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46-644: The FCGBM incorporated the British-owned 5 ft 6 in ( 1,676 mm ) broad gauge company, Central Argentine Railway , and the northern section of the French-owned broad gauge Rosario and Puerto Belgrano Railway . The principal lines departed from Retiro railway terminus in Buenos Aires to the north through the provinces of Buenos Aires , Santa Fe , Córdoba , Santiago del Estero and Tucumán . The Ferrocarril Mitre also has

92-563: A break-of-gauge with US railways, the War of 1812 still being a fresh memory. However, there is little supporting evidence for this, and this story appears to be traced to a single claim from the late 1800s. The Bay Area Rapid Transit system is the only operating railroad in the United States to use 1,676 mm ( 5 ft 6 in ) broad gauge, with 120 miles (190 km) of double tracked routes. The original engineers chose

138-688: A 27.1 km (16.8 mi) line of Lahore metro . In Sri Lanka, all services currently operate on 1,676 mm ( 5 ft 6 in ) broad gauge only. The 1,676 mm ( 5 ft 6 in ) broad gauge was first used in Scotland for two short, isolated lines, the Dundee and Arbroath Railway (1836-1847) and the Arbroath and Forfar Railway (1838-). Both the lines were subsequently converted to standard gauge . The Iberian-gauge railways , that service much of Spain and Portugal, have

184-779: A branch that extends from Villa Gobernador Gálvez in Santa Fe Province to Puerto Belgrano, south of the Buenos Aires Province . This branch was part of the Rosario and Puerto Belgrano Railway although it is out of use nowadays. After the World War II finished, British and French-owned railway companies in Argentina began proceedings with the purpose of selling their railways due to financial problems to operate those services. Finally on March 1, 1948, all

230-401: A decrease of the number of passenger carried by the company, affecting not only the train services but the amusement park as well. The SCP asked the national government a grant to continue operating the trains but the request was denied due to the concession contract did not include the possibility of granting subsidies because Tren de la Costa was categorized as a tourism train unlike the rest of

276-474: A luggage belts in Retiro, electronic signs in the main stations of the line (Retiro, Tucumán, Rosario, La Banda) indicating departures and arrivals of the trains and the opening of new ticket booths. The material used included 3,700 tons of rail tracks produced by local metallurgic company Somisa, 50,000 tons of ballast, 700 tons of metallic accessories and 8,000 protectors for the third rail . In September 1990

322-541: A total of 4,512 km. The new consortium established its headquarters at Rosario, Santa Fe . At the moment of the beginning of concession, Ferrocarriles Argentinos only run the 45% of the system line because of the terrible deterioration of the tracks or the absence of ballastro that did not allow trains to run. The assets received by NCA included 63 diesel locomotives (of those only 23 active) and 5,354 wagons (with only 60% in acceptable condition to run). Indian gauge 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm)

368-746: A tourist train, with Maipú, Libertador and San Isidro as its main commercial centres. Beside Delta terminus, a new amusement park, " Parque de la Costa " was built, self-proclaiming "the largest in South America". Parque de la Costa -opened in April 1997- invested US$ 100 million to be constructed. Two years later, the "Trillenium Casino" opened beside the park and Delta station. SCP and Grupo Bolt invested A$ 70 million. The new gamble center had 1,800 slots machines, 76 game table and 2 electronic roulettes. Successive economic crashes such as Tequila crisis of Mexico (1994) and Asia financial crisis (1997) caused

414-407: A track gauge of 1,668 mm ( 5 ft  5 + 21 ⁄ 32  in ), just 8 mm ( 5 ⁄ 16  in) different from 1,676 mm ( 5 ft 6 in ). Used rolling stock from Iberia has been employed on broad-gauge lines in Argentina and Chile. Canada became the first British colony, in the 1850s, to use 1,676 mm ( 5 ft 6 in ) broad gauge. It

460-443: A year until on December 7, 1994, the train made its first trip from Delta-Libertador. Then President of Argentina Carlos Menem attended the celebration. The official opening was on April 20, 1995 when the first train departed from new station Maipú to Delta, launching the passenger service 5 days later. During the first years of existence, the branch carried an average of 100,000 passenger (on weekends) due to it had been conceived as

506-577: Is a broad track gauge , used in India , Pakistan , western Bangladesh , Sri Lanka , Argentina , Chile , and on BART in the San Francisco Bay Area . In North America, it is called Indian , Provincial , Portland , or Texas gauge . In Argentina and Chile, it is known as "trocha ancha" (Spanish for "broad gauge"). In the Indian subcontinent it is simply known as "broad gauge". It is

