The Belgrano Sur line is an

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

commuter rail Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter town ...

service in the

Greater Buenos Aires Greater Buenos Aires (, GBA), also known as the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area (, AMBA), refers to the urban agglomeration comprising the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of B ...

area, currently operated by

state-owned enterprise A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a business entity created or owned by a national or local government, either through an executive order or legislation. SOEs aim to generate profit for the government, prevent private sector monopolies, provide goo ...

Trenes Argentinos Trenes Argentinos is the name that has been given since 2014 to a group of state-owned companies of Argentina, responsible for the operation of passenger and freight trains, infrastructure, and personal management. Although all its components are ...

. The Belgrano Sur runs over tracks and through stations built by the

Franco Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" * Franco of Cologne (mid to late 13th cent ...

– Belgian-owned Compañía General de Buenos Aires and

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

Midland companies at the beginning of the 20th century. The termini is Dr. A. Sáenz station in the

Nueva Pompeya Nueva Pompeya (Spanish for ''New Pompei''), often loosely referred to as Pompeya, is a neighbourhood in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Located in the South side, it has long been one of the city's proletarian districts steeped in the tradit ...

district of the autonomous city of

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

, with two branches, one to Lozano in

General Las Heras Partido General Las Heras Partido is a small partido in the northeast of Buenos Aires Province in Argentina. The provincial subdivision has a population of about 13,000 inhabitants in an area of , and its capital city is General Las Heras, which is fro ...

(departing from

González Catán González Catán is a city located in La Matanza Partido, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. The city is the second-largest by area in the county (52 km²), and the second most-populous. The city is located near the southwestern end of the Gr ...

)El tren Belgrano Sur vuelve a llegar a la estación 20 de Junio tras 26 años sin servicio
Télam, 1 Dec 2019 and the other to Marinos del Crucero Gral. Belgrano in Merlo partido. The line also has a touristic service between Tomás Jofré and Mercedes. Carrying just under 11 million passengers per year, the line is the least used of the Buenos Aires commuter rail network.Estadísticas del transporte ferroviario - Total 2014
, CNRT website - Ministry of Transport The railway line was originally built and operated by two companies, British-owned Buenos Aires Midland Railway that made its inaugural trip in 1909 joining Puente Alsina and Carhue, and Franco-Belgian-owned Compañía General de Buenos Aires (Established in 1908), that built and operated a large network reaching cities in the west of Buenos Aires province and branches to cities such as La Plata and Rosario, Although most of the line was closed and only a few services are active nowadays.

History

Background

The railway line was originally built and operated by two companies,

-owned

Buenos Aires Midland Railway The Buenos Aires Midland Railway (BAM) was a British-owned railway company which operated in Argentina, where it was known as Ferrocarril Midland de Buenos Aires. The company built and operated the gauge (metre gauge) line between Puente Alsina ...

(BA Midland) and

- Belgian-owned Compañía General de Buenos Aires (CGBA) (established in 1908). The first train on the British owned line made its inaugural trip in 1909 joining Puente Alsina and

Carhué Carhué is an Argentine town in the Province of Buenos Aires, head of the Municipality (Partido) of Adolfo Alsina. Carhué is to the west of the city of La Plata and from Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Auto ...

. CGBA built and operated a large network reaching cities in the west of

Buenos Aires Province Buenos Aires, officially the Buenos Aires Province, is the largest and most populous Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of the province an ...

and branches to cities such as

La Plata La Plata () is the capital city of Buenos Aires province, Argentina. According to the 2022 Argentina census, census, the La Plata Partido, Partido has a population of 772,618 and its metropolitan area, the Greater La Plata, has 938,287 inhabit ...

and

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

, although most of the line has since been closed and only a few services still operate. When the entire Argentine railway network was

nationalised Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization contrasts with ...

in 1948 during

Juan Perón Juan Domingo Perón (, , ; 8 October 1895 – 1 July 1974) was an Argentine military officer and Statesman (politician), statesman who served as the History of Argentina (1946-1955), 29th president of Argentina from 1946 to Revolución Libertad ...

