Bahía Blanca Sud (English: Bahía Blanca South) is a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

of the Argentine rail network, part of the

General Roca Railway The General Roca Railway (FCGR) (native name: Ferrocarril General Roca) is a broad gauge railway in Argentina which runs from Constitución station in Buenos Aires to the south of the country through the provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, ...

. Originally built and operated by the

Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway The Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway (BAGS) ( es, Ferrocarril del Sud) was one of the ''Big Four'' Indian gauge, broad gauge, , British-owned companies that built and operated railway networks in Argentina. The company was founded by Edward ...

, it is located in the city of

Bahía Blanca Bahía Blanca (; English: White Bay) is a city in the southwest of the provinces of Argentina, province of Buenos Aires Province, Buenos Aires, Argentina, by the Atlantic Ocean, and is the seat of government of the Bahía Blanca Partido. It had 3 ...

Buenos Aires Province Buenos Aires (), officially the Buenos Aires Province (''Provincia de Buenos Aires'' ), is the largest and most populous Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of th ...

. In November 2014 the station was declared

National Historical Monument National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

by the

Argentine government The government of Argentina, within the framework of a federal system, is a presidential representative democratic republic. The President of Argentina is both head of state and head of government. Executive power is exercised by the President. ...

. Bahía Blanca Sud station is the seat of the Sport Museum ("Museo del Deporte") of the city, although the Municipality announced that it will be moved to "Torre del Bicentenario".

History

Bahía Blanca Sud was built by the British-owned

company and inaugurated on 26 April 1884. The station was named "Bahía Blanca Sud" to differentiate it from the other railway stations in the town, Bahía Blanca Noroeste, built by the British-owned Bahía Blanca and North Western Railway and Bahía Blanca of the

Rosario and Puerto Belgrano Railway The Rosario and Puerto Belgrano Railway (Spanish: Ferrocarril Rosario y Puerto Belgrano, and in French: Compagnie de Chemins de Fer Rosario-Puerto Belgrano) was a French-owned railway company which operated a broad gauge, , single track lin ...

. Bahía Blanca was one of the few BAGSR stations that included a

coffeehouse A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-ca ...

(opened with the station in 1884), along with Ayacucho, Azul, Empalme Lobos, Ingeniero White, Las Flores, La Plata, Mar del Plata, Plaza Constitución, Tandil and Tres Arroyos. In July 1903, the BAGSR announced the construction of a new building, which began in 1909. The remodeling included the enlargement of the installations and the construction of a new main building. The new station was inaugurated on 19 December 1911. When the entire Argentine railway network was

nationalised Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...

in 1948, the station became part of

, one of the six divisions of state-owned company

Ferrocarriles Argentinos Ferrocarriles Argentinos (abbreviated as FA; ) was a state-owned company that managed the entire Argentine railway system for nearly 45 years. It was formed in 1948 when all the private railway companies were nationalised during Juan Perón's fir ...

. After the

Carlos Menem Carlos Saúl Menem (2 July 1930 – 14 February 2021) was an Argentine lawyer and politician who served as the President of Argentina from 1989 to 1999. Ideologically, he identified as a Peronist and supported economically liberal policies. H ...

's administration closed all the long distance services in Argentina, the national Government transferred the operation of several lines in Buenos Aires to the provincial government, including the Roca line from Constitución to Bahía Blanca. In 2009 the Municipality began works to remodel the station facilities, including its coffeehouse, that were finished one year later. The restoration was executed by the Ministry of Infrastructure of the Province of Buenos Aires and funded by the Ministry of Federal Planning, Public Investment and Services. Between 2011 and 2012 the station clock, dating to 1880, was also restored. In November 2014, by Decree 2181/2014, the station was declared a

. From 18 September 2015,

runs a weekly service between Constitución and Bahía Blanca Sud, departring from the capital on Fridays and returning on Sundays.

Gallery

File:Tren a Stroeder en BBS 1921.jpg, Platform 1, 1921 File:Llega el tren a Bahia Blanca(5).jpg,

Trenes Argentinos Operadora Ferroviaria Sociedad del Estado (abbreviated SOFSE; trading name: Trenes Argentinos Operaciones) is an Argentine state-owned company created in 2008 to operate passenger services in Argentina. It is a subsidiary of the Ferrocarriles Ar ...

train at the station File:Tren bahia blanca.jpg, Service from Constitución, 2015

References

External links

''Arquitectura Ferroportuaria en Bahía Blanca 1880–1930''
by José M. Zingoni
Virtual 360° tour to the station
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bahia Blanca Sud railway station Railway stations in Buenos Aires Province Railway stations opened in 1884