1.
CSR EMU (Argentina)
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The CSR EMU is a series of electric multiple unit cars manufactured by CSR Corporation Limited for use on Buenos Aires commuter rail network. The trains operate on three of the lines as of 2015 and 705 cars were manufactured, with each line using a different number of cars per train. They were created for use on lines electrified using third rail and overhead lines. By 2013, the stock of Buenos Aires commuter rail network was ageing and deteriorating rapidly. The government thus decided to intervene, revoking concessions to such as Trenes de Buenos Aires. This was followed by a series of rolling stock purchases from China CNR Corporation, however, not all works were finished by the time the CSR EMUs arrived on their respective lines, and some works continued on while they were already functioning. The units were built at CSRs Qingdao factory, a complex with 1,640,000 m2 of covered space. In 2014, CSR then purchased the Argentine rolling stock manufacturer Emprendimientos Ferroviarios, there are very minor differences with the Roca Line trains, and the most major difference is the overhead collection which runs at a different voltage. The trains began to arrive in February 2014, just 13 months after the order was signed, the electric multiple units are used on all of Buenos Aires electrified commuter rail lines, with the exception of the Urquiza Line which uses Japanese Toshiba EMUs. The Belgrano Sur line had diesel multiple units with an appearance to the CSR electric multiple units purchased. The Sarmiento Line was the first to begin operating the CSR trains in July 2014, followed by the Mitre Line, all the trains are operated by the state-owned Trenes Argentinos, which is now a part of the larger Ferrocarriles Argentinos umbrella company
2.
Retiro Mitre railway station
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Retiro Station is a large railway terminus located in the district of Retiro of the city of Buenos Aires. The station is located just opposite Plaza San Martín, a public square. One of Argentinas largest railway stations, Retiro Mitre is the terminus for the Mitre Railway, Retiro Mitre is accessible by the C line of the Buenos Aires Metro system and by numerous local public bus services. The station will also be accessible by both Line E and Line H of the metro once their extensions are complete, the station is also near from Retiro bus station, the principal long-distance bus terminal in Buenos Aires. The French-style station building was designed by the British architects Eustace L. Conder, Roger Conder, building began in June 1909 and the station was opened on 1 August 1915 while being operated by the Central Argentine Railway. The steel structure for the building was made in Liverpool, England, for many years it was considered to be the most important example of structural engineering in South America and architecturally one of the finest buildings in the world. Other private companies operating the station were Corredores Ferroviarios and Ferrocentral, in 1997 the Retiro Mitre station was declared a National Monument. In 2015 plans were announced to expand the station new platforms to accommodate long distance services operated by Operadora Ferroviaria Sociedad del Estado. The new part of the station would have new road access from Libertador Avenue, the existing buildings are also currently being renovated, including restoration of the train shed. State-owned Trenes Argentinos operates the rail services calling at José León Suárez, Tigre. Long-distance services to Rosario and Tucumán cities are operated by the same company. Media related to Retiro Mitre station at Wikimedia Commons
3.
Commuter rail
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Trains operate following a schedule, at speeds varying from 50 to 200 km/h. Distance charges or zone pricing may be used and they primarily serve lower density suburban areas, and often share right-of-way with intercity or freight trains. Some services operate only during peak hours and others uses fewer departures during off peak hours, average speeds are high, often 50 km/h or higher. These higher speeds better serve the longer distances involved, some services include express services which skip some stations in order to run faster and separate longer distance riders from short-distance ones. The general range of commuter trains distance varies between 15 and 200 km, sometimes long distances can be explained by that the train runs between two or several cities. Distances between stations may vary, but are much longer than those of urban rail systems. In city centers the train either has a station or passes through the city centre with notably fewer station stops than those of urban rail systems. Toilets are often available on trains and in stations. Their ability to coexist with freight or intercity services in the same right-of-way can drastically reduce system construction costs, however, frequently they are built with dedicated tracks within that right-of-way to prevent delays, especially where service densities have converged in the inner parts of the network. Most such trains run on the standard gauge track. Some light rail systems may run on a narrower gauge, some countries, including Finland, India, Pakistan, Russia, Brazil and Sri Lanka, as well as San Francisco in the USA and Melbourne and Adelaide in Australia, use broad gauge track. The fact that the terminology is not standardised across countries further complicates matters, most S-bahns typically behave like commuter rail with most trackage not separated from other trains, and long lines with trains running between cities and suburbs rather than within a city. The distances between stations however, are usually short, in larger systems there is usually a high frequency metro-like central corridor in the city center where all the lines converge into. Typical examples of large city S-Bahns include Munich and Frankfurt, S-Bahns do also exist in some mid-size cities like Rostock and Magdeburg but behave more like typical commuter rail with lower frequencies and very little exclusive trackage. A similar network exists in Copenhagen called the S-tog, in Hamburg and Copenhagen, other, diesel driven trains, do continue where the S-Bahn ends. Regional rail usually provides rail services between towns and cities, rather than purely linking major population hubs in the way inter-city rail does, Regional rail operates outside major cities. Unlike Inter-city, it stops at most or all stations between cities and it provides a service between smaller communities along the line, and also connections with long-distance services at interchange stations located at junctions or at larger towns along the line. Alternative names are local train or stopping train, examples include the former BRs Regional Railways, Frances TER, Germanys DB Regio and South Koreas Tonggeun services
4.
