The Posadas–Encarnación International Train is a

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 ...

international service operated between Posadas in

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 ...

and Encarnación in

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

, running on the Urquiza Railway

standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...

tracks. The service was opened in January 2014.

Overview

Trains are run by

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 ...

Casimiro Zbikoski S.A. under an operation agreement with

State-owned State ownership, also called government ownership and public ownership, is the ownership of an industry, asset, or enterprise by the state or a public body representing a community, as opposed to an individual or private party. Public ownersh ...

Operadora Ferroviaria Sociedad del Estado 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 ...

(SOFSE). The train crosses the

San Roque González de Santa Cruz Bridge The San Roque González de Santa Cruz Bridge is a long cable-stayed bridge that crosses the Paraná River between the cities of Posadas, capital of Misiones Province, Argentina and Encarnación, capital of Itapúa, Paraguay. The main bridge is ...

which joins the two countries together and has an average journey time of 10 minutes with a 30-minute frequency. The current

rolling stock The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, freight and passenger cars (or coaches), and non-revenue cars. Passenger vehicles can b ...

consists of two-carriage

diesel-hydraulic 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 ...

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 originally called " Wadloper", built between 1981 and 1983 by

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

company

Duewag Düwag or Duewag, formerly Waggonfabrik Uerdingen, was a German manufacturer of rail vehicles. It was sold in 1999 to Siemens with the brand later retired. History Duewag was founded in March 1898 as Waggonfabrik Uerdingen in Uerdingen an ...

for the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

railway company

Nederlandse Spoorwegen Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS; ; en, "Dutch Railways") is the principal passenger railway operator in the Netherlands. It is a Dutch state-owned company founded in 1938. The Dutch rail network is one of the busiest in the European Union, and the ...

,Tren a Posadas – Encarnación: con una escribana pública en la redacción de Misiones Online, la empresa Casimiro Zbikoski SA pidió derecho a réplica
Misiones Online, 22 Mar 2019 and have a capacity to carry 250 people. Those railcars had been previously used in the binational service ''

Tren de los Pueblos Libres The Tren de los Pueblos Libres ("Train of the Free Peoples") was an 813-km length rural railway line that connected Argentina and Uruguay, being operated by both the Argentine private company Trenes de Buenos Aires (TBA) on General Urquiza Railway ...

'' that joined

and

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

, having been active only for one year. With passenger numbers increasing rapidly after the opening of the service, the Argentine

Ministry of the Interior and Transport The Ministry of the Interior ( es, Ministerio del Interior) of Argentina is a ministry of the national executive power that manages issues pertaining to domestic politics such as immigration and co-ordination between the federal government and th ...

stated in March 2015 that it may have to evaluate adding more rolling stock and extending the length of the platforms. Customs officials are only present on the Argentine side of the railway, with entry into both countries managed from there. In August 2015, the service was suspended for an unspecified period of time, with no reasons given from both, the concessionaire –Casimiro Zbikoski– and Trenes Argentinos. At the time of the service being suspended, the train had carried 250,000 people within the year. On the other hand, the Government of Paraguay stated that they had no objections to anything related to the service, blaming the Argentine authorities for the suspension of the train. Other versions affirmed that the service could be reestablished the second week in September. On 7 September, service resumed as normal, though the three-week interruption had not been explained.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Posadas-Encarnacion International Train Railway services introduced in 2014 Railway lines in Argentina Rail transport in Paraguay International named passenger trains International railway lines Posadas, Misiones Transport in Misiones Province

Overview

See also

References

External links