The Belgrano Sur line is an
Argentine
Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...
commuter rail
Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are con ...
service in the
Greater Buenos Aires
Greater Buenos Aires ( es, Gran Buenos Aires, GBA), also known as the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area ( es, Área Metropolitana de Buenos Aires, AMBA), refers to the urban agglomeration comprising the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires and the adjac ...
area, currently operated by
state-owned enterprise
A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a Government, government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn Profit (econom ...
Trenes Argentinos. The Belgrano Sur runs over tracks and through stations built by the
Franco
Franco may refer to:
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* Franco (name)
* Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975
* Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître"
Prefix
* Franco, a prefix used when ...
–
Belgian-owned
Compañía General de Buenos Aires and
British Midland
Midland may refer to:
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companies at the beginning of the 20th century.
The termini are Dr. A. Sáenz in the
Nueva Pompeya
Nueva Pompeya (Spanish for ''New Pompei''), often loosely referred to as Pompeya, is a neighbourhood in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Located in the South side, it has long been one of the city's proletarian districts steeped in the tradit ...
district of the autonomous city of
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 ...
, with two branches to Villars in
General Las Heras Partido
General Las Heras Partido is a small partido in the northeast of Buenos Aires Province in Argentina.
The provincial subdivision has a population of about 13,000 inhabitants in an area of , and its capital city is General Las Heras, which is fr ...
(departing from
González Catán
González Catán is a city located in La Matanza Partido, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. The city is the second-largest by area in the county (52 km²), and the second most-populous. The city is located near the southwestern end of the Gr ...
)
[El tren Belgrano Sur vuelve a llegar a la estación 20 de Junio tras 26 años sin servicio]
Télam, 1 Dec 2019 and Marinos del Crucero Gral. Belgrano in La Matanza and Merlo partidos respectively. Carrying just under 11 million passengers per year, the line is the least used of the Buenos Aires commuter rail network.[Estadísticas del transporte ferroviario - Total 2014]
, CNRT website - Ministry of Transport
The railway line was originally built and operated by two companies, British-owned buenos aires midland railway that made its inaugural trip in 1909 joining puente Alsina and Carhue, and Franco-Belgian-owned camoinia gereral de buenos aires ( Established in 1908 ), That built and operated a large network reaching cities in the west of Buenos aires province and branches to cities such as La plata and Rosario, Although most of the line was closed and only a few services are active nowadays.
History
Background
The railway line was originally built and operated by two companies, British-owned Buenos Aires Midland Railway
The Buenos Aires Midland Railway (BAM) was a British-owned railway company which operated in Argentina, where it was known as Ferrocarril Midland de Buenos Aires. The company built and operated the gauge ( metre gauge) line between Puente Alsin ...
(BA Midland) and Franco
Franco may refer to:
Name
* Franco (name)
* Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975
* Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître"
Prefix
* Franco, a prefix used when ...
- Belgian-owned Compañía General de Buenos Aires (CGBA) (established in 1908). The first train on the British owned line made its inaugural trip in 1909 joining Puente Alsina and Carhué
Carhué is an Argentine town in the Province of Buenos Aires, head of the Municipality (Partido) of Adolfo Alsina. Carhué is to the west of the city of La Plata and from Buenos Aires. The city is a tourist destination famous for the thermal ...
. CGBA built and operated a large network reaching cities in the west of 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 ...
and branches to cities such as La Plata
La Plata () is the capital city of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. According to the , it has a population of 654,324 and its metropolitan area, the Greater La Plata, has 787,294 inhabitants. It is located 9 kilometers (6 miles) inland from th ...
and Rosario
Rosario () is the largest city in the central provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Santa Fe Province, Santa Fe. The city is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the west bank of the Paraná River. Rosario is the third-most populous ci ...
, although most of the line has since been closed and only a few services still operate.
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 during Juan Perón
Juan Domingo Perón (, , ; 8 October 1895 – 1 July 1974) was an Argentine Army general and politician. After serving in several government positions, including Minister of Labour and Vice President of a military dictatorship, he was elected P ...