's presidency, the BA Midland became part of the Belgrano Sur line division of the

General Belgrano Railway The General Manuel Belgrano Railway (FCGMB) (Spanish: Ferrocarril General Manuel Belgrano), named after the Argentine politician and military leader Manuel Belgrano, is a railway and the longest of the Argentine system. It was one of the six s ...

. Furthermore, the newly nationalised companies added to Ferrocarril Belgrano network were renamed, being known as "G" ( Cía. Gral. de Buenos Aires), "M" (Midland) and "P(

Province of Buenos Aires Railway The Province of Buenos Aires Railway ( – FCPBA) was a France, French railway company that operated a 902 km railway network in the Province of Buenos Aires Province, Buenos Aires in Argentina. After the nationalisation, several improvements were carried out on the line, including an additional

rail track Railway track ( and UIC terminology) or railroad track (), also known as permanent way () or "P way" ( and Indian English), is the structure on a railway or railroad consisting of the rails, fasteners, sleepers (railroad ties in American E ...

between Aldo Bonzi and Libertad to increase the frequency of the services. The modernisation included the purchase of brand-new

diesel locomotive A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover (locomotive), power source is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is con ...

s manufactured by the American company

Whitcomb Whitcomb may refer to: People Surname * Arthur J. Whitcomb (1886–1942), American politician and lawyer * Christopher Whitcomb (born 1959), American author * Edgar Whitcomb (1917–2016), 43rd Governor of Indiana (1969–1973) * Forman E. Whit ...

in 1951 (with the addition of 15 new locomotives from the Dutch company

Werkspoor Werkspoor N.V. was the shortened, and later the official name of the Nederlandsche Fabriek van Werktuigen en Spoorwegmaterieel. It was a Dutch machine factory, known for rolling stock, (ship) steam engines, and diesel engines. It was a successo ...

in 1955) and the construction of junctions at the

Tapiales Tapiales is a town in Argentina. It is located in La Matanza Partido and forms part of Greater Buenos Aires. Tapiales had a population of 15,158 at the 2001 census. Tapiales was established in 1902 by Agustín Elía along the recently inaugurat ...

and

Aldo Bonzi Aldo Bonzi is a town in La Matanza Partido, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is located within the Greater Buenos Aires metro area. The town owes its name to Turin-born businessman Dr. Aldo Bonzi (1852–1935), who arrived in Argentina i ...

stations that allowed the ex-BA Midland line to connect with the

Sarmiento Railway The Domingo Faustino Sarmiento Railway (FCDFS) (Spanish: Ferrocarril Domingo Faustino Sarmiento), named after the former Argentine president, statesman, educator, and author Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, is one of the six state-owned Argentina, Ar ...

near Haedo in

. During the 1950s, the increasing population in

led the company to add more services. By December 1955, the Belgrano Railway ran more than 40 services per day along the Puente Alsina−Aldo Bonzi section. Nevertheless, the rolling stock had not been renewed since the 1930s and as a result, some railcars that had been damaged or destroyed in accidents were put out of service and were never replaced due to the lack of investment in purchasing new railcars. In the late 1960s and early 1970s

railcar A railcar (not to be confused with the generic term railroad car or railway car) is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coa ...

s manufactured by the Hungarian company

Ganz Works The Ganz Machinery Works Holding is a Hungary, Hungarian holding company. Its products are related to rail transport, power generation, and water supply, among other industries. The original Ganz Works or Ganz ( or , ''Ganz companies'', formerly ...

were allocated to the Belgrano Sur. They had been acquired by the

Argentine State Railway Argentine State Railway (in Spanish language, Spanish: Ferrocarriles del Estado) was a Government-owned corporation, State-owned railway company of Argentina, established by Law N° 6.757 in October 1909, when José Figueroa Alcorta was the Presi ...