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552-928: Is closely similar to the Indian gauge, with only 8  mm ( 5 ⁄ 16  in) difference, and allows compatibility with the rolling stock. For example, in recent years Chile and Argentina have bought second hand Spanish/Portuguese Iberian-gauge rolling stock. 1,668 mm trains can run on 1,676 mm gauge without adaptation, but for better stability in high-speed running a wheelset replacement may be required (for example, Russian-Finnish train Allegro has 1,522 mm or 4 ft  11 + 29 ⁄ 32  in gauge, intermediate between Russian 1,520 mm or 4 ft  11 + 27 ⁄ 32  in and Finnish 1,524 mm or 5 ft ). Backward compatibility—1,676 mm trains on 1,668 mm gauge—is possible, but no examples and data exist. Due to

598-505: Is predominantly on 1,676 mm ( 5 ft 6 in ) broad gauge. Most links of 1,676 mm ( 5 ft 6 in ) broad gauge railways are in the center-south of the country. Only a few lines of the Ferrocarril del Sur (Southern Railroad Network) were 1,000 mm ( 3 ft  3 + 3 ⁄ 8  in ) metre gauge or 1,435 mm ( 4 ft  8 + 1 ⁄ 2  in ) standard gauge ,

644-533: Is primarily located to the west of the Jamuna River , while the metre gauge network is primarily located to its east. The Jamuna Bridge is a mixed-use bridge that contains a dual gauge connection across the river linking both networks. In Nepal, all services currently operate on 1,676 mm ( 5 ft 6 in ) broad gauge only. In Pakistan, all services currently operate on 1,676 mm ( 5 ft 6 in ) broad gauge only, except for

690-633: The de facto government established after the Revolución Libertadora restored the original names to both terminus. The Metropolitan Vickers coaches acquired to the British company run for the first time in 1916, when the 28.3 km of the Retiro-Tigre C branch were electrified. Those wagons were introduced to replace the old steam locomotives still running in the line, becoming the first electric rail line in South America. During

736-665: The Retiro terminus in the Buenos Aires neighbourhood of Retiro , to several suburban locations in Greater Buenos Aires . When the Government of Argentina decided to privatize all the urban railway services in 1992, Mitre Line (the urban passenger service of Ferrocarril Mitre) was given in concession to Trenes de Buenos Aires (or TBA, which also took over Sarmiento Line ) through Decree N° 730/95. During

782-479: The 1950s, the possibility to close the branch to Delta del Tigre began to be considered by the national government. It raised due to the Retiro- Tigre branch run laid parallel to Olivos station, carrying much more passengers than the first one. Nevertheless, the project was not carried out during that decade. Finally, on November 8, 1961, the Government of Argentina (led by Arturo Frondizi ) decided to close

828-698: The Matucana tunnel that connected Mapocho and the Central Station in Santiago . The Transandine Railway that connected both Argentinean and Chilean broad gauge networks through the Uspallata pass in the Andes mountains was actually a 1,000 mm ( 3 ft  3 + 3 ⁄ 8  in ) narrow gauge link. The Iberian gauge ( 1,668 mm or 5 ft  5 + 21 ⁄ 32  in )

874-465: The Municipality of Buenos Aires built a tunnel on Avenida del Libertador that passed under the Retiro-Tigre branch. Between 1985 and 1985 Ferrocarriles Argentinos (that run all the urban services by then) signed agreements with different Municipalities of Greater Buenos Aires to build more tunnels to replace the level crossings existing in those districts. The Buenos Aires- Tucumán Express

920-513: The State acquired new electric coaches by Japanese company Toshiba for the rest of Mitre urban lines. Due to the Toshiba wagons had another structure than Metropolitan Vickers', new elevated platforms had to be added to each station to allow passengers to enter the trains. During this period, the services to Zárate and Campana were run with diesel locomotives by US company ALCO . By 1970

966-405: The branch from Bartlomé Mitre to Delta. Only some freight trains would sporadically run through those tracks until they disappeared definitely. Since the branch felt into disuse, the railway buildings and lands behind the tracks were illegally usurped by homeless families, while on the other hand, groups of neighbors claimed for the re-establishing of the services. During the government of Frondizi,

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1012-415: The first two years of concession, TBA met the requirements specified on the contract, about the frequency of the service, with an average of 98%. By February 1999 the consortium had invested US$ 200 million, including the reconstruction of 220 Toshiba wagons, the remodelling of 13 stations and workshops. In addition, a new ticket-selling system was introduced with the installation of vending machines. One of

1058-556: The foreign railway companies in Argentina were nationalised under the Juan Perón 's administration, creating the State-owned company "Empresa de Ferrocarriles del Estado Argentino (EFEA)", then renamed to Ferrocarriles Argentinos , taking over all the railway lines of Argentina, including passenger and freight services. The following broad gauge railway companies were added to Ferrocarril Mitre network Notes: Soon after

1104-500: The government announced the acquisition of new coaches to replace the existing electric Mitre Line rolling stock. The new trains were manufactured by Chinese company CSR Corporation Limited , the first to arrive in June 2014. By the beginning of the 1990s, the economic situation of State-owned Ferrocarriles Argentinos became critical. Through National Decree N° 520/91 the Government of Argentina created residual company FEMESA to run