's presidency, the BA Midland became part of the Belgrano Sur line division of the General Belgrano Railway
The General Manuel Belgrano Railway (FCGMB) (Spanish: Ferrocarril General Manuel Belgrano), named after the Argentine politician and military leader Manuel Belgrano, is a railway and the longest of the Argentine system. It was one of the six S ...
. Furthermore, the newly nationalised companies added to Ferrocarril Belgrano network were renamed, being known as "G" ( Cía. Gral. de Buenos Aires), "M" (Midland) and "P(Province of Buenos Aires Railway
The Province of Buenos Aires Railway ( es, Ferrocarril Provincial de Buenos Aires - FCPBA) was a state-owned company that operated a 902 km railway network in the Province of Buenos Aires in Argentina. Founded in 1907 as the "Ferrocarril Pr ...
).
Ferrocarriles Argentinos
After the nationalisation, several improvements were carried out on the line, including an additional rail track
A railway track (British English and UIC terminology) or railroad track (American English), also known as permanent way or simply track, is the structure on a railway or railroad consisting of the rails, fasteners, railroad ties (sleepers, ...
between Aldo Bonzi and Libertad to increase the frequency of the services. The modernisation included the purchase of brand-new diesel locomotive
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 whee ...
s manufactured by the American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
company Whitcomb Whitcombe or Whitcomb may refer to:
People
* Whitcombe (surname)
* George Faunce Whitcomb
*Ian Whitcomb (1941-2020)
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;United Kingdom
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;United States
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in 1951 (with the addition of 15 new locomotives from the Dutch company Werkspoor in 1955) and the construction of junctions at the Tapiales
Tapiales is a town in Argentina. It is located in La Matanza Partido and forms part of Greater Buenos Aires. Tapiales had a population of 15,158 at the 2001 census.
Tapiales was established in 1902 by Agustín Elía along the recently inaugurate ...
and Aldo Bonzi
Aldo Bonzi is a town in La Matanza Partido, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is located within the Greater Buenos Aires metro area.
The town owes its name to Turin-born businessman Dr. Aldo Bonzi (1852–1935), who arrived in Argentina in 18 ...
stations that allowed the ex-BA Midland line to connect with the Sarmiento Railway near Haedo in Greater Buenos Aires
Greater Buenos Aires ( es, Gran Buenos Aires, GBA), also known as the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area ( es, Área Metropolitana de Buenos Aires, AMBA), refers to the urban agglomeration comprising the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires and the adjac ...
.
During the 1950s, the increasing population in Greater Buenos Aires
Greater Buenos Aires ( es, Gran Buenos Aires, GBA), also known as the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area ( es, Área Metropolitana de Buenos Aires, AMBA), refers to the urban agglomeration comprising the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires and the adjac ...
led the company to add more services. By December 1955, the Belgrano Railway ran more than 40 services per day along the Puente Alsina−Aldo Bonzi section. Nevertheless, the rolling stock had not been renewed since the 1930s and as a result, some railcars that had been damaged or destroyed in accidents were put out of service and were never replaced due to the lack of investment in purchasing new railcars.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s railcar
A railcar (not to be confused with a railway car) is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coach (carriage, car), with a drive ...
s manufactured by the Hungarian company Ganz Works were allocated to the Belgrano Sur. They had been acquired by the Argentine State Railway decades earlier and had been running on the northern Argentine railways since 1936. Some of them were used for local services to Libertad and the rest for the long-distance service to Carhué
Carhué is an Argentine town in the Province of Buenos Aires, head of the Municipality (Partido) of Adolfo Alsina. Carhué is to the west of the city of La Plata and from Buenos Aires. The city is a tourist destination famous for the thermal ...
, departing from Buenos Aires station, the former Compañía Gral. de Buenos Aires terminus. The Ganz railcars ran services until 1977 when the line was definitively closed.
When the Libertad−Plomer section was closed, the ex-CGBA Buenos Aires station was made the terminus. Trains ran without passengers from Puente Alsina to Aldo Bonzi, running back to the Tapiales junction where they then went to the Buenos Aires station. Passengers waited and took the train in Buenos Aires, being carried to Carhué via Plomer. The lack of maintenance caused a progressive deterioration in the rolling stock and stations of the line. The line was closed in September 1977 and the workshops at Libertad were demolished.
