburbs in Greater Buenos Aires and several far-reaching satellite towns. Service is provided by private companies and spreads out from five central stations in Buenos Aires: Retiro , Constitución , Once and Federico Lacroze – all serving both long-distance and local passenger services – and Buenos Aires Station which, despite its name, is a secondary rail terminus serving only local commuter services and will cease to be
4370-632: The city of La Plata , was electrified . This is expected to increase by the end of 2015, when major electrification works are completed. La Plata is mostly served by the Roca Line , including the University train of La Plata , which runs from the central station to the National University of La Plata . The segment of the Roca Line which runs from Buenos Aires Constitución to La Plata and its suburbs
4485-589: The company became a subsidiary of CSR Corporation Limited , with the takeover intended so that the Chinese firm could build rail rolling stock in Argentina. After the takeover, CSR fired 40 former EMFER workers. Rail transport in Argentina#Rolling stock The Argentine railway network consisted of a 47,000 km (29,204 mi) network at the end of the Second World War and was, in its time, one of
4600-604: The country leave a gap which would not have allowed this". Others have been of the same opinion, including Vicente O. Cutolo. The works number shows the locomotive left Leeds in 1856, after the demolition of the Crimea railway had already begun. Its dimensions and characteristics would have been unsuitable for the steep gradients in Balaclava, and technical considerations would have prevented conversion from standard to broad gauge. Contrarily, contemporary reports claim that engines from
4715-403: The country. Diesel train shops and new car shops were opened with help from Fiat , Alstom , and Mitsubishi . Steam locomotives were slowly phased out. Later governments between 1967 and 1971 then continued investing in the railways and enacted modernisation plans, renewing much of the rolling stock and the railways continued to function well. Under the military junta , the 1970s and 1980s saw
Emprendimientos Ferroviarios - Misplaced Pages Continue
4830-399: The demonstration of power it would represent, requested the grant for constructing a railway which would serve both passengers and cargo and whose cars would be pulled by a steam engine. However, in 1854, when work was about to begin, the Society asked to be exempted from using steam engines arguing that it would be more convenient "to use horses, so cheap in this country, instead of coal, which
4945-424: The difficult position of shipping its goods less efficiently using road transport, which costs around 72% more than state-owned rail services. The economic crisis in 2001 was the final blow and neither the private companies nor the government could provide the service required. In 2003, the new administration of President Néstor Kirchner set it as a key policy objective to revive the national rail network. Although
5060-483: The early years, the railway was emblematic of the vast waves of European Immigration into the country, with many coming to work on and operate the railways, such as the Italian-Argentine Alfonso Covassi, the country's first engine driver , and also in the sense that the population boom experienced as a result of this immigration required means of transportation to meet growing demands. Much like in
5175-471: The economic upturn saw traffic grow again, the suburban rail operators were still little more than managers of government contracts rather than true entrepreneurs. In 2008, the National Government formed Trenes Argentinos Operadora Ferroviaria (SOFSE) to manage some freight and passenger lines in the country. The Once Tragedy of February 2012 prompted further action by the government, resulting in
5290-415: The electrification of its remaining diesel segments was completed in 2018 (except Bosques – Villa Elisa route). In 2008, approximately 42.7%, 258 km (160 mi) from a total rail network of 604 km (375 mi) of the Buenos Aires and Greater Buenos Aires area (excluding outer-suburban satellite cities of Capilla del Señor , Lobos , Mercedes , Luján , Zárate and Cañuelas ), but including
5405-483: The engineers who worked on the project were Verger (who created the original plans), Mouillard (a French engineer who was concerned with levelling the route) and, later, William Bragge , who had already built the first railway in Rio de Janeiro . 150 workers were also hired. A steam engine named La Porteña arrived on 25 December 1856. Built by the firm E. B. Wilson and Company at The Railway Foundry in Leeds , England, it
5520-430: The extension of the line. On 1 January 1863 it became the sole proprietor of the company on buying stock from the private individuals, and under its administration the railway reached a length of 177 km in 1870. At this point it transported more than 500,000 passengers and 166,551 tons of cargo annually, producing a profit equivalent to a 9.78% return on the invested capital. During the 27 years in which it belonged to
