The Uruguayan railway network has about of lines, all of gauge,
diesel
Diesel may refer to:
* Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression
* Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines
* Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engin ...
traction with only of double track. Only half of the network is currently active. All the Uruguayan lines start from
Montevideo, connecting the cities of
Paysandú
Paysandú () is the capital of Paysandú Department in western Uruguay.
Location
The city is located on the banks of the Uruguay River, which forms the Argentina–Uruguay border, border with Argentina. It lies northwest of Montevideo via Rout ...
,
Salto,
Rivera
Rivera () is the capital of Rivera Department of Uruguay. The border with Brazil joins it with the Brazilian city of Santana do Livramento, which is only a street away from it, at the north end of Route 5. Together, they form an urban area of aro ...
and
Río Branco. The rest of the lines (closed) connected the capital city with
Fray Bentos
Fray Bentos () is the capital city of the Río Negro Department, in south-western Uruguay, at the Argentina-Uruguay border, near the Argentine city of Gualeguaychú. Its port on the Uruguay River is one of the nation's most important harbours. ...
,
Cuareim,
Artigas, Km. 329,
Melo,
La Paloma
"La Paloma", "The Dove" in English, is a popular Spanish song that has been produced and reinterpreted in diverse cultures, settings, arrangements, and recordings over the last 140 years. The song was written by the Spanish Basque composer Seb ...
and
Colonia del Sacramento
, settlement_type = Capital city
, image_skyline = Basilica del Sanctísimo Sacramento.jpg
, imagesize =
, image_caption = Basílica del Santísimo Sacramento
, pushpin_map = Uruguay
, subdivisio ...
.
History
Beginning
![Estacion penarol 1900s](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/Estacion_penarol_1900s.jpg)
The work of building the first railway line in Uruguay began on April 25, 1867, with the opening of a branch between Paso del Molino and Cerro which consisted of a horse-drawn train. The national "Ferrocarril Central" had obtained the concession for the laying of tracks to
Durazno
Durazno is the capital city of the department of Durazno in Uruguay. Durazno is characterized by being the most central city of Uruguay. It has a population of more than 30,000 inhabitants. In the past it was the capital of Uruguay; today the ca ...
, 205 km from
Montevideo. However, for more than a decade they had submitted projects to no avail. The first branch between Bella Vista and
Las Piedras, was inaugurated on 1 January 1869.
To continue the extension of the line and due to lack of capital in the country, many loans were contracted in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, where, as a control, a directory was established. Due to financial problems and high costs of the national administration, the British acquired the majority stake. The
Central Uruguay Railway, the largest
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, ...
company operating in the country, was formally born on 1 January 1878. By this time, several companies had appeared, such as the
Midland Uruguay Railway. Although they were started by national capitals, they ended under British control as they were unable to find capital in the country to complete the works.
[Ferrocarriles del Uruguay]
by Marcelo Benoit, 15 Sep 2009
Expansion
![Estacion central artigas](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/Estacion_central_artigas.jpg)
In 1884 the Government promulgated the "Ley de Trazado General de Ferrocarriles" (Railways General Routes Law) that designed and regulated the railway network in the country. That plan established a radial system, where all the lines joined in
Montevideo, the main port of Uruguay by then. Concessions were granted to British companies for a period of 25 years. After that term of exploitation, the State was responsible for expropriating the railway lines if case of non-compliance by the concessionaries.
Lines were assigned to the following companies:
* Ferrocarril Central del Uruguay (Montevideo–Rivera with branches to Salto and Paysandú)
* Ferrocarril de Montevideo a
Colonia through Barra de Santa Lucia and Rosario
* Ferrocarril del Oeste (25 de Agosto to Carmelo and Nueva Palmira via San José and branch to Mercedes)
* Ferrocarril Nordeste (Montevideo–Artigas (today Río Branco) via San Ramón and Melo, with branch to Minas
* Ferrocarril Uruguayo del Este (Montevideo–Laguna Merim via Pando, Maldonado, San Carlos and Rocha)
* Ferrocarril de Salto a Santa Rosa (today Cuareim), with branch to San Eugenio (today Artigas)
State intervention
In 1915 the Government of Uruguay took over the Montevideo–Santiago Vázquez line, then making a similar procedure with other two broken lines. Therefore, the "Administración de Ferrocarriles y Tranvías del Estado" (FTE) was created. That
State-owned company continued the expansion of the national railway network, although most of the projects were not carried out. The state services arrived in Montevideo running on Central Railway tracks. The government also built roads to compete with the British companies still operating in the country.
