Ferrocentral was an
Argentine private railway company, with a name formed by a combination of the
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
words for "Central Rail". It operated long-distance passenger trains from its base at
Retiro station in
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
to several locations in northern Argentina, running on
Ferrocarril Mitre
Futbol Club Sonsonate is a Salvadoran professional football club based in Sonsonate, El Salvador.
The club plays its home games at Estadio Anna Mercedes Campos, a stadium located in the City suburb of Sonsonate, Sonsonate, since 2009. The team ...
's
Indian gauge
, a broad gauge, is the track gauge used in India, Pakistan, western Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Argentina, Chile, and on BART in San Francisco, United States.
In North America, it is called Indian Gauge, Provincial, Portland, or Texas gauge. In Arg ...
tracks.
The company also ran regional services (such as
Tren de las Sierras
Tren de las Sierras (technically known as the "A-1" branch of the General Belgrano Railway) is a regional rail line in Córdoba Province of Argentina. The line runs from Alta Córdoba to Cosquín, being currently operated by state-owned com ...
) on
Ferrocarril Belgrano's tracks in
Córdoba Province. The National Government invested
$10 million to re-open the line.
History
All of the train routes managed by Ferrocentral had been previously operated by
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 ...
, the country's now-defunct national passenger railroad corporation. After the
privatisation of Ferrocarriles Argentinos starting in 1991, many train services across Argentina were indefinitely discontinued. Since the year 2005, however, Ferrocentral was formed and successfully resurrected some passenger lines.
Ferrocentral was established in 2005, being formed by two railway companies,
Nuevo Central Argentino
Nuevo Central Argentino S. A. (abbreviated NCA) is an Argentine company that utilises the operation and infrastructure of the national railway system of the former Mitre Railway division of Ferrocarriles Argentinos, by a concession granted on 23 ...
(concessionary of
Ferrocarril Mitre
Futbol Club Sonsonate is a Salvadoran professional football club based in Sonsonate, El Salvador.
The club plays its home games at Estadio Anna Mercedes Campos, a stadium located in the City suburb of Sonsonate, Sonsonate, since 2009. The team ...
's freight services) and
Ferrovías
Ferrovías S.A.C. is a privately owned company which, on 1 April 1994, took over the concession, granted by the Argentine government as part of railway privatisation during the presidency of Carlos Menem, for the operation of the 1,000 mm ...
(which operates the
Belgrano Norte Line
The Belgrano Norte line is a commuter rail service in Buenos Aires, Argentina run by the private company Ferrovías since 1 April 1994. This service had previously been run by the state-owned General Belgrano Railway since nationalisation of ...
) with the purpose of running trains from
Retiro station in
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
to the city of
Córdoba.
In 2006 Ferrocentral started to run trains to
Tucumán, with stops in
Rosario and La Banda, a city of
Santiago del Estero Province
Santiago del Estero (), also known simply as Santiago, is a province in the north of Argentina. Neighboring provinces, clockwise from the north, are Salta, Chaco, Santa Fe, Córdoba, Catamarca and Tucumán.
History
The indigenous inhabita ...
. Long-distance passenger trains were tractioned by
GT22 diesel locomotives
A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving wheels ...
. Most services operated in the late night and early morning hours as the rail lines are used for transporting cargo during the daytime.
One year later the company also re-opened the
Tren de las Sierras
Tren de las Sierras (technically known as the "A-1" branch of the General Belgrano Railway) is a regional rail line in Córdoba Province of Argentina. The line runs from Alta Córdoba to Cosquín, being currently operated by state-owned com ...
("
Mountain Range
A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...
Train") of
Córdoba Province that connected the cities of
Córdoba and
Cosquín.
On 2013, Ministry of Transport of Argentina, Florencio Randazzo, signed a resolution transferring the services to
Córdoba and
San Miguel de Tucumán
San Miguel de Tucumán (; usually called simply Tucumán) is the capital and largest city of Tucumán Province, located in northern Argentina from Buenos Aires. It is the fifth-largest city of Argentina after Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Argentina, ...
to State-owned companies
SOFSE (also known as "Trenes Argentinos") and
Administración de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias (ADIF).
In addition, some problems with ticket sales were reported by users, accusing the company to give a poor service for online purchasing, as well as the virtually nil availability of seats.
In November 2014, the
Government of Argentina (through the State-owned company
Trenes Argentinos S.A.) took over the services to
Rosario,
Tucumán and
Córdoba, leaving Ferrocentral inactive.
Services
Services operated as of October 2014:
"Servicios" on Ferrocentral website
(Archive)
See also
* Ferrovías
Ferrovías S.A.C. is a privately owned company which, on 1 April 1994, took over the concession, granted by the Argentine government as part of railway privatisation during the presidency of Carlos Menem, for the operation of the 1,000 mm ...
* Nuevo Central Argentino
Nuevo Central Argentino S. A. (abbreviated NCA) is an Argentine company that utilises the operation and infrastructure of the national railway system of the former Mitre Railway division of Ferrocarriles Argentinos, by a concession granted on 23 ...
* Ferrocarril Mitre
Futbol Club Sonsonate is a Salvadoran professional football club based in Sonsonate, El Salvador.
The club plays its home games at Estadio Anna Mercedes Campos, a stadium located in the City suburb of Sonsonate, Sonsonate, since 2009. The team ...
References
External links
Official website
(archived, 17 Dec 2008)
{{Railway Companies in Argentina
Defunct railway companies of Argentina
Emepa Group
Railway companies established in 2004
Railway companies disestablished in 2014
2004 establishments in Argentina
2014 disestablishments in Argentina
Rail transport in Buenos Aires Province
Rail transport in Córdoba Province, Argentina
Rail transport in Santa Fe Province
Transport in Tucumán Province
Transport in Santiago del Estero Province