5635-504: The first electric railway between Retiro and Tigre was inaugurated in 1916, major electrification projects were not adopted. The large size of the country, its long distances and flat topography mean that major electrification does not make much sense economically, although some suburban networks in Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area were electrified. After several decades of the Buenos Aires rail-service being under-funded, there
5750-498: The first of many acts where the ideological climate of the time would define the fate of the Argentine railways. These sales also included Argentina's first railway, the Buenos Aires Western (by now 1,014 km (630 mi) long), which was sold in 1890 to the British company New Western Railway of Buenos Aires for just over 8.1 million pounds (close to £500 million in 2005 money ). This sale, and others that came after it,
5865-402: The following years and the government began re-opening services and improving on the once private services using completely new rolling stock, including long distance services like the one from Buenos Aires to Mar del Plata and Buenos Aires-Rosario-Cordoba. This new-found investment in the railways has not been limited to rolling stock since, in many cases, the state has completely replaced, or
SECTION 50
#17328518924505980-445: The government also began replacing the long distance rolling stock and rails and ultimately put forward a proposal in 2015 which revived Ferrocarriles Argentinos as Nuevos Ferrocarriles Argentinos later that year. The railroad network, with its 17,866 km (11,101 mi) (2018) size, is smaller than it once was, though still the 16th largest in the world, and the 27th largest in passenger numbers. The growth and decline of
6095-457: The lines are electrified , several are diesel-powered , while some of these are currently being electrified and some of the lines share traffic with freight services. Buenos Aires area commuter rail lines were privatised in the 1990s, and passengers had complained for years about poor commuter rail services on lines leading from Constitución station in downtown Buenos Aires to the capital's southern suburbs. However, in recent years all but two of
6210-415: The location of the starting station. As a result meetings, which took place in the home of antiques dealer Manuel José Guerrico, were kept secret. The place finally chosen for the station was opposite the "Plaza del Parque" (known as Plaza General Lavalle since 1878), so named because since 1822 the park's artillery building was located opposite. The site of the station, named after the park, was approximately
6325-400: The loss of some 70,000 jobs in the railway sector over the years, whilst by 1998 some 793 railway stations had been closed. In addition, companies operating other transport means (such as bus transport) who had vested interests seeking the demise of the railway, purchased lines for far less than their real value. Under privatisation, substantial government subsidies continued in order to keep
6440-451: The most extensive and prosperous in the world. However, with the increase in highway construction, there followed a sharp decline in railway profitability, leading to the break-up in 1993 of Ferrocarriles Argentinos (FA), the state railroad corporation. During the period following privatisation, private and provincial railway companies were created and resurrected some of the major passenger routes that FA once operated. Dissatisfied with
6555-423: The need for further Premetro lines has been made redundant. The Buenos Aires public transit system uses a ticketing system. All tickets are bought at ticket booths and ticket printing consoles at railway stations and on board certain trains. Tickets can be bought either using cash or by using the SUBE card (also used throughout the country for buses, tollbooths and underground). Ticket cost differ depending on
6670-467: The network between 1895 and 1914, which positioned the country as having the tenth largest rail network in the world in that year, at a point where the country had the tenth highest per-capita GDP in the world. Its expansion accelerated greatly due to the need for the transport of agricultural products and cattle in Buenos Aires Province . The rail network converged on the city of Buenos Aires and
6785-658: The network came into consideration. Under the presidency of Carlos Menem , Argentina radically changed its economic policies moving from a more Import substitution industrialisation -orientated model towards neoliberal shock therapy and the Washington Consensus under the supervision of the International Monetary Fund . Much like under the classical liberalism of the late 19th and early 20th century, under these plans, Argentina would sell off most of its state assets at extremely reduced prices, among them