Central Argentine Railway
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The Central Argentine Railway was one of the Big Four broad gauge,5 ft 6 in, private companies, owned by an american bussinessman, that built and operated railway networks in Argentina. The company was established in the 19th century, to serve the provinces of Santa Fe and Córdoba, in November 1855 the report was presented in Rosario. Campbell had been the engineer in the New York-Harlem railway line and been hired by William Wheelwright to make, the costs estimated by Campbell in the report, were the following, The distance estimated was 396 km and the costs were in Argentine Peso. The studio revealed a costos of GBP4,000 per mile built, a decree promulgated on April granted the company the lands to build roads, docks, stations and stops, that will be given to the company in perpetuity and free of lines. In 1863, the government of Argentina granted the company, led by engineer William Wheelwright, the grant included a clause to populate the lands along and around the railway that were given to the company by the national state. The construction works started in April 1863 with the establishment of the terminus in Rosario, the line, a 1,676 mm broad gauge railway. In September 1867 the line reached Villa María, Córdoba and the works ceased, minister Rawson expressed disagreement for the paralization of the works while passengers also protested against poor conditions of the service. The works for the Rosario Central station and other stations had not begun. The company alleged that they could not continue the extension of the line until the lands were given. On September 1867 the Government authorized a new disbursement of funds for $1,500,000 to conclude the pending works, finally in March 1870 the railway reached the city of Córdoba and it was officially inaugurated by then Presidente of Argentina Domingo Sarmiento on April 13. The CAR was the longest railway system at time and the first to join two provinces. During 18 years the company did not built any km else so in 1888 the railway system still had 396 km of extension, the company sent a commissioner to Europe to bring immigrants to form agricultural colonies, as required by the concession contract. They were settled first in Roldán, the first stop after Rosario, in 1891 the CA opened Fisherton Station in the west of Rosario, as well as new branch entering Rosario from the southwest and a stop on said line. Victoria station was opened in 1891. Trains to Zelaya and Capilla del Señor departed from Victoria for the first time one year later, the CAR also installed the first crossbuck and manually-operated gates in the many level crossings existing by then. The CA absorbed a company, Ferrocarril Oeste Santafesino, in 1900. In 1908, CA was merged with another company, Buenos Aires and Rosario Railway, which served the Buenos Aires–Rosario line. The fused company opened two new stops in Rosario, Parada Cruce Alberdi in the north-center of the city, and Parada Golf, in the limit of the municipality
5.
