Nuevo Central Argentino S. A. (abbreviated NCA) is an

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, ...

company that utilises the operation and infrastructure of the national

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a p ...

system of the former Mitre Railway division of

Ferrocarriles Argentinos Ferrocarriles Argentinos (abbreviated as FA; ) was a state-owned company that managed the entire Argentine railway system for nearly 45 years. It was formed in 1948 when all the private railway companies were nationalised during Juan Perón's fir ...

, by a concession granted on 23 December 1992 as part of railway

privatisation Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...

carried out during the presidency of

Carlos Menem Carlos Saúl Menem (2 July 1930 – 14 February 2021) was an Argentine lawyer and politician who served as the President of Argentina from 1989 to 1999. Ideologically, he identified as a Peronist and supported economically liberal policies. He ...

. NCA operates about 5,000 km of cargo railroad lines in the

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

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 ...

, Santa Fe, Córdoba,

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 ...

and Tucumán. Its headquarters are located in

Rosario Rosario () is the largest city in the central Argentine province of Santa Fe. The city is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the west bank of the Paraná River. Rosario is the third-most populous city in the country, and is also the most p ...

(province of Santa Fe); its warehouses are located in Rosario, in nearby

Villa Gobernador Gálvez Villa Gobernador Gálvez is a city in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina, located on the western ravine of the Paraná River, within the metropolitan area of Greater Rosario. It had 74,509 inhabitants per the . It is separated from Rosario, to th ...

, and in

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 ...

(province of Córdoba). There are also operational centers in Colombres and Córdoba City, and transfer ( truck changing?) centers in the city of Tucumán and in Retiro, Buenos Aires. NCA, which is owned by Aceitera General Deheza S.A.,"La logística de AGD"
on AGD websiteEstadísticas del transporte ferroviario - Total 2014
, CNRT website - Ministry of Transport carried 7,408,914 tonnes of freight in 2014.

History

By the beginning of the 1990s, the economic situation of State-owned

became critical. Through National Decree N° 520/91 the Government of Argentina created residual company FEMESA to run the urban passenger services in Buenos Aires. Ferrocarriles Argentinos continued operating the freight and passenger interurban services. On March 10, 1993, A new decree by President Carlos Menem established all the passenger interurban railways ceased their activities. The only way to reactivate the lines would be if the Provincial Governments took over the services. About the freight services, the Government proceed to tender for the operating of the lines, establishing a fee that consortiums would pay to the Argentine State. Finally, in April 2002 the Government awarded private company Nuevo Central Argentino (NCA), formed by local companies Aceitera General Deheza, Banco Francés del Río de la Plata, Asociación de Cooperativas Argentinas and Román Marítima, the operation and maintenance of Ferrocarril Mitre. NCA began operating on December 23, 1992, run trains through

, Córdoba, Santa Fe,

and Tucumán provinces, with a total of . The new consortium established its headquarters at

Rosario, Santa Fe Rosario () is the largest city in the central Argentine province of Santa Fe. The city is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the west bank of the Paraná River. Rosario is the third-most populous city in the country, and is also the most p ...

. At the moment of the beginning of concession, Ferrocarriles Argentinos only ran the 45% of the system line because of the terrible deterioration of the track or the absence of

ballast Ballast is material that is used to provide stability to a vehicle or structure. Ballast, other than cargo, may be placed in a vehicle, often a ship or the gondola of a balloon or airship, to provide stability. A compartment within a boat, ship ...

that did not allow trains to run. The assets received by NCA included 63

diesel locomotive 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 whee ...

s (of those only 23 active) and 5,354

wagons A wagon or waggon is a heavy four-wheeled vehicle pulled by draught animals or on occasion by humans, used for transporting goods, commodities, agricultural materials, supplies and sometimes people. Wagons are immediately distinguished from ...

(with only 60% in acceptable condition to run).

Gallery

File:Patio Parada Rosario 9.jpg, Patio Parada ( Maintenance yard) File:Patio Parada Rosario 7.jpg, NCA locomotives at Patio Parada in

File:Alco RSD-16 NCA Baradero.JPG, NCA's Alco RSD-16 File:NCA Rosario.jpg, NCA's headquarters on Alberdi Avenue,

Nuevo Central Argentino.jpg, An NCA freight train

References

External links

* {{Railway Companies in Argentina n n n n n