6900-406: The number of employees in railway workshops alone fell from 155,000 to 97,000. By the time the country returned to democratic rule , the railways were in bad shape and the country was overwhelmed by the economic burdens and debts left over from the junta. Under this context, and with the state unable to cope with the cost of managing the railways due to a large fiscal deficit, the privatisation of
7015-536: The only cities in Argentina to offer suburban passenger services; most other cities rely on bus and trolleybus transportation, though in the past there were more networks and most major cities had a tramway network . Greater Buenos Aires ' metropolitan rail system is the second most extensive in the Americas after New York's commuter rail system, with about 259 stations, covering 900 km (559 mi) and 7 rail lines serving more than 1.4 million commuters daily in
SECTION 60
#17328518924507130-448: The park station from Defensa, Perú and Piedras streets (between Chile and Mexico streets) and from Plaza Concepción. In the first year of service the route was 10 km long, over a 1,676 m gauge (5' 6"), the same as that used by some colonial English railways. For the safety of pedestrians the beginning of the train's route was surrounded by two tall sets of railings brought over from England. The route left Del Parque station towards
7245-528: The part of the San Martín , Sarmiento and Roca railways respectively) were all commenced using Argentine capital with the Buenos Aires Western Railway being the first to open its doors in the country, along with its Del Parque railway station . Following the adoption of liberal economic policies by president Bartolomé Mitre , these railways were sold off to foreign private interests, consisting of mostly British companies, in what would be
7360-441: The payment method: If the tickets are bought using SUBE , the user can benefit from a government subsidy which translates to a substantially reduced fare. Children under three years of age, children in school uniform, retired people receiving pensions and the disabled do not have to pay to use these services in most cases. Similarly, university students and staff have a 20% discount, with a 50% discount proposed in 2015. Although
7475-403: The population did not find out, those interested in the business did everything possible to stop the accident from becoming known, and it became clear that it was necessary to make some more adjustments before the inauguration. Another story of a test journey makes it clear that vandalism was another serious problem in carrying out the project. In Los Debates , 7 August 1857, it says: The route
7590-671: The port to the station. The vehicle was a 0-4-0 saddle tank engine , capable of running 25 kilometres per hour (16 miles per hour) and weighing 15.75 metric tons (15.50 long tons; 17.36 short tons). It remained in use until August 1889, after which it was only used for shunting for ten years. It is currently on exhibit in the Provincial Transport Museum which forms part of the Enrique Udaondo Provincial Museographic Complex in Luján , together with one of
7705-530: The private management of the railways, beginning in 2012 and following the Once Tragedy , the national government started to re-nationalise some of the private operators and ceased to renew their contracts. At the same time, Operadora Ferroviaria Sociedad del Estado (SOFSE) was formed to manage the lines which were gradually taken over by the government in this period and Argentina's railways began receiving far greater investment than in previous decades. In 2014,
7820-463: The public opinion. In the years that followed, there were numerous cases of undervalued sales to British investors, including the 1,000 km (621 mi) long Andean Railway , which provoked much anti-British sentiment in the country. By 1910 the network had been monopolised by British companies, owned by large finance firms such as J.S. Morgan & Co. in London . Nevertheless, major development of
7935-508: The quartermaster to demolish the building and build the new Teatro Colón on the same site. The works began in April 1890. The theatre remains in this location today. In its place, in 1890 the building which replaced the wooden station of Once de Septiembre was also built. In 1885 the following lines and branches were exploited by the FCO: The British were pressing to purchase the railway at
8050-429: The railway based on the wealth it brought to the city, its efficiency and its lower fares than those of the British -owned railway companies operating in the country. Pressure from British capital and the debts owed by the state of Argentina led to its sale in 1890 to the British company "Buenos Aires Western Railway". The BAWR network is currently part of Domingo Sarmiento Railway network. In 1854, while Buenos Aires
8165-590: The railway network comprised a total length of 297 km. That same year the net profit was $ 16,788,000. Four years later, the rail network increased to 583 km in length, with a net profit of $ 21,583,000; in 1885 the FCO comprised 892 km of tracks. In June 1884 the offices of the Army's General Staff were installed in the Del Parque station building. On 13 September 1886 the Deliberative Council authorised