decades earlier and had been running on the northern Argentine railways since 1936. Some of them were used for local services to Libertad and the rest for the long-distance service to

, departing from Buenos Aires station, the former Compañía Gral. de Buenos Aires terminus. The Ganz railcars ran services until 1977 when the line was definitively closed. When the Libertad−Plomer section was closed, the ex-CGBA Buenos Aires station was made the terminus. Trains ran without passengers from Puente Alsina to Aldo Bonzi, running back to the Tapiales junction where they then went to the Buenos Aires station. Passengers waited and took the train in Buenos Aires, being carried to Carhué via Plomer. The lack of maintenance caused a progressive deterioration in the rolling stock and stations of the line. The line was closed in September 1977 and the workshops at Libertad were demolished. On 2 March 1977, Decree N° 547 by de facto President of Argentina,

Jorge Rafael Videla Jorge Rafael Videla ( ; ; 2 August 1925 – 17 May 2013) was an Argentine military officer and the ''de facto'' President of Argentina from 1976 to 1981, during the National Reorganization Process. His rule, which was during the time of Operati ...

ordered the closure and dismantlement of more than 4,000 km of rail tracks. Several General Belgrano Railway lines were closed on 1 May 1977, although long-distance services to Carhué continued operating until August of that year when the last train ran to that city. Nevertheless, the closure of services in the region did not have a negative impact on the economy of the Province since the rail tracks ran through low-populated regions. Furthermore, most of that region was already served by other railway lines with better access to the city of

Privatisation: Metropolitano

With the

railway privatisation in Argentina Railway privatisation in Argentina was a process which began in 1989 under the presidency of Carlos Menem, following a series of neoliberalism, neoliberal economic reforms. This primarily consisted of breaking up the state-owned railway company F ...

in the early 1990s, the Belgrano Sur line was granted in concession to the

private company A privately held company (or simply a private company) is a company whose Stock, shares and related rights or obligations are not offered for public subscription or publicly negotiated in their respective listed markets. Instead, the Private equi ...

Metropolitano Metropolitano S.A. was a privately owned consortium formed in 1994 to take over concessions granted by the Argentine government as part of railway privatisation during the presidency of Carlos Menem for the operation of commuter rail services i ...

which started operations in 1994. However, the

Government of Argentina The government of Argentina, within the framework of a federal system, is a presidential system, presidential Representative democracy, representative democratic republic. The president of Argentina is both head of state and head of government. ...

revoked the contract of concession in 2007 due to poor service standards and increasing complaints from users. Until then, the concessionary had been receiving near $30 million in subsidies per month. In the first years of private operation, many kilometres of the line were closed with stations and infrastructure abandoned. In spite of the large government subsidies received by TMB (the

's subsidiary that operated the line) a serious decline in the standard of rail services led to the original concession being revoked. In 2007, the service was given in concession to the consortium Unidad de Gestión Operativa Ferroviaria de Emergencia ( UGOFE).

Transition and new concession

The UGOFE took over the service until 12 February 2014, when it was announced that the Belgrano Sur and Roca lines would be granted to Argentren S.A., a company that was part of the

Emepa Group Emepa Group S.A. (, an acronym for Empresa Metalúrgica Patricias Argentinas)

and UGOFE was immediately dissolved.

Renationalisation and investment

The

State-owned company A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a business entity created or owned by a national or local government, either through an executive order or legislation. SOEs aim to generate profit for the government, prevent private sector monopolies, provide goo ...

took over Belgrano Sur line (operated by Argentren) after the

rescinded the contracts signed with the company on 2 March 2015. The contract terms specified that the concession could be cancelled with no right to claim compensation."Ya está lista la ley que prevé más control estatal sobre los trenes"
''Clarín'', 5 Mar 2015 The agreements had been signed in February 2014, committing Argentren and Corredores Ferroviarios to operate the lines. In September 2013, the Government of Argentina announced that 23 brand-new

s were to be acquired from the

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

company

CNR Dalian CRRC Dalian Co., Ltd. (), often abbreviated as DLoco, is a company located in Dalian, Liaoning Province, China, producing railway locomotives, multiple units and diesel engines. The factory was established in 1899 during the period of constructio ...