On 2 March 1977, Decree N° 547 by de facto
''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...
President of Argentina, Jorge Rafael Videla ordered the closure and dismantlement of more than 4,000 km of rail tracks. Several General Belgrano Railway lines were closed on 1 May 1977, although long-distance services to Carhué continued operating until August of that year when the last train ran to that city. Nevertheless, the closure of services in the region did not have a negative impact on the economy of the Province since the rail tracks ran through low-populated regions. Furthermore, most of that region was already served by other railway lines with better access to the city of 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 ...
.
Privatisation: Metropolitano
With the railway privatisation in Argentina in the early 1990s, the Belgrano Sur line was granted in concession to the private company
A privately held company (or simply a private company) is a company whose shares and related rights or obligations are not offered for public subscription or publicly negotiated in the respective listed markets, but rather the company's stock is ...
Metropolitano which started operations in 1994. However, the Government of Argentina
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. ...
revoked the contract of concession in 2007 due to poor service standards and increasing complaints from users. Until then, the concessionary had been receiving near $30 million in subsidies per month.
In the first years of private operation, many kilometres of the line were closed with stations and infrastructure abandoned. In spite of the large government subsidies received by TMB (the Metropolitano's subsidiary that operated the line) a serious decline in the standard of rail services led to the original concession being revoked. In 2007, the service was given in concession to the consortium Unidad de Gestión Operativa Ferroviaria de Emergencia ( UGOFE).
Transition and new concession
The UGOFE took over the service until 12 February 2014, when it was announced that the Belgrano Sur and Roca lines would be granted to Argentren
Argentren S.A. was an Argentine private company that operated the Belgrano Sur and Roca railway services in Buenos Aires Province for about one year until the Government of Argentina rescinded the agreement with the company in March 2015. Sin ...
S.A., a company that was part of the Emepa Group
Emepa Group S.A. ( es, Grupo Emepa, an acronym for Empresa Metalúrgica Patricias Argentinas) and UGOFE was immediately dissolved.
Renationalisation and investment
The State-owned company
A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a Government, government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn Profit (econom ...
Trenes Argentinos took over Belgrano Sur line (operated by Argentren
Argentren S.A. was an Argentine private company that operated the Belgrano Sur and Roca railway services in Buenos Aires Province for about one year until the Government of Argentina rescinded the agreement with the company in March 2015. Sin ...
) after the Government of Argentina
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. ...
rescinded the contracts signed with the company on 2 March 2015. The contract terms specified that the concession could be cancelled with no right to claim compensation.["Ya está lista la ley que prevé más control estatal sobre los trenes"]
''Clarín'', 5 Mar 2015 The agreements had been signed in February 2014, committing Argentren and Corredores Ferroviarios to operate the lines.
In September 2013, the Government of Argentina announced that 23 brand-new railcar
A railcar (not to be confused with a railway car) is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coach (carriage, car), with a drive ...
s were to be acquired from the Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
company CNR Dalian. The first batch of the new rolling stock was expected to be available from May 2015 but only arrived in Buenos Aires in July. It was then announced that the new rolling stock had been would begin running on the Buenos Aires - Gonzalez Catán route in August. The other parts of the line received the new rolling stock before the end of 2015, as the railcars arrived in the country.
It was also announced that all the 28 stations of the line would be remodelled. The cost of the investment was estimated in A$ 1,200 million. The platforms of the stations would be elevated to match the height of the new rolling stock, while the track was being refurbished on the line, with the Buenos Aires - Tapiales segment receiving completely new rails on concrete sleepers.[Arribaron al puerto primeros coches motores CNR para el Belgrano Sur]
- EnElSubte, 6 July 2015. Twnty-four of the stations would be completely replaced using modular designs, while some single-track segments would be made into double-track segments.[Informe de Obras]
- ADIFSE
In 2015, two important extension works were also being considered. To the southwest, the section from González Catán to Marcos Paz (closed at the time of privatisation) were to be restored and reopened, extending that branch of the line after its 20-year closure whilst adding new overpasses and connecting the line with the Merlo - Lobos
Lobos is the headquarters city of the Lobos Partido in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It was founded on 2 June 1802 by José Salgado.