8280-716: The railway reached Mercedes , than extending to Chivilcoy one year after, without having any need to ask for financial aid. A Law promulgated in November 1868 obliged the Ferrocarril Oeste de Buenos Aires (FCO) to extend its lines to the Andes with the aim of connecting Atlantic and Pacific oceans routes. While the route to the Andes was being studied, the FCO extended its tracks to other cities such as Chivilcoy , Bragado , 9 de Julio , Pehuajó and Trenque Lauquen . The FCO also projected
8395-436: The railways. During these reforms, between 1992 and 1995, the government decided break up and to privatise the state-owned company Ferrocarriles Argentinos (FA), which comprised six relatively independent divisions, Sarmiento , Mitre , Urquiza , San Martín , Belgrano and Roca , and granted concessions to private companies for their operation through competitive bidding, while doing the same with freight services. At
8510-433: The rapid urbanisation which had taken place along the route making the train's passage dangerous. The FCO reached Bragado in 1877. On 20 December 1882, the new Once de Septiembre station building was inaugurated. A municipal decree in April 1878 decided to move the terminus to Once de Septiembre but the company delayed its response to the request, despite a concurrent claim from the neighbourhood, until 1 January 1883. By 1879
8625-413: The reorganisation, Perón turned it into a political matter with the nationalisation becoming a symbol of national autonomy and independence from foreign powers rather than an administrative change and is still to this day regarded by justicialists as a move against neo-imperialsm . Although for many years the state-owned railways were able to provide a good standard of passenger and freight service, over
8740-606: The restoration of existing railway bridges, while parts of its route will be shared with YPF freight services that serve the vast Vaca Muerta oil fields in the provinces. This line was once operated by the Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway , before railway nationalisation in 1948. The Paraná urban railway is served by two local lines which run on the standard gauge General Urquiza Railway and link Paraná city -Capital of Entre Ríos province- with Colonia Avellaneda and Villa Fontana . The two lines are 9 and 13.4 km (8.3 mi) long, but there are further plans to expand
8855-636: The revocation of the Sarmiento Line and Mitre Line concessions from Trenes de Buenos Aires (TBA) in May of that year, with both lines eventually being put under the management of the state-owned SOFSE. In June 2012, the government announced that it was renationalising some freight railways citing "serious breaches of contract" by the operators, this culminated in the nationalisation of the Belgrano Cargas network which operates on over 10,000 km (6,200 mi) of metre gauge track. This trend continued in
8970-481: The same as the current location of the Teatro Colón , between "Cerrito" (previously "Del Cerrito"), "Tucumán", "Libertad" and "Viamonte" (previously "Temple") streets. The Plaza was merely a gap in the city which, precisely because of the station, began to quickly urbanise and its surroundings' appearance were improved with plants and trees. In 1858 the company offered a horse-drawn bus service to allow people to reach
9085-421: The services have been re-nationalised and are operated by Trenes Argentinos (SOFSE) . Buenos Aires once had one of the most extensive tramway systems in the world, with a 875 km (544 mi) network in the city proper alone, which gained the city global notoriety as being "The City of Trams" in the late 19th and early 20th century. The system remained popular throughout its existence but, despite this, it
9200-481: The siege of Sevastopol , during the Crimean war . The diffusion of wide gauge railway lines here (unusual within the world) is due to this fortuitous circumstance." However, some historians deny this, and research in the 1950s showed that this story is untenable; for example, Julio A. Luqui Lagleyze does not believe this could be the case, "since it uses a different gauge, and the dates of its construction and entrance into
9315-460: The site of the Teatro Colón ) to Floresta station, which at that time was located in San José de Flores village, but is now within Buenos Aires city limits. The rails were laid along what are now Lavalle, Enrique S. Discépolo, Avenida Corrientes and Avenida Pueyrredón, and then followed the route of the current Domingo Sarmiento Railway line towards Floresta. Although the construction of this line
9430-425: The south-east corners of Corrientes and Medrano and of Corrientes and Avenida Raúl Scalabrini Ortiz (then called Camino Ministro Inglés). John Allan, the above-mentioned first driver of La Porteña, drove this gloomy train and fell victim to the epidemic at the age of 36. In 1873 the convenience of raising the tracks between Plaza del Parque terminus and Once de Septiembre station was already under consideration, due to
