The Villa María and Rufino Railway (VM&RR) (native name: Ferrocarril Villa María a Rufino) was a British-owned company that, towards the end of the 19th century, built and operated a

broad gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , commonly known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union (CIS ...

, , railway line 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 ...

History

The VM&RR was granted a concession on 15 August 1887 to construct a 227 km line between Villa María in Córdoba Province, on the Central Argentine Railway (CAR), and Rufino in Santa Fe Province, on the

Buenos Aires and Pacific Railway The Buenos Aires and Pacific Railway (BA&P) (in Spanish: Ferrocarril Buenos Aires al Pacífico) was one of the ''Big Four'' broad gauge, , British-owned companies that built and operated railway networks in Argentina. The original concession w ...

(BA&P). The section between Villa María and La Carlota was opened on 26 October 1890 and from La Carlota to Rufino on 23 March 1891. The line passed through the developing grain zone, which lay between the main lines operated by the BA&P and the CAR, and became a valuable feeder for the former railway. At that time the VM&R provided farmers situated along its route with their only direct access to the port and market of

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 ...

. Because of their common interests the VM&RR and the BA&P forged close links until finally, in 1900, the BA&P took over the VM&R.

Bibliography

* ''British Railways in Argentina 1857-1914: A Case Study of Foreign Investment'' by Colin M. Lewis - Athlone Press (for the Institute of Latin American Studies, University of London, 1983) {{DEFAULTSORT:Villa Maria and Rufino Railway Defunct railway companies of Argentina Railway companies established in 1887 Railway companies disestablished in 1900 1887 establishments in Argentina Rail transport in Santa Fe Province Rail transport in Córdoba Province, Argentina

History

See also

Bibliography