Nationalization
![AFE locomotora 2004](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/AFE_locomotora_2004.jpg)
Following what was then a worldwide trend, the private companies were nationalised in 1948, the parliament approved the projects for the acquisition of foreign railroads, charging and part of the debt of 17 million pounds that the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
had with Uruguay because of purchases made during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
.
Narrow gauge
There were four big
narrow gauge railway lines in Uruguay:
*Puerto del Sauce (now Juan Lacaze) – Terminal: , (1901–1959)
*
Piriápolis
Piriápolis is a city in the Maldonado Department of Uruguay. It is an important summer resort in the country, predating the larger and better known resort town of Punta del Este. Because it is mainly used as a resort, it has a relatively small per ...
–
Pan de Azucar: (1903–1958)
*km 393-Arrozal 33:
*km 110 – Cantera Burgueño: .
Passenger services
Regular passenger services are operated between
Montevideo and
Veinticinco de Agosto (63 km) since August 26, 1993 (previously all regular passenger services were withdrawn on January 2, 1988). One daily train was extended to
San José de Mayo
San José de Mayo () is the capital city of the San José Department in southern Uruguay.
Location and geography
The city is located at the centre of the state, on the intersection of Route 3 (Uruguay), Route 3 with Route 11 (Uruguay), Route 11, ...
(96 km from Montevideo) on January 15, 2007, and other was extended from Veinticinco de Agosto to
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
(109 km from Montevideo) on January 2, 2008. Another line, which operates between Montevideo and Estacion Ingeniero Victor Sudriers in
Empalme Olmos
Empalme Olmos is a village in the Canelones Department of southern Uruguay.
Empalme Olmos is also the name of the municipality to which the town belongs.
Location
The village is located at the junction of Route 8 (Uruguay), Route 8 with Routes 8 ...
, was reopened on December 15, 2005 (44 km). Commuter services from Montevideo to Pando and Sudriers, which had been withdrawn in May 2012, were reintroduced on October 1, 2018, with initially one service a day running to Montevideo in the morning and returning in the evening.
Renovation plans
The state railway administration
AFE has announced that starting January, 2010, 377 km of track will be renewed on the Pintado –
Rivera
Rivera () is the capital of Rivera Department of Uruguay. The border with Brazil joins it with the Brazilian city of Santana do Livramento, which is only a street away from it, at the north end of Route 5. Together, they form an urban area of aro ...
railway of the central main line. The contract for the repair of railways covers in particular the section from Pintado (
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
) and Chamberlain (
Tacuarembó
Tacuarembó ( Guarani: ''Takuarembo'', literally: "Bamboo shoot") is the capital city of the Tacuarembó Department in north-central Uruguay.
Location and geography
The city is located on Km. 390 of Route 5, south-southwest of Rivera, the c ...
) based on the change of
wooden ties, and from there to Rivera on the border with Brazil, part of the international branch located along the border with the city of
Santana do Livramento
Santana do Livramento is a city in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. It is located along the border with the city of Rivera, Uruguay, forming together an international city of almost 170,000 inhabitants. Santana do Livramento was founded on ...
, in
Rio Grande do Sul,
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
using rail supplied by Russia given in lieu of a debt and wooden ties imported from Paraguay. The programme will cost US$30m.
International links
*
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 ...
– freight rail connection over the
Salto Grande Bridge.
Passenger service was reinaugurated on this line on August 29, 2011,
using second-hand
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 ...
''Wadloper'' trains; it closed again in May 2012.
*
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
–
break-of-gauge
With railways, a break of gauge occurs where a line of one track gauge (the distance between the rails, or between the wheels of trains designed to run on those rails) meets a line of a different gauge. Trains and rolling stock generally cannot ...
, gauge (Uruguay) / gauge (
Santana do Livramento
Santana do Livramento is a city in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. It is located along the border with the city of Rivera, Uruguay, forming together an international city of almost 170,000 inhabitants. Santana do Livramento was founded on ...
, Brazil).
See also
*
Rail transport by country
This page provides an index of articles on rail transport by country.
International railway organisations
* International Union of Railways (UIC)
* International Union of Public Transport (UITP)
* Association of American Railways (AAR)
Afri ...
*
Railway stations in Uruguay
*
Transport in Uruguay
The transport network in Uruguay consists of 1,673 km of rail network, 7,743 km of paved roads, 1,600 km of navigable waterways, and 11 airports with paved roads.
Railways
Uruguayan railways have a total operational length of (al ...
References
External links
* illustrated description of the development of railways in Uruguay
{{Uruguay topics