9545-403: The south-east, bringing it to what is now avenida Corrientes . This S-shaped stretch of the train's route is remembered thanks to artwork by Marino Santa María on the facades of the buildings on the eastern side. From Corrientes it continued straight on to Pueyrredón avenue (previously "Centroamérica"), where it turned sharply and continued onto Cangallo (now Juan Domingo Perón), then returned to
9660-426: The start of the concessions, the railway network was quickly reduced to one quarter of its capacity, with long distance lines disappearing almost completely. At the same time, as more locomotives and rolling stock were needed, the private companies became increasingly reluctant to make the investment required to increase capacity and thus service quality and passenger numbers declined. Railway privatisation resulted in
9775-404: The state management of the railways, albeit now with a much more limited service and further deteriorated infrastructure. The closing of much of the rail system also led to the emptying of many rural towns dependent on the railways, creating ghost towns and therefore to a dismantling of the development that had taken place there since the arrival of trains. Argentine agriculture found itself in
9890-437: The state was re-nationalising parts of the railway and making efforts towards improving it, in 2015 it was announced that complete nationalisation of the remaining lines and services were on the table after a project was put forward that would see the resurrection of Ferrocarriles Argentinos as a state-owned holding company which would incorporate SOFSE (passenger services), TACyL (freight) and ADIFSE (infrastructure). This
10005-465: The state-owned Fabricaciones Militares (which manufactured military products in addition to rail rolling stock). During its last years, the company was managed by brothers Mario and Claudio Cirigliano , who had been prosecuted following the Once tragedy in 2012 . In January 2014 they decided to sell EMFER after the government of Argentina removed their concession to run the Sarmiento Line . Later in 2014
10120-642: The stations, etc. were imported from Great Britain. So were large quantities of a non-manufactured product: the coal for the engines. Three months after Juárez Celman became president of Argentina (1886–1890), the main line of the Ferrocarril Andino was sold to a British company. In 1887 the Central Norte was sold, and soon after so was the Western Railway. In his presidential speech of 1887 he announced: "I am planning to sell all public, reproductive works in order to pay our debts, because I am convinced that
10235-417: The sticks and wires left a short distance away. On 27 August a new and successful test was carried out. On that day the country's first telegraph network was also started up, laid out by the company with the aim of helping the rail service. Finally, on 29 August 1857 (a sunny Saturday) the opening ceremony took place, presided over by the governor of Buenos Aires, Valentín Alsina . On the inaugural journey he
10350-424: The system from collapsing, the state continued losing money on the railways. During this period, the railways were plagued by negligence, while private operators persistently ignored warnings from inspectors whilst failing in their contractual obligations to maintain railway infrastructure. Similarly, over the years, government subsidies to the private companies increased to levels similar to the losses incurred under
10465-506: The system. Villa Fontana's line was inaugurated in August 2010 up to Oro Verde and expanded to Villa Fontana in 2011. Colonia Avellaneda's line was inaugurated in March 2011. Paraná city is also linked with interurban services to Concepción del Uruguay and Concordia , Entre Rios' main cities. It serves Great Resistencia , the capital city of the province of Chaco with a 10 km (6.2 mi) line to Puerto Vilelas with 8 stations, and
10580-423: The train ready to return and the commissioners pleased with the first trial, they ordered Mr Allan to return at a greater speed until, halfway along the line with the train on an embankment, the train shook, then ran for some distance along the sleepers, breaking 60 or 70 metres of the track. The shock was very violent; Mr Van Praet and Mr Gowland bumped heads, the latter ending up with a bleeding head wound. Mr Moreno
10695-504: The train was then in the administrative area of San José de Flores. Two kilometres further west, on reaching what is now the calle Federico García Lorca (then Caballito and later Cucha Cucha) it reached the wood and cardboard station Caballito (named for the pulperia established by Genovese merchant Nicolás Vila in 1804, that had a horse-shaped weather vane on its roof). After crossing Caballito (an area of luxurious estates and houses), and close to Caracas (then called Paz) trains reached