. The first batch of the new rolling stock was expected to be available from May 2015 but only arrived in Buenos Aires in July. It was then announced that the new rolling stock had been would begin running on the Buenos Aires - Gonzalez Catán route in August. The other parts of the line received the new rolling stock before the end of 2015, as the railcars arrived in the country. It was also announced that all the 28 stations of the line would be remodelled. The cost of the investment was estimated in A$ 1,200 million. The platforms of the stations would be elevated to match the height of the new rolling stock, while the track was being refurbished on the line, with the Buenos Aires - Tapiales segment receiving completely new rails on concrete sleepers.Arribaron al puerto primeros coches motores CNR para el Belgrano Sur
- EnElSubte, 6 July 2015. Twenty-four of the stations would be completely replaced using modular designs, while some single-track segments would be made into double-track segments.Informe de Obras
- ADIFSE CNR DMU Belgrano Sur

In 2015, two important extension works were considered. To the southwest, the section from González Catán to

Marcos Paz Marcos Paz (1813 – January 2, 1868) was Governor of Córdoba and Tucumán Provinces, an Argentine Senator, and Vice President of Argentina from October 12, 1862, until his death in 1868. Biography Marcos Paz was born to a prominent Tu ...

(closed at the time of privatisation) to be restored and reopened, extending that branch of the line after its 20-year closure whilst adding new overpasses and connecting the line with the Merlo–

Lobos Lobos is the headquarters city of the Lobos Partido in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It was founded on 2 June 1802 by José Salgado. Background Located from Buenos Aires, Lobos is a fertile agricultural area known mainly because of the d ...

branch of the

Sarmiento Line The Sarmiento line is a broad gauge commuter rail service in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, run by the state-owned Trenes Argentinos since 11 September 2013. The line is part of Domingo Sarmiento Railway, running trains departing from Once ...

. In August 2017, Trenes Argentinos suspended the Puente Alsina–Aldo Bonzi service due to a derailment near Puente Alsina station. Since then, the service has not been re-established. Because of that, the National Government ceded the lands occupied by the line to the Municipality of Lanús with the purpose of building a park there.

Extensions

Belgrano sur plano viaducto saenz a constitucion

In 2015, it was announced that the Belgrano Sur Line would reach

Roca Line The Roca line is a gauge commuter rail service in the Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, part of General Roca Railway network. The service is currently operated by State-owned company Trenes Argentinos, from the city-centre terminus of Consti ...

's Constitución station through a

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 ...

that would connect both lines. The project, named "Centro de Trasbordo Constitución" (''Constitución

layover 250px, Layover for buses at LACMTA's Los_Angeles.html" ;"title="Warner Center Transit Hub, Los Angeles">Warner Center Transit Hub, Los Angeles In scheduled transportation, a layover (also way station, or connection) is a point where a vehic ...

center''), will allow near 65,000 Belgrano Sur passengers to access not only Roca Line trains but

Buenos Aires Underground The Buenos Aires Underground (), locally known as Subte (), is a rapid transit system that serves the area of the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The first section of this network (Plaza de Mayo–Plaza Miserere) opened in 1913, making it the L ...

