Tren de las Sierras (technically known as the "A-1" branch of the General Belgrano Railway) is a

regional rail Regional rail is a public transport, public rail transport service that operates between towns and cities. These trains operate with more stops than inter-city rail, and unlike commuter rail, operate beyond the limits of urban areas, connectin ...

line in Córdoba Province of

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. The line runs from Alta Córdoba to

Capilla del Monte Capilla del Monte is a small city in the northeastern part of the provinces of Argentina, province of Córdoba Province (Argentina), Córdoba, Argentina, located by the Sierras Chicas mountain chain, in the northern end of the Punilla Valley. It ha ...

, being currently operated by

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 ...

Trenes Argentinos Operaciones.

History

The rail line was opened on July 2, 1889, to carry both, freight and passengers from Córdoba to Cruz del Eje, operated by

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 ...

-owned company Córdoba North Western Railway. In 1901 it was taken over by Córdoba Central Railway which operated the branch until 1909 when the company was acquired by the Argentine State Railway. When the

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 ...

administration

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 ...

the whole railway network in 1948, the CNR became part of General Belgrano Railway, one of the six divisions of recently formed

Ferrocarriles Argentinos Ferrocarriles Argentinos (abbreviated as FA; ) was a government-owned corporation, state-owned company that managed the entire Rail transport in Argentina, Argentine railway system for nearly 45 years. It was formed in 1948 when all the private r ...

. By the 1960s the line had its golden age when it carried a big number of passengers of Valle de Punilla, as well as tourists coming from the cities of Córdoba,

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 ...

and

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 ...

at attractive prices. Nevertheless, the railway was closed in 1977. When 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. ...

led by

Carlos Menem Carlos Saúl Menem (2 July 1930 – 14 February 2021) served as the 50th president of Argentina for ten years, from 1989 to 1999. He identified as Peronism, Peronist, serving as President of the Justicialist Party for 13 years (from 1990 to 200 ...

privatized all the railway lines in the early 1990s, the Córdoba-Cruz del Eje line was transferred to Córdoba Province. The Government of Córdoba stated that they could not finance the service. As part of a national railway privatisation plan, carried out under the presidency of

, a concession to operate the line was granted to local consortium Grupo Alcázar (that had previously operated the Córdoba Zoo and the Oscar Cabalén

racetrack A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also us ...

) that took over the railway in 1993 to operate it as a tourist service. Under the

trade name A trade name, trading name, or business name is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is fictitious business name. Registering the fictitious name with ...

"Aero Ruta", the consortium operated the line (also naming it ''Tren de las Sierras'') from Córdoba to

(100-km length) but services suddenly stopped in 2001. Three years later the Government of Córdoba revoked the contract of concession (by Provincial Decree n° 1274) blaming the concessionary for the bad conditions of the service and poor maintenance. In 2007 the Province transferred the line to the National Government. On August 10, 2007, the service was partially re-opened, only between cities of Rodríguez del Busto and La Calera.

Private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

consortium

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

(formed by railway companies

Ferrovías Ferrovías S.A.C. is a privately owned company which, on 1 April 1994, took over the concession, granted by the Argentine government as part of railway privatisation during the presidency of Carlos Menem, for the operation of the (metre gauge) ...

and Nuevo Central Argentino) was granted concession to operate the service. The trip took about 40 minutes, served by diesel-electric trains manufactured in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

and remodeled by

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

in its workshops at Chascomús. In August 2007 the first phase of the project from Rodríguez del Busto to La Calera was re-opened to the public by Ferrocentral. The National Government invested $10 million to re-open the line. Projects also include to extend services to Cruz del Eje. One year later the rail line reached Cosquín via the "Quebrada of Bamba". On June 22, 2009, Alta Córdoba was set up as a terminus, but the concessionary decided to move the terminus to Rodríguez del Busto due to people from poor neighborhoods around the station throwing stones at the trains. In March 2015, this section of the railway was re-opened by the Minister of the Interior and Transport,

Florencio Randazzo Aníbal Florencio Randazzo (born 1 March 1964) in an Argentine Justicialist Party politician. He was Minister of the Interior and Transport during the presidency of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, from 2007 to 2015. An ally of Kirchner's during ...

In September 2013 State-owned company

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 ...

took over the Tren de las Sierras, operating it up to present days. In March 2015, Alta Córdoba was set up as terminus again, also incorporating the Hospital Neonatal station. In November 2023, the train extended its route to Capilla del Monte.

Current operations

Tren de las Sierras operates three daily departures in the morning from Alta Córdoba railway station to Cosquín; and three departures from Cosquín to Córdoba, one in the morning and two in the afternoon. End to end travel time is two hours and twenty four minutes.

Operators

Gallery

File:Valle Hermoso Estación.jpg, Former Valle Hermoso station, currently a cultural centre File:Valle Hermoso Estación-Museo.jpg, Front view of Valle Hermoso cultural centre File:Estación Cassaffousth.JPG, Passengers unloading at Casa Bamba station File:Estación La Cumbre.jpg, La Cumbre station File:Estación Cosquín Tren de las Sierras.jpg, Cosquín, terminus of the line File:Andén estación La Falda.JPG, La Falda station in 2009

Notes

References

External links

*
Photo gallery of Tren de las Sierras

Tren de las Sierras: horarios y recorrido

on Satélite Ferroviario {{DEFAULTSORT:Tren de las Sierras s s s s 1899 establishments in Argentina s