10810-450: The train's inauguration planned for January 1857. However, a successful trial was carried out during that month. On 7 April the train derailed during another test, but at a low speed and with no fatalities. In June another test was carried out, and in August a test journey, with one carriage of packages and another of passengers pulled by La Porteña , carried Bartolomé Mitre , Dalmacio Vélez Sársfield , Valentín Alsina , and some members of
10925-456: The west, zigzagging through the square, which provoked serious complaints from neighbours who said that their environment was being invaded, to reach what is now the corner of Talcahuano and Lavalle. It continued straight on along this last street, passing opposite Artillery Park (now the site of the Palace of Justice) up to Callao boulevard (now Avenida Callao ). There it moved in an S shape towards
11040-429: The western railway had no financial guarantee of minimum earnings, as the soon-established British railways would have (among other benefits). They would only earn what they obtained from their own activities. In any case, steam engines were finally purchased. A law sanctioned by Buenos Aires province's Chamber of Representatives established the donation of public land, free import of supplies and tax exemptions. Among
11155-567: The wooden carriages. The first of the company's mechanics was the Italian Alfonso Covassi, who had one year's experience in the position after having been employed by the company Strada Ferrata Leopoldina, from Tuscany , Italy . The second engine which worked together with La Porteña was called La Argentina . It was transferred to Paraguay in 1869 by Domingo Sarmiento, together with four other locomotives. The engines were given names such as Rauch , Libertad , Indio amigo and Voy
11270-528: The wooden station of San José de Flores, which in 1862 was moved 250m to the west to what is now called Gral. José Gervasio Artigas (then called Sud América) due to a property dispute with the land owners. The village of Flores only contained a temple, a plaza, small houses and a few businesses. Continuing to the west, at 10 km from its starting point, between Joaquín V. González (then "Esperanza") and Bahía Blanca (first an unnamed street and then "De La Capilla") it reached Floresta station (wooden). This station
11385-532: The work was finished. The rails brought from Europe did not reach Flores, so they had to be constructed from wood coated with sheet metal, which jumped every time the train passed over them and the laborers had to run to nail them down again. At one of the tests the convoy derailed, a fact which had to be kept secret in order not to alarm the population. On 30 August the opening was almost suspended, because some drunkards tried to tip La Porteña over, an occurrence prevented by Elordi's opportune intervention. While most of
11500-453: The years the changing politics of Argentina began to take its toll. By the 1960s, the post-war economic boom had ushered in a new age of the automobile, with rail transport on its way out around the world, a trend from which Argentina was not left unscathed. Following the ousting of Perón from power, the Larkin Plan was implemented to modernise transport in the country with backing from
11615-523: Was a key component in the development of the Argentine economy as it rose to be a leading export country. However, with the advent of the First World War , then subsequently the Wall Street Crash and Great Depression , the rail network of the country experienced a much lower rate of growth after this period and had mostly ground to a halt by the beginning of the Second World War . By the end of
11730-443: Was a model company which was the pride of Argentina, in relation to which all the English railway companies established in our country were, without exception, second-rate…[But after the sale] the unnecessary growth in spending, largely due to the disproportionate increase in employees, the resulting decrease in returns and the rise in ticket prices made up a definite intent to sabotage: the Western Railway would quickly be discredited in
11845-480: Was accompanied by, among others, Bartolomé Mitre , Domingo F. Sarmiento, Dalmacio Vélez Sárfield, Estanislao del Campo , members of the Railroad Society and special guests such as local political boss José María Yanquetruz, in military dress. That morning a mass was celebrated and the engines La Porteña and La Argentina were blessed. La Porteña and its carriages, driven by Alfonso Corazzi (also acting as stoker),
11960-669: Was an independent state of the Argentine Confederation, governor Pastor Obligado awarded the Buenos Aires Western Railroad Society a grant for constructing a railway, from the city of Buenos Aires towards the west. This grant was fulfilled by a bill presented on 9 January by a financing committee consisting of Dalmacio Vélez Sársfield , Bartolomé Mitre and Mariano Billinghurst. The railway's importance had already been pointed out by Juan Bautista Alberdi , who wrote in his work Basis and starting point for