Operadora Ferroviaria Sociedad del Estado
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Operadora Ferroviaria Sociedad del Estado is an Argentine State-owned company created in 2008 to operate passenger services in Argentina. It is a subsidiary of the Ferrocarriles Argentinos holding company, since March 2015 SOFSE has run the Buenos Aires commuter rail services Mitre, San Martín, Roca and Belgrano Sur lines previously operated by private companies. After the Railway privatisation in Argentina at the beginning of the 1990s the railway assets that had not given in concession were taken over by Ferrocarriles Argentinos before being dissolved. From 1996 to 2000 those assets were administered by Ente Nacional de Administración de Bienes Ferroviarios created through a National Decree promulgated by the Presidency of Argentina, on June 1,2000, ENABIEF merged to Dirección Nacional de Bienes del Estado. From then on, the Organismo Nacional de Administración de Bienes began its activities as an organism created to manage the assets not directly affected to State activities. Law 26.352 promulgated in 2008 re-organized the railway operations in Argentina creating two State organisms, the Administración de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias and the Operadora Ferroviaria, Decree N° 752/08 regulated the activities by the recently established company since then. Although having been established in 2008, SOFSE became active two years later, when the took over the railway services in Chaco Province left by Servicios Ferroviarios del Chaco. In 2011 the organism added the services of Salta and Buenos Aires Provinces. When Minister of Transport was created in 2012, SOFSE took over all the urban services not granted in concession of Greater Buenos Aires. The society also began to operate services such as train services to Córdoba, Tucumán cities. In June 2013, SOFSE took over the Tren de la Costa when the Government decided the company would be managed by the Argentine State after revoking the contract with Sociedad Comercial del Plata. In September 2013, the Government of Argentina designed SOFSE to operate the Mitre and Sarmiento lines and this decision was officially promulgated through Resolution N° 1083/13. SOFSE operated temporarily the Mitre line until the Government of Argentina re-privatised it, in December 2014, brand new trains acquired by the Government of Argentina to Chinese company CNR Dalian, started to run luxury services from Constitución to Mar del Plata. Classic service continued to be operated by Ferrobaires, in February 2015, services from Buenos Aires to Rufino, Santa Fe were reestablished after 22 years. The service runs with brand-new trains acquired to China on Ferrocarril San Martín tracks, trains make stops at Chacabuco, Junín, Vedia and Alberdi, among other stations. In March 2015, SOFSE started to run the CNR CKD8 trains from Retiro to Córdoba, due to the poor conditions of the tracks, trains took 19 hours to run the 700 km between terminus. It was double the time that in 1938, when operated by Central Argentine took 9 hours to connect both cities with two intermediate stops. SOFSE took over Belgrano Sur and Roca and Mitre and San Martín lines after the Government of Argentina rescinded the contracts signed with both companies on March 2,2015, the contract terms specified that the concession could be cancelled with no right to claim compensation
6.
Tigre, Buenos Aires
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Tigre is a town in the Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, situated in the north of Greater Buenos Aires,28 km north of Buenos Aires city. Tigre lies on the Paraná Delta and is an important tourist and weekend attraction, easily reached by bus and train services and it is the principal town of the Tigre Partido. The town sits on an island created by small streams and rivers and was founded in 1820, after floods had destroyed other settlements in the area. The areas name derives from the “tigres” or jaguars that were hunted there, on occasions, in its early years. The area was first settled by Europeans who came to farm the land, Tigre is still an important timber processing port. The “Puerto de Frutos” is now a crafts fair located in the old fruit market by the riverside, the Naval Museum is also nearby. Antiques shops, riverside restaurants and pubs, the casino and Parque de la Costa, Tigre is also the starting point for a visit to the Paraná Delta. For locals and tourists alike, vintage mahogany commuter launches and motorboats are the way to travel through its web of inter-connecting rivers. Tigre has, in recent years, seen an influx of people relocating to the city from other parts of Greater Buenos Aires, in recent years it has seen a rise in upmarket tourism, spawning new spa developments and clientele such as the pop star, Madonna. The town of Tigre is served by two lines, the Mitre Line and the scenic Tren de la Costa, both terminate at walking distance from all venues. Mitre Line Retiro – Tigre The Mitre Line departs from Buenos Aires Retiro Station to Tigre Station every 10 –30 minutes. The Tren de la Costa has two types of tickets, a direct Maipú – Delta service and another allows the visitor off at various stations without paying any extra. The Tren de la Costa runs every twenty minutes daily, commuter passenger boats, water taxis and ferries provide public transport within the Tigre Delta. Villa Paranacito, Entre Ríos Paraná Delta Official Municipality web site Official travel site Victorica Promenade A Jaguars Warning
7.
Olivos, Buenos Aires
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Olivos is an Argentine city in Vicente López Partido in the Province of Buenos Aires and a suburb within the Greater Buenos Aires metro area. Olivos is the site of the residence of the President of Argentina. The city is bordered on the east by the shores of the Río de la Plata, a 1905 edict subdivided San Isidro Partido in two, creating the modern Partido de Vicente López and designating Olivos as the seat. The opening of National Route 9 in the mid-1930s, west of the city, the complementing structures for the compound were built in variations on Baroque architecture. The residence hosted the Olivos Pact, an agreement signed on 14 November 1993 between then-President Carlos Menem and former President Raúl Alfonsín. The pact secured support for reforms allowing for the re-election of the President well as for the popular election of the Mayor of Buenos Aires. The city was witness to the Kheyvis nightclub fire, the deadliest such tragedy in Argentina up to that point. Olivos was selected as a stop along the Tren de la Costa tourist railway upon the opening in 1994. Municipal information, Municipal Affairs Federal Institute, Municipal Affairs Secretariat, Ministry of Interior, Argentina
8.
