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

regional rail Regional rail, also known as local trains and stopping trains, are passenger rail services that operate between towns and cities. These trains operate with more stops over shorter distances than inter-city rail, but fewer stops and faster serv ...

line in Córdoba Province of Argentina. The line runs from Alta Córdoba to Cosquín, being currently operated by

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 ...

Trenes Argentinos.

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-owned company

Córdoba North Western Railway The Córdoba North Western Railway (CNW) (in Spanish: Ferrocarril Córdoba y Noroeste) was a British-owned railway company, founded in 1889, that operated a railway network in the Córdoba Province of Argentina. Financial problems forced the sal ...

. In 1901 it was taken over by

Córdoba Central Railway The Córdoba Central Railway (CCR) (in Spanish: Ferrocarril Central Córdoba) was a British-owned railway company, founded in 1887, that operated a railway network in Argentina which extended from Buenos Aires, north west via Rosario and ...

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 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 ...

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 usually refers to pri ...

the whole

railway network 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 Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...

in 1948, the CNR became part of General Belgrano Railway, one of the six divisions of recently formed Ferrocarriles Argentinos. 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 is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the west bank of the Paraná River. Rosario is the third-most populous ci ...

and Buenos Aires 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 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

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 ...

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) that took over the railway in 1993 to operate it as a tourist service. Under the trade name "Aero Ruta", the consortium operated the line (also naming it ''Tren de las Sierras'') from Córdoba to Capilla del Monte (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 consortium Ferrocentral (formed by railway companies Ferrovías and

Nuevo Central Argentino Nuevo Central Argentino S. A. (abbreviated NCA) is an Argentine company that utilises the operation and infrastructure of the national railway system of the former Mitre Railway division of Ferrocarriles Argentinos, by a concession granted on 23 ...

) was granted concession to operate the service. The trip took about 40 minutes, served by diesel-electric trains manufactured in Portugal and remodeled by Grupo Emepa in its workshops at

Chascomús Chascomús is the principal city in Chascomús Partido in eastern Buenos Aires Province of Argentina, located south of the capital Buenos Aires. In 2001, the city had a population of 30,670. History The city was founded as a fort (the ''Fortí ...

. 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 Cruz del Eje is a city in the province of Córdoba, Argentina. It had about 30,000 inhabitants at the . It is the head town of the department of the same name, which has a population of about 52,000. The area of the city was originally inhabited ...

. 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 In September 2013 State-owned company Trenes Argentinos 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.

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 Huerta Grande.jpg, Huerta Grande station 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

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