Tren Patagónico (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 ...

: "Patagonian Train") is a

state-owned company A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a Government, government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn Profit (econom ...

Río Negro Province Río Negro (, ''Black River'') is a province of Argentina, located in northern Patagonia. Neighboring provinces are from the south clockwise Chubut, Neuquén, Mendoza, La Pampa and Buenos Aires. To the east lies the Atlantic Ocean. Its capit ...

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 ...

which operates an 827-km length

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 between Viedma and

San Carlos de Bariloche San Carlos de Bariloche, usually known as Bariloche (), is a city in the province of Río Negro, Argentina, situated in the foothills of the Andes on the southern shores of Nahuel Huapi Lake. It is located within the Nahuel Huapi National Park. ...

. The train also runs a shorter distance service from Ing. Jacobacci to Bariloche."Tren Patagónico S.A.: El próximo viernes vuelve el tren de pasajeros Viedma - San Carlos de Bariloche"
on Crónica Ferroviaria, 12 May 2014

History

The railway line was originally built and operated by

Ferrocarriles Patagónicos Ferrocarriles Patagónicos was an Argentine State-owned railway company that built and operated several rail lines in Patagonia region. FP were part of the Argentine State Railway created in 1909 during the presidency of José Figueroa Alcorta. ...

, the southern division of

Argentine State Railway Argentine State Railway (in Spanish: Ferrocarriles del Estado) was a State-owned railway company of Argentina, established by Law N° 6.757 in October 1909, when José Figueroa Alcorta was the President of Argentina. The company built and operat ...

("Ferrocarriles del Estado Argentino"). When the

Government of Argentina The government of Argentina, within the framework of a federal system, is a presidential representative democratic republic. The President of Argentina is both head of state and head of government. Executive power is exercised by the President. ...

led by President

Juan Perón Juan Domingo Perón (, , ; 8 October 1895 – 1 July 1974) was an Argentine Army general and politician. After serving in several government positions, including Minister of Labour and Vice President of a military dictatorship, he was elected P ...

nationalised the French and English companies of Argentina in 1948, the line was taken over by the

General Roca Railway The General Roca Railway (FCGR) (native name: Ferrocarril General Roca) is a broad gauge railway in Argentina which runs from Constitución station in Buenos Aires to the south of the country through the provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, ...

, a division of then-recent state-owned

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 ...

. With the increase in popularity of the line with tourists, it was decided to improve the image of the company by using the name ''Tren Patagónico''. As part of a railway privatisation 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. H ...

from 1991, a concession to operate the line was granted to the Provincial government and later transferred to "Servicios Ferroviarios Patagónicos" (SEFEPA) in September 1993. Apart from its popularity with tourists, the line provides a vital service for people living along its length. From Viedma the line serves regional cities such as

San Antonio Oeste San Antonio Oeste is a port city in the Argentine province of Río Negro, and head of the department of San Antonio. The town is bordered by its sister communities of San Antonio Este, to the east, and Las Grutas, to the southwest. Discovere ...

, Ministro Ramos Mexía,

Ingeniero Jacobacci Ingeniero Jacobacci is a city in Río Negro Province, Argentina. It has a population of 12,000 inhabitants and was named in honor of Guido Jacobacci (es), the director of the railway opened in 1916 between San Antonio Oeste, on the Atlantic Oc ...

Pilcaniyeu Pilcaniyeu is a village and municipality in Río Negro Province in Argentina. It is located 65 km from the city of Bariloche. On November 30, 2015, President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner Cristina Elisabet Fernández de Kirchner (; bor ...

and

. After a time without service due to lack of

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, the train was put into operation again in May 2014, under the new name "Tren Patagónico" after the National Government signed an agreement with Río Negro in which the Nation committed to restart the service. In January 2015, the Government of Río Negro announced that $ 2,5 million would be invested in the modernization of the line. Works include the replacement of 12-km length rail tracks in order to avoid technical problems previously reported, such as derailments or tracks break off."Otorgan $2,5 millones al Tren Patagónico para reconstrucción de vías"
Agendia Digital de Noticias, 22 Jan 2015 The Government considers the train an important source of income for the Province, having reached 100% of occupation during the 2015 Summer season.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Servicios Ferroviarios Patagonico Railway companies of Argentina Railway companies established in 1993 5 ft 6 in gauge railways in Argentina 1993 establishments in Argentina Transport in Río Negro Province

History

See also

References

External links