Mar del Plata (also known as Mar del Plata Norte) is a former
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 ...
in the
homonymous city 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 ...
,
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
. Opened in 1886, the station was closed when the new
railway and bus terminal was opened in 2011.
History
In August 1861, Edward Lumb, a
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
entrepreneur, requested the concession of a railway line, initially projected to run from Constitución to
Chascomús
Chascomús is the principal city in Chascomús Partido in eastern Buenos Aires Province of Argentina, located south of the capital Buenos Aires. In 2001, the city had a population of 30,670.
History
The city was founded as a fort (the ''Fortí ...
, 120 km from
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 ...
.
During a visit to Mar del Plata, Governor of Buenos Aires,
Dardo Rocha
Dardo Rocha (September 1, 1838 – September 6, 1921) was an Argentine naval officer, lawyer and politician best known as the founder of the city of La Plata and of the University of La Plata.
Life and times
Juan José Dardo Rocha was born to ...
, saw the potential of the city, assuring a promising future for it. Before leaving the city, he promised to call manager of
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 ...
(the British company that had built the lines in the south of the province), Guillermo Moores, to request the extension of the railway line from Maipú to Mar del Plata. Moreover, Rocha stated that in case the BAGSR declined the request, the Provincial Government would finance the construction of the line to the coast city.
[
On September 26, 1886, the first train arrived to the city of ]Mar del Plata
Mar del Plata is a city on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the seat of General Pueyrredón district. Mar del Plata is the second largest city in Buenos Aires Province. The name "Mar del Plata" is a s ...
, which was the main tourist destination during summer season.
By 1910 Mar del Plata
Mar del Plata is a city on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the seat of General Pueyrredón district. Mar del Plata is the second largest city in Buenos Aires Province. The name "Mar del Plata" is a s ...
was the main beach city of Argentina, receiving a huge number of tourists during the summer. Due to the intense traffic of passengers, the railway station exceeded its capacity and the Municipality demanded the company to increase the facilities. The company had always denied to this request alleging that the station was only overcrowded during two months per year (the period of summer season in Argentina).
During the first decade of the 20th century, the urban development of Mar del Plata moved from the downtown to the South West (nearest to the coast) so the train station was far from the residences and hotels where the tourist were hosted. In June 1908, the Congress promulgated Law 5.535, authorizing the BAGSR to build a new station in Mar del Plata.
With a project designed by Belgian
Belgian may refer to:
* Something of, or related to, Belgium
* Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent
* Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German
*Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...
Architect Jules Dormal, works began in 1909 and finished one year later, when the station building began to be constructed. The project of the company also included to extend the tracks to the city of Miramar. The new station in Mar del Plata (named " Mar del Plata Sud") was opened on December 1, 1910, although the main building was not still finished, so a provisional wooden-structure was opened to the public for the 1910–11 summer season.[
As Mar del Plata Norte remained active, the Sud station would be only used during the summer seasons. It had two large platforms, the main building, a post warehouse, and a ]signal cabin
On a rail transport system, signalling control is the process by which control is exercised over train movements by way of railway signals and block systems to ensure that trains operate safely, over the correct route and to the proper timetabl ...
. When the new station opened, all the trains that arrived to the old station were reprogrammed to make their arrival to the South station.
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, Mar del Plata became part of 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, ...
, one of the six divisions of state-owned 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 ...
.
On May 3, 1949, the Mar del Plata Sud station was definitively closed so Mar del Plata Norte became the only station in the city.[ In 1951 ]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 ...
acquired a total of 46 coaches from American Budd Company
The Budd Company was a 20th-century metal fabricator, a major supplier of body components to the automobile industry, and a manufacturer of stainless steel passenger rail cars, airframes, missile and space vehicles, and various defense products ...
, used for ''The Marplatense'', a luxury service from Buenos Aires to Mar del Plata. In 1952 the FADEL Fadel (also spelled Fadl ar, فضل or Fadil, ar, فاضل) is an Arabic masculine given name, meaning "generous, honorable, superior". Notable people with the name include:
Given name Fadl
* Fadl ibn Abbas (611–639), cousin of the Islamic pr ...
locomotives were added to tow the ''Marplatense'' express with a journey time of 3 hours and 45 minutes.
FA ran trains until 1993 when the service was taken over by Ferrobaires
The Unidad Ejecutora del Plan Ferroviario Provincial (UEPFP) (in English: "Executive Unit of the Provincial Railway Plan"), mostly known under its trade name Ferrobaires, was a public railway company which operated extensive long-distance passeng ...
, a company owned by 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 ...
. Ferrobaires operated the standard services between Mar del Plata and Buenos Aires until its closure in 2018.
In 2009, the bus terminus (that had operated in the former Mar del Plata Sud station building, on Alberti street) moved to a new building, very close to the still active Mar del Plata Norte railway station in the centre of the city. It was also announced that the old building would be preserved as a cultural centre, designed by Arq. César Pelli
César Pelli (October 12, 1926 – July 19, 2019) was an Argentine-American architect who designed some of the world's tallest buildings and other major urban landmarks. Two of his most notable buildings are the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur a ...
.
Two years later, the rail tracks were extended to connect with the bus station, adding new platforms to receive trains arriving from Constitución 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 ...
, therefore the old station entered into disuse.[
]
Historic operators
See also
* Mar del Plata railway and bus station
Mar del Plata (officially named "Estación Ferroautomotora Eva Perón")
Station facilities include 42 bus garages, 5 railway platforms, 50 shops, 3 restaurants, 51 ticket offices, parking lots and accessible toilets.
Train services are operat ...
* Mar del Plata Sud railway station
Mar del Plata Sud is a former railway station in the city of Mar del Plata in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. Built and managed by the Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway, the station was conceived as an alternative to the original Mar del P ...
Bibliography
*
References
{{Railway stations in Argentina
Railway stations in Buenos Aires Province
Railway stations opened in 1886
Railway stations closed in 2011
Mar del Plata
Defunct railway stations in Argentina