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89-521: The AATC operated a vast network of trams in Buenos Aires by the early 20th century and the company set out to build the first underground tramway in the city, which later became part of the Underground network. The line would go underground through the centre of Buenos Aires and then continue as an overground tram service using a ramp at Primera Junta station , which leads to what is today the location of

178-583: A MetroBus line to the south of the city. However, plans are underway to refurbish the existing E2 line, including the construction of a new terminal and the restoration of the line's stops. Today, the Association of Friends of the Tramway (Spanish: Asociación Amigos del Tranvía ) maintain and refurbish numerous trams inside the Polvorín workshop in the neighbourhood of Caballito . The Buenos Aires Historic Tramway

267-465: A 2 km-long stretch with 4 stations. The tramway closed after experiencing low passenger numbers, largely due to the linear nature of the line which only operated in a sparsely populated part of the area. Extensions had been planned to the Retiro railway station and to La Boca , which would have added an extra 7 km to the line, however the plans were ultimately abandoned. In Greater Buenos Aires

356-641: 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

445-463: 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

534-484: 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

623-458: A vast network of tramways with the city being known as the "City of Trams" for having the highest tramway-to-population ratio in the world. In the 1920s, Buenos Aires had 875 km (544 mi) of tramways and 99 tram lines using 3000 carriages running throughout the city. By 1963, the vast majority of the network began to be dismantled, though some minor tram services continue in the city today. The first horse-drawn trams began circulating

712-454: Is a 7.4 km-long tram line which opened in 1987 with the intention of it functioning as a feeder service for Line E of the Buenos Aires Underground . It is currently operated by the private company Metrovías , who also operate the Underground and the Urquiza Line in the city. It uses Argentine-built Materfer trams, though for a brief period it used re-bodied La Brugeoise cars from

801-471: 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,

890-404: 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

979-413: 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

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1068-464: Is one of the most treasured gems of Buenos Aires' historical and cultural heritage. This beautiful vehicle, which has been meticulously restored and preserved, is a true moving work of art that allows visitors to travel back in time and relive the golden era of trams in the city. Rides on this Historic Tramway of Caballito are free, and the tours are organized by the Association of Tramway Friends and Federico Lacroze Public Library. which also serves as

1157-429: 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

1246-568: 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

1335-724: 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

1424-600: 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

1513-523: The Buenos Aires Underground 's Line A in 1913, becoming the first underground rail in Latin America , the southern hemisphere and the Spanish speaking world. In 1922 the first Colectivos (buses) began to appear in the city and by 1928 were competing fiercely with the trams, with many operators going as far as running their colectivos in front of the trams to try and steal their passengers. However,

1602-601: 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

1691-539: The Lacroze Company remained. In the early 1900s the network expanded rapidly as a result of electrification and by the mid-1920s the system has reached its maximum extension of 875 km with 3,000 vehicles carrying 650 million passengers a year on 99 lines serviced by 12,000 employees. At the same time, some of the tramways began moving underground when the Anglo-Argentine Tramways Company opened

1780-562: 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

1869-749: The Polvorín Workshop where it continued through the Caballito neighbourhood . The company needed rolling stock to serve the new line and thus took bids from two companies: the United Electric Car Company and the Belgian company La Brugeoise et Nicaise et Delcuve . UEC sent 4 of these trams to Buenos Aires for the AATC's consideration. Though their exterior design was very similar to the La Brugeoise trams ,

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1958-645: The Tren de la Costa , which uses articulated CAF trams, was opened in 1995. It links to the General Mitre Railway in northern Buenos Aires and runs from Olivos to Tigre . Rail transport in Argentina 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 the most extensive and prosperous in

2047-484: 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

2136-579: 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

2225-779: The AAT discovered car No.4 in the city of Banfield where it was being used as a shop. The car was then purchased and returned to the Polvorín Workshop where it was restored by the AAT. All three remaining cars are now stored in the Polvorín Workshop and used on the Buenos Aires Heritage Tramway , and also on Underground Line A during special occasions, such as for the 100-year anniversary of its opening in 2013. Trams in Buenos Aires The first trams in Buenos Aires began operating in 1863 in what quickly became

2314-401: The AAT's ongoing restoration and acquisition of more trams to add to its museum, it also acquired some La Brugeoise cars , which up until 2013 served Line A of the Underground, with the intention of restoring them and converting them to be used as trams, which was their original use before the Underground. The Puerto Madero Tramway was a tram which ran in Puerto Madero from 2007 to 2012 on

2403-679: 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

2492-477: 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

2581-474: 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

2670-776: 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

2759-596: The Lacroze brothers' Central Tramway ( Tramway Central ) and the Méndez brothers' Tramway 11 de Septiembre , which both ran parallel from Plaza de Mayo westwards to Plaza Miserere , currently the home of Once de Septiembre railway station . The tramways were first met with scepticism from the public, however by 1880 numerous other tram operators began to appear - such as the Anglo-Argentine Tramways Company - and

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2848-486: The Preston trams were noted for their extravagant interiors. The trams had seats made of Indonesian rattan ; oak frames and panelling; and handrails, handles and lights made of bronze . Ultimately, the AATC would settle for the more economical La Brugeoise cars, though the 4 Preston trams still remained in service on the line. In 1927, both the Preston and La Brugeoise trams were refurbished for underground use only since it

2937-630: 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

3026-455: The Underground while the Materfer trams were being constructed. Originally there were supposed to be two PreMetro lines, however the second line (E1) was never built following the privatisation of the country's railways in the early 1990s. More recent plans to build the line (which, along with E2, would service some of the poorer parts of the city) were further thwarted after the construction of