Background
Located 100 km from Buenos Aires, Lobos is currently a fertile agricultural area known ma ...
branch of the Sarmiento Line
The Sarmiento line is a broad gauge commuter rail service in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, run by the state-owned Trenes Argentinos since 11 September 2013.
History
This line had previously been run by the state-owned company Ferrocarril ...
. Similarly, there were also plans to bring the line further into the city, moving the terminus from Buenos Aires station to Constitucion railway station where it would connect with the Roca Line
The Roca line is a gauge commuter rail service in the Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, part of General Roca Railway network. The service is currently operated by State-owned company Trenes Argentinos, from the city-centre terminus of Const ...
and Line C of the Buenos Aires Underground. The construction would use viaducts to avoid level crossings in the city and would be carried out in cooperation between the National Government and the Government of Buenos Aires.
In August 2017, Trenes Argentinos suspended the Puente Alsina–Aldo Bonzi service due to a derailment near Puente Alsina station. Since then, the service has not been re-established. Because of that, the National Government ceded the lands occupied by the line to the Municipality of Lanús with the purpose of building a park there.
The Buenos Aires station was closed in May 2018, leaving Dr. Sáenz as new terminus of the line. A viaduct was built between Sáenz and Villa Soldati to avoid level crossings. A second stage of the project included to extend the viaduct to Plaza Constitución, connecting both lines, Belgrano Sur and Roca.
Extensions
200px, Villars station, reopened in 2022
In December 2019, the branch "G" was extended 9 km from González Catán
González Catán is a city located in La Matanza Partido, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. The city is the second-largest by area in the county (52 km²), and the second most-populous. The city is located near the southwestern end of the Gr ...
to 20 de Junio in La Matanza Partido. Passenger trains had not stopped in 20 de Junio since 1993, when services were reduced to reduce costs.[
In July 2021, the service was extended from González Catán to Marcos Paz in the ]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 ...
.[El tren Belgrano Sur llegó a Marcos Paz después de 28 años]
on Government of Argentina, 29 Jul 2021
Trains resumed operations to Villars, a small town with 3,000 inhabitants in General Las Heras Partido
General Las Heras Partido is a small partido in the northeast of Buenos Aires Province in Argentina.
The provincial subdivision has a population of about 13,000 inhabitants in an area of , and its capital city is General Las Heras, which is fr ...
,[Villars, el pueblo bonaerense que luchó 29 años hasta que consiguió que vuelva el tren]
by María Belén Robledo on Infocielo, 23 Dec 2022 in December 2022, after the Government extended the service from Marcos Paz to that city. The service had been closed in 1993.
There are plans to extend the service to other towns of the region that were served by train in the past, such as Lozano and Navarro.[
]
Historic operators
Companies that have operated the Belgrano Sur Line since it was established after the 1948 nationalisation are:
Rolling Stock
In August 2015, the first diesel multiple unit
A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple-unit train powered by on-board diesel engines. A DMU requires no separate locomotive, as the engines are incorporated into one or more of the carriages. Diesel-powered single-unit railcars are also ...
s (DMUs) acquired from CNR Tangshan were put into service. This rolling stock consists of 81 cars, which make up a total of 27 DMUs composed of three cars each and were to be phased-in throughout the year until all the railcars were the Chinese-made DMUs.
Prior to the complete replacement of the existing rolling stock by the Chinese DMUs, the line consisted of a variety of diesel locomotives pulling carriages in a number of different combinations. The introduction of the new rolling stock has doubled the line's passenger capacity.Randazzo presentó el nuevo servicio 0km de la línea Belgrano Sur y anunció que se convertirá en "el tren de los trabajadores con dignidad"
- Ministerio del Interior y Transporte, 25 August 2015.
Services
The Belgrano Sur line operates the following DMU services:
See also
* Midland Railway
The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It am ...
* Compañía General de Buenos Aires
* Trenes Argentinos
Notes
References
External links
*
Tren Belgrano Sur
{{DEFAULTSORT:Linea Belgrano Sur (Buenos Aires)
Buenos Aires - Belgrano Sur Line
Greater Buenos Aires
Rail transport in Buenos Aires Province
Metre gauge railways in Argentina