12075-416: Was apparently soon authorised. A first class ticket was $ 10, and second or open-carriage tickets were $ 5. From the first trip until 31 December, 56,190 passengers and 2,257 tons of cargo were transported. In Buenos Aires the population at the time was approximately 170,000 inhabitants. In 1858 the line transported 185,566 passengers and 6,747 tons of cargo. Real-estate interests came into play when determining
12190-475: Was dismantled in the mid-1960s in favour of bus transport. Today, some minor tram services remain, as well as light rail services in the city proper and Greater Buenos Aires . The light rail Tren de la Costa (Train of the Coast), which serves tourists and local commuters, runs from the northern suburbs of Buenos Aires to Tigre along the river for approximately 15 km (9 mi). The line connects directly to
12305-512: Was for some time called "Vélez Sársfield", and in 1862 was replaced by a more modern building. In 1858 it was extended 8 km to Ramos Mejía , in 1859 to Morón and in 1860 to Moreno , with which the route reached 39 km in length. The financial collaboration of the government of Buenos Aires was decisive in the initial organisation of the company, providing more than one million pesos, renouncing in advance any dividends coming from this sum, and providing another six million pesos to secure
12420-422: Was heavily criticised at the time for being far lower than the actual value of the railway, and prompted many anti-British protests. In later years, this was also criticised by historians: During the 27 years in which it belonged to the Government of the Province of Buenos Aires, the Western Railway was the line which was most luxurious, least wasteful [...] and offered the most economical fares and cargo rates. It
12535-415: Was launched headfirst into the body of Mr Llavallol, and Mr Miró, who smoked, ended up with his cigarrette down the back of his neck, burning him under his shirt. Raquel Fusoni Elordi, granddaughter of Luis Elordi (the above-mentioned company administrator), in a letter to the readers of the newspaper La Prensa dated 10 October 1957, refers to the pre-opening tests thus: In 1857, after a thousand setbacks,
12650-546: Was not as expected and the line closed in 2012. A Historic Tramway operates on weekends and holidays in the Caballito neighbourhood of the capital with free fares and using vintage rolling stock from the now defunct Buenos Aires tramway network. Another tramway line, the Buenos Aires Premetro , operates as a feeder at the end of Underground Line E , running through some of the city's southern districts. Though there
12765-569: Was proposed by a group of private individuals known as the "Sociedad del Camino-Ferrocarril al Oeste" (in English : "Western Railway Society"), it was financed by the province of Buenos Aires, which was at that time an independent state of the Argentine Confederation . In 1863 the province became sole owner of the railway line. The Western Railway was one of the greatest triumphs of Buenos Aires state, which justified its 27 years of ownership of
12880-566: Was purchased by the first administrator of the Railroad Company, the engineer Luis Elordi. Its mechanics, the brothers John and Tomas Allan, came with it. A now-discounted popular legend says the locomotive came via Crimea; for example, Raúl Scalabrini Ortiz wrote in Historia de los Ferrocarriles Argentinos (History of the Argentinian railways) (1940), that "it was built for India and used in
12995-591: Was put into effect in April 2015 when, by overwhelming majority, the Argentine Senate passed the law which re-created Ferrocarriles Argentinos and effectively re-nationalised the country's railways, a move which saw support from all major political parties across the political spectrum. Expenditure for the railway network was set at AR$ 9 billion for 2015, while in 2016 it is expected to be AR$ 7.2 billion. Buenos Aires, Mendoza , Cordoba , Resistencia , Paraná , La Plata , Santiago del Estero and Salta are
13110-554: Was the Roca Line network in the southern part of the city, where work is already in progress, and several new segments electrified in 2012, such as the Glew - Alejandro Korn route and the Temperley - Remedios de Escalada route. The electrification of this line from Constitución railway station in Buenos Aires to the city of La Plata was completed in 2017. In 2018, all routes were electrified except Bosques – Villa Elisa route, which only
13225-472: Was waved off from the decorated station by a crowd, and reached San José de Flores village, where a band played the Marcha a Lavalle . Finally it reached the terminal station, La Floresta, where it was welcomed by a crowd and the company gave a refreshment service to the passengers in the local Café Restaurant. From 30 August 1857 a regular public service was offered twice a day in each direction. A new night service
#449550