3115-502: The Underground. It officially became part of their collection in 1994. Car No.2 lay abandoned in the Polvorín Workshop until 2004 when it was also restored by the AAT to celebrate 90 years since the arrival of the Underground to the Caballito neighbourhood where the workshop is located. This car was also exhibited at the Tecnópolis exhibition in 2011, then later returned to the AAT in 2012, albeit with some damage due to rain. In 2006,

3204-642: 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

3293-761: The city in 1863 as a feeder service to the railways , taking passengers from Plaza de Mayo to the Retiro Terminal , where it connected to the Buenos Aires Northern Railway . A second similar horse-drawn feeder service was established between Monserrat and the Constitución railway terminal in 1866 to service the Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway . The first urban tramways were inaugurated in 1870 by Argentine pioneer Federico Lacroze and his brother Julio. These two lines were

3382-531: 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

3471-505: The city of La Plata , south of Buenos Aires. Buenos Aires would not receive its first electric trams until 1897 when the North American engineer Charles Bright and the Argentine engineer Juan Mallol opened their "Buenos Ayres Electric Tramway" and "Tramways La Capital" lines in the city. These vehicles operated at 30 km/h, which was considered to be extremely fast for the time and led a journalist writing about an initial voyage to refer to

3560-632: 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

3649-516: The city would eventually emerge as having the largest tramway-to-population ratio in the world, gaining a global reputation for many decades as the "City of Trams". During this period, up until electrification, there was also an abundance of steam-powered trams which also gradually replaced the horse-drawn ones. In 1880 Fyodor Pirotsky created the first electric tram in Saint Petersburg and Argentina opened its first electric tram in 1892 in

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3738-404: The city's trams and buses, while Subterráneos de Buenos Aires (SBA) managed the underground. Under this new administration, the network saw almost all the rails and overhead lines, as well as the rolling stock, almost completely replaced in the years from 1955 to 1961. At the same time, this period saw a significant increase in traffic, so much so that double-decker trams were re-incorporated into

3827-523: The collapse of the National Reorganisation Process junta. Following their retirement from the Buenos Aires Underground in 1977, car No.1 was scrapped in the early 1980s. Following the creation of the Association of Friends of the Tramways (AAT) in that same decade, the Buenos Aires Underground presented car No.3 to the AAT in order for it to be restored to commemorate the 70th anniversary of

3916-403: 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

4005-424: 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

4094-483: 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

4183-471: 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

4272-416: The electric tram as "a furious vehicle that eats up the ground with its frightening speed" . By 1914, the last of the horse-drawn trams were retired and the - now much larger - network was completely electrified. The Belgian Compagnie Générale de Tramways de Buenos-Ayres took over the Anglo-Argentine Tramways Company in 1908 and standardised much of the network, though many Argentine companies such as

4361-415: 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

4450-504: 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

4539-498: 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,

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4628-402: 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

4717-445: 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

4806-457: 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

4895-400: 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

4984-423: 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

5073-467: 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

5162-658: 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

5251-479: The network. However, this resurgence and rapid growth of the network was to be short-lived, since in 1961 - under pressure from private interests threatened by what they perceived to be a state monopoly on public transport - the Argentine Congress passed a law which would see the dismantling of the network, citing "obsolescence as a means of transport" and TBA's budgetary deficit as motives. From 1961 to 1963

5340-406: 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

5429-536: 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

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5518-580: 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

5607-441: 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

5696-530: 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,

5785-463: 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

5874-436: 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

5963-413: 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

6052-606: 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

6141-636: 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

6230-421: 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

6319-426: 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

6408-404: 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

6497-437: 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

6586-424: 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

6675-505: The system was gradually dismantled, despite what many saw as a golden age for the tramways. The final trams ceased operating in February 1963, just a few days after the 100-year anniversary of the first tram in Buenos Aires. Most of the tram services saw direct replacements with the hundreds of buses purchased by the Government of Argentina from Leyland Motors . The Buenos Aires PreMetro

6764-506: 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

6853-440: The trams did remain competitive, even going as far as offering a special "workers fare" in which people using trams from 5 until 7 in the morning could get a reduced fare at half the standard rate, something which was later abolished in 1949. The network saw somewhat of a resurgence following the nationalisation of the country's railways in 1948, which also saw the creation of Transportes de Buenos Aires (TBA) which incorporated

6942-425: The workshop for Line A of the Buenos Aires Underground . The group formed in 1980 and runs a heritage tramway in the neighborhood , which often features jazz bands playing on the trams. The service is free and is open on Saturdays and Sundays and public holidays all year round from 4pm to 7.30pm. The tramway has many trams dating back as far as the early 1900s which are used on its 2 km circuit. As part of

7031-414: 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

7120-453: 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

7209-539: Was a convoy used to transport Edward VIII (then Prince of Wales ) and other officials during a state visit to Argentina in 1925. After the retirement of the Preston cars, they were briefly brought back into service in 1983 to take officials from the Argentine Congressional Palace to the Casa Rosada for the inauguration of President Raúl Alfonsín when the country returned to democratic rule following

7298-523: 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

7387-551: 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

7476-491: Was decided that they would no longer serve above ground. The Preston cars 2 and 3 each had one of their front segments (along with respective doors) removed, while cars 1 and 4 had both removed and the four were coupled into a single formation independent of the La Brugoise cars, which were incompatible. The cars were primarily used for special events and the transportation of VIPs in their 64 years of service. One notable example

7565-475: 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

7654-526: 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

7743-495: 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

7832-639: 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

7921-554: 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

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