Rolling stock
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The term rolling stock originally referred to any vehicles that move on a railway. It has since expanded to include the vehicles used by businesses on roadways. It usually includes both powered and unpowered vehicles, for locomotives, railroad cars, coaches, and wagons. Rolling stock is considered to be an asset, or close to it, since the value of the vehicle can be readily estimated. The term contrasts with fixed stock, which is a term for the track, signals, stations, other buildings, electric wires. In Great Britain, types of rolling stock were given code names and these codes were telegraphese, somewhat analogous to the SMS language of today. List of railway vehicles Great Western Railway telegraphic codes Great Western Railway wagons The dictionary definition of rolling stock at Wiktionary
9.
Materfer CMM 400-2
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The CMM 400-2 is a diesel multiple unit produced by Materfer in Córdoba Province, Argentina. The units are produced in Argentinas three primary track gauges and the standard gauge variants were the first to be produced for General Urquiza Railway services in Entre Ríos Province. The DMUs come in 1000mm, 1435mm and 1676mm track gauges, most components are built in Argentina, with the exception of a few such as its German Knorr Bremse brakes and Swedish Scania engines. The possibility of upgrading the Scania engines to more powerful Deutz AG engines on all future, some of the passenger comforts in the cars include, air conditioning, pneumatic suspension, reclining seats and LED lighting. Each car has a capacity for 70 seated passengers and each trainset has a cabin on each side. The units can be found on a variety of different urban and inter-urban services in Argentina, the first trainsets were sent to Entre Ríos Province for inter-urban services on the General Urquiza Railways Paraná - Concepción del Uruguay line. The units on the General Roca Railway are used for services between Bragado - Realicó - General Pico in Buenos Aires and La Pampa provinces. CMM 400-2 trainsets will also be used for the Tren del Valle when it opens in 2015, CMM 400-2 trainsets on the Mitre Line are used for its diesel branch between Victoria and Capilla del Señor. These units had problems when they were incorporated into this branch since the tracks had not been replaced beforehand. Their bodywork has a different appearance to the standard and broad gauge units found on other lines. Rail transport in Argentina Emepa Alerce - another Argentine-built DMU Trenes Argentinos - primary operator Mitre Line Tren del Valle
10.
Track gauge
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In rail transport, track gauge is the spacing of the rails on a railway track and is measured between the inner faces of the load-bearing rails. All vehicles on a network must have running gear that is compatible with the track gauge, as the dominant parameter determining interoperability, it is still frequently used as a descriptor of a route or network. There is a distinction between the gauge and actual gauge at some locality, due to divergence of track components from the nominal. Railway engineers use a device, like a caliper, to measure the actual gauge, the nominal track gauge is the distance between the inner faces of the rails. In current practice, it is specified at a distance below the rail head as the inner faces of the rail head are not necessarily vertical. In some cases in the earliest days of railways, the company saw itself as an infrastructure provider only. Colloquially the wagons might be referred to as four-foot gauge wagons, say and this nominal value does not equate to the flange spacing, as some freedom is allowed for. An infrastructure manager might specify new or replacement track components at a variation from the nominal gauge for pragmatic reasons. Track is defined in old Imperial units or in universally accepted metric units or SI units, Imperial units were established in United Kingdom by The Weights and Measures Act of 1824. In addition, there are constraints, such as the load-carrying capacity of axles. Narrow gauge railways usually cost less to build because they are lighter in construction, using smaller cars and locomotives, as well as smaller bridges, smaller tunnels. Narrow gauge is often used in mountainous terrain, where the savings in civil engineering work can be substantial. Broader gauge railways are generally expensive to build and require wider curves. There is no single perfect gauge, because different environments and economic considerations come into play, a narrow gauge is superior if ones main considerations are economy and tight curvature. For direct, unimpeded routes with high traffic, a broad gauge may be preferable, the Standard, Russian, and 46 gauges are designed to strike a reasonable balance between these factors. In addition to the general trade-off, another important factor is standardization, once a standard has been chosen, and equipment, infrastructure, and training calibrated to that standard, conversion becomes difficult and expensive. This also makes it easier to adopt an existing standard than to invent a new one and this is true of many technologies, including railroad gauges. The reduced cost, greater efficiency, and greater economic opportunity offered by the use of a common standard explains why a number of gauges predominate worldwide
