Tren al Desarrollo (in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

: "Train to Development") is an

elevated An elevated railway or elevated train (also known as an el train for short) is a rapid transit railway with the Track (rail transport), tracks above street level on a viaduct or other elevated structure (usually constructed from steel, cast i ...

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 between the cities of

Santiago del Estero Santiago del Estero (, Spanish for ''Saint-James-Upon-The-Lagoon'') is the capital of Santiago del Estero Province in northern Argentina. It has a population of 252,192 inhabitants, () making it the twelfth largest city in the country, with a surf ...

(from the "Forum" station) and

La Banda La Banda is a city in the province of Santiago del Estero, Argentina. It has about 95,000 inhabitants as per the , making it the second largest in the province. It is the head town of the Banda Department. La Banda is located only 8 km away ...

(with also a new building) in

Santiago del Estero Province Santiago del Estero (), also known simply as Santiago, is a province in the north of Argentina. Neighboring provinces, clockwise from the north, are Salta, Chaco, Santa Fe, Córdoba, Catamarca and Tucumán. History The indigenous inhabitant ...

. Trains run on Mitre Railway tracks were disused. The line also crosses the ''Puente Negro'', a bridge that had been closed for over 40 years. In the beginning, the project only planned a 4 km-long line, then extended to 8 km. length to reach La Banda. The Rolling stock used is

railbuses A railbus is a lightweight passenger railcar that shares many aspects of its construction with a bus, typically having a bus (original or modified) body and four wheels on a fixed base, instead of on bogies. Originally designed and developed ...

made by Argentine company

TecnoTren TecnoTren is an Argentine manufacturer of railbuses. Its products are designed to be very low cost vehicles intended for use in rural parts of the country where railway privatisation and the subsequent deterioration of the network left small rura ...

. Each unit has a capacity of 100 passengers (70 seated). The journey time will be about 25 minutes. Santiago Centro terminus station was inaugurated in May 2015. A total of 3 new stations were projected to be built, "Botánico" (with access to the

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

), "Parque Tecnológico" (in the

industrial park An industrial park (also known as industrial estate, trading estate) is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. An industrial park can be thought of as a more "heavyweight" version of a business park or office park, ...

of the city) and "Banda", the terminus of the line. The total path from Forum to Banda stations will be a 5,10 metre-high

viaduct A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide v ...

to avoid interfering with

road traffic Traffic comprises pedestrians, vehicles, ridden or herded animals, trains, and other Public conveyance, conveyances that use public ways (roads) for travel and transportation. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the roa ...

."En un año estaría concluido y listo para inaugurar Tren al Desarrollo"
Nuevo Diario web, 13 May 2015 A third phase of the project focuses on reaching the

Termas de Río Hondo Termas de Río Hondo is a spa city in Santiago del Estero Province, Argentina. It has 27,838 inhabitants as per the . It is located on the banks of the Dulce River, 65 km north of the provincial capital Santiago del Estero, near the artifi ...

, one of the main attractions of the Province, although it could be extended to

San Miguel de Tucumán San Miguel de Tucumán (; usually called simply Tucumán) is the capital and largest city of Tucumán Province, located in northern Argentina from Buenos Aires. It is the fifth-largest city of Argentina after Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Rosario an ...

. In September 2016, the first section of 4-km length (from Santiago to Nodo Tecnológico) was inaugurated. The next section of La Banda is expected to be opened in March 2017."Claudia de Zamora inauguró el primer tramo del Tren al Desarrollo"
El Liberal, 19 Sep 2016

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tren al Desarrollo d Railway services introduced in 2016 t t