's Line CTren Belgrano Sur: cómo será el viaducto que a fines de 2023 permitirá viajar directo de La Matanza a Constitución
on Zonales, 7 Nov 2022 For that purpose, the Buenos Aires station was closed in May 2018, leaving Dr. Sáenz as new terminus of the line. The viaduct was built between Sáenz and Villa Soldati to avoid level crossings. A second stage of the project included to extend the viaduct to Plaza Constitución, connecting both lines, Belgrano Sur and Roca. As of September 2022, 35% of the works were completed, at a cost of

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

119 million. The viaduct will have a total extension of 4.2 km.Fernández y Guerrera recorrieron la obra del Viaducto Belgrano Sur que llegará hasta Constitución
at Government of Argentina, 13 Sep 2022 Projects also include the construction of a new "Buenos Aires" station, which will be elevated over Avenida Vélez Sársfield. 200px, Villars station, reopened in 2022 In December 2019, the branch "G" was extended 9 km from

to 20 de Junio in

La Matanza Partido La Matanza ('The Slaughter' in Spanish) is a '' partido'' (county or department) located in the urban agglomeration of Greater Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. This provincial subdivision had 1,775,272 inhabitants (at the 2010 C ...

. Passenger trains had not stopped in 20 de Junio since 1993, when services were reduced to reduce costs. In July 2021, the service was extended from González Catán to

in the

.El tren Belgrano Sur llegó a Marcos Paz después de 28 años
on Government of Argentina, 29 Jul 2021 Trains resumed operations to Villars, a small town with 3,000 inhabitants in

,Villars, el pueblo bonaerense que luchó 29 años hasta que consiguió que vuelva el tren
by María Belén Robledo on Infocielo, 23 Dec 2022 in December 2022, after the Government extended the service from Marcos Paz to that city. The service had been closed in 1993. In May 2023, Trenes Argentinos announced a tourist train which would run from Mercedes to Tomás Jofré (with an intermediate stop in Altamira), all of them part of

Mercedes Partido Mercedes Partido is a partido in the eastern part of Buenos Aires Province in Argentina. The provincial subdivision has a population of about 62,000 inhabitants in an area of , and its capital city is Mercedes, from Buenos Aires. Settlements * ...

. The train was planned to run two services on Sundays, with an estimated time of 45'. For that purpose, Jofré and Altamira stations were completely refurbished, adding toilets and access ramps for

disabled Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physica ...

people.Luego de 30 años, volverá a funcionar el tren turístico que une las localidades bonaerenses de Mercedes y Tomás Jofré
/ref> The service was officially inaugurated on May 27, and served by

Emepa Alerce The Alerce is an Argentine railcar produced by the Emepa Group in Chascomús, Buenos Aires Province. , the units are produced for the General Belgrano Railway's narrow gauge network and are currently used on commuter rail services, though a br ...

diesel railcars. In October 2023, the González Catán–Villars branch was extended to Lozano, a locality in General Las Heras Partido. The service was re-opened only for weekends although Trenes Argentinos stated it could be extended to weekdays in a near future. The station had been closed in 1976. There are plans to extend the service to other towns of the region that were served by train in the past, such as Navarro.

Historic operators

Companies that have operated the Belgrano Sur Line since it was established after the 1948 nationalisation are:

Rolling Stock

In August 2015, the first

diesel multiple unit A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple-unit train powered by on-board diesel engines. A DMU requires no separate locomotive, as the engines are incorporated into one or more of the carriages. Diesel-powered single-unit railcars are also ...

s (DMUs) acquired from CNR Tangshan were put into service. This rolling stock consists of 81 cars, which make up a total of 27 DMUs composed of three cars each and were to be phased-in throughout the year until all the railcars were the Chinese-made DMUs. Prior to the complete replacement of the existing rolling stock by the Chinese DMUs, the line consisted of a variety of diesel locomotives pulling carriages in a number of different combinations. The introduction of the new rolling stock has doubled the line's passenger capacity.Randazzo presentó el nuevo servicio 0km de la línea Belgrano Sur y anunció que se convertirá en "el tren de los trabajadores con dignidad"
- Ministerio del Interior y Transporte, 25 August 2015.

Services

The Belgrano Sur line operates the following DMU services: ;Notes

References

External links

*
Tren Belgrano Sur
{{DEFAULTSORT:Linea Belgrano Sur (Buenos Aires) Buenos Aires - Belgrano Sur Line Greater Buenos Aires Rail transport in Buenos Aires Province Metre-gauge railways in Argentina