Metropolitano S.A. was a privately owned consortium formed in 1994 to take over concessions granted by the
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 ...
government as part of
railway privatisation during the presidency of
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 ...
for the operation of
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 ...
services 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 ...
. Metropolitano operated the
San Martín
San Martín or San Martin may refer to:
People Saints
* Saint Martin (disambiguation)#People, name of various saints in Spanish
Political leaders
*Vicente San Martin (1839 -1901), Military, National hero of Mexico.
*Basilio San Martin (1849 ...
,
Roca and
Belgrano Sur lines until 2007.
History
Passenger services on San Martín, Roca and Belgrano Sur lines had previously been run by
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 ...
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 ...
since
nationalisation
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 ...
of the railways in 1948 and then by
FEMESA
Ferrocarriles Metropolitanos S.A. (also known for its acronym FEMESA) was a company set up by the Argentine government in 1991, during the presidency of Carlos Menem, to oversee the privatisation of commuter rail services within the city of Bue ...
(a provisional company that operated metropolitan train services until the process of privatisation was carried out).
The services run by Metropolitano started from termini in or near the city centre and were operated out into
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 ...
by the following subsidiary companies named "Transportes Metropolitanos":
In spite of these companies receiving large government subsidies, their services deteriorated to a point where Metropolitano was repeatedly reported by the users, causing the Government of Argentina to fine the company several times.
Finally, in 2004 the concession for the operation of Línea San Martín was revoked through National Decree N° 798.
A violent protest of users in
Constitución station on 15 May 2007 led to the revocation of the contract of concession that same year through Decrees 591 and 592.
After the concession was revoked, the three railway lines were taken over by the consortium
UGOFE, formed by private companies
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 (3 ...
,
Metrovías
Metrovías S.A. is an Argentine privately owned company that operates the Buenos Aires Underground and the Metropolitan services of the Urquiza Line. 90% of Metrovías' shares are held by Grupo Roggio.
History
On 1 January 1994, Metrovías took ...
and
Trenes de Buenos Aires
Trenes de Buenos Aires (TBA) (In English: Trains of Buenos Aires) was a private company that operated commuter rail services over the broad gauge Sarmiento and Mitre lines of Buenos Aires. The company, owned by Claudio and Mario Cirigliano, also ...
.
"La UGOFE se hará cargo de los servicios de las dos líneas ferroviarias"
''La Prensa''
References
External links
Official site
(Archive)
Pasajeros del Roca
a blog
A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...
discussing on-going issues of the Roca Line
{{Railway Companies in Argentina
Defunct railway companies of Argentina
Railway companies established in 1994
Railway companies disestablished in 2007
Rail transport in Buenos Aires Province