1150-649: The government proceeded to tender for the operating of the lines, establishing a fee that consortiums would pay to the Argentine State. Finally, in April 2002 the government awarded private company Nuevo Central Argentino (NCA), formed by local companies Aceitera General Deheza, Banco Francés del Río de la Plata, Asociación de Cooperativas Argentinas and Román Marítima, the operation and mainteaneance of Ferrocarril Mitre. NCA began operating on December 23, 1992, run trains through Buenos Aires , Córdoba , Santa Fe , Santiago del Estero and Tucumán provinces, with

1196-445: The installation of new signalling , among other improvements. Nevertheless, the government of Fernando De la Rúa (who had come to power in 1999) made changes to the original project, reducing the amount of the budget to US$ 1,300 million. To a compensation to the companies, the State granted subsidies to TBA (and the rest of the private operators) as a way to compensate the losses and avoid tariffs to increase. Due to this politic and

1242-433: The journey. The ferrobús run four times a day, being soon demanded by a high number of users. Despite the advantages of this service and the satisfactory results, the ferrobús was cancelled by the end of that year and has never returned since. With the railway nationalization , the Retiro train and underground rail stations were renamed " Presidente Perón " honoring former president of Argentina. This lasted until 1955 when

1288-521: The lack of investments in Mitre Line, the quality of the service decreased considerably. TBA operated the line until the 2012 Once station rail disaster happened. As a result, the national government revoked the concession granted to TBA and gave the Mitre and Sarmiento to State operator UGOFE , that managed the line until 2014 when it was given under concession to Corredores Ferroviarios S.A. In 2014

1334-509: The lines that were a public passenger transport. After a progressive decrease of the number of passengers carried and the closure of most of shops in the stations, The Government of Argentina revoked the concession to SCP, taking over the Tren de la Costa through its subsidiary SOFSE. In the metropolitan sector of the City of Buenos Aires there is an electrified commuter branch that operates from

1380-468: The metre gauge and narrow gauge railways have been converted to broad gauge. Small stretches of the network that remain on metre and narrow gauges are also being converted to broad gauge . Rapid transit lines are mostly on standard gauge, although some initial lines use 1,676 mm ( 5 ft 6 in ) broad gauge. Bangladesh Railways uses a mix of 1,676 mm ( 5 ft 6 in ) broad gauge and metre gauge . The broad gauge network

1426-519: The most notable improvements was the introduction of "Puma" coaches in the Retiro-Tigre branch. This coaches were built by local factory Emprendimientos Ferroviarios S.A. (EMFER) and featured air conditioning, ABS brakes and computer-supervising systems. In 1997 the government decided to modify the contracts of concession with a plan of modernization for US$ 2,500 million. The future investments required to acquire 492 brand-new electric coaches, refurbishing of more than 100 km of existing tracks, and

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1472-701: The notable exceptions being one of the few active links: the Ramal Talca-Constitución branch and the Metro de Santiago . On the contrary, just a few branches of the FCN (Ferrocarril del Norte) were broad gauge, most notably the Mapocho-Puerto mainline between Santiago and Valparaiso, the Santiago–Valparaíso railway line . This link was directly connected to the southern railroad network using

1518-512: The project to re-open the Mitre-Delta branch was reactivated. Tren de la Costa S.A., a company of local Sociedad Comercial del Plata , owned by Santiago Soldati, won the tender and began the works to reactivate the branch. The company remodeled the 8 stations of the branch and built 3 new stations, most of them with the concept of shopping mall centers, being San Isidro the most representative of this tendence. A new terminus, named "Maipú"

1564-692: The remaining passenger services were definitely closed. On November–December 1989 the Ferrocarril Mitre reactivated the Rosario Central station when the Municipality of Rosario launched a passenger service (named "Ferrobús") using the chassis of a bus specially remodeled to run as a train coach. Departing from Rosario Central, the ferrobús crossed the Rosario downtown until the National Flag Memorial when it finished

1610-643: The reorganization of the nationalized railway system, the Ferrocarril Mitre closed the Ferrocarril Rosario y Puerto Belgrano 's Rosario station, moving the passenger services terminus to Rosario Central . A sector of the old station would be later used to build the Ciudad Universitaria of Rosario. The station building was also used as a school of music and the Faculty of Engineering of Rosario established there. The Rosario Este station

1656-843: The shape of BART wheels and rail has been modified since then ). This has complicated maintenance of the system, as it requires custom wheelsets, brake systems, and track maintenance vehicles. The New Orleans, Opelousas and Great Western Railroad (NOO&GW) used 1,676 mm ( 5 ft 6 in ) broad gauge until 1872, and the Texas and New Orleans Railroad used 1,676 mm ( 5 ft 6 in ) broad gauge ("Texas gauge") until 1876. The Grand Trunk Railway predecessor St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad which operated in Quebec , Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine also used 1,676 mm ( 5 ft 6 in ) broad gauge ("Canadian gauge", "Provincial gauge" or