Ferrocarriles Mediterráneos S.A. (FEMED) was an Argentine company which operated a broad gauge railway line between Córdoba and

Villa María A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became sm ...

originally built by the British-owned

Central Argentine Railway The Central Argentine Railway, referred to as CA below, (in Spanish: Ferrocarril Central Argentino) was one of the ''Big Four'' broad gauge, British companies that built and operated railway networks in Argentina. The company had been establis ...

, which became part of

Ferrocarril General Bartolomé Mitre Futbol Club Sonsonate is a Salvadoran professional football club based in Sonsonate, El Salvador. The club plays its home games at Estadio Anna Mercedes Campos, a stadium located in the City suburb of Sonsonate, Sonsonate, since 2009. The team ...

after railway nationalization in 1948.

History

As part of a national railway privatisation plan, carried out under the presidency of Carlos Menem, a concession to operate the line was granted to the government of Córdoba Province in 1992 and was later transferred to FEMED, a

cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-contro ...

composed of former rail workers, in January 1999. During its first months of existence FEMED focused on the repair and repainting of locomotives and coaches. The Córdoba Mitre station was also set as company headquarters. The company received some EMD GT-22 to operate. Although plans included to run trains to Retiro,

Alta Gracia Alta Gracia is a city located in the north-centre of the province of Córdoba, Argentina. Its name means "High Grace". It is built upon the ''Sierras Chicas'', in a region that the Comechingón Indians used to call ''Paravachasca''. It has abou ...

and Río Cuarto, the company could run only a daily service from Córdoba to Villa María. At the end of 2003 the Government of Córdoba revoked the concession granted to FEMED, and

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 ...

Ferrocentral Ferrocentral was an Argentine private railway company, with a name formed by a combination of the Spanish words for "Central Rail". It operated long-distance passenger trains from its base at Retiro station in Buenos Aires to several locations in ...

took over the service, beginning to operate trains to Villa María in August 2004, then adding services to Córdoba in April 2005."Cuando Córdoba soñó con su tren"
Todo Trenes, 18 Apr 2010

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferrocarriles Mediterraneos m m m m 1999 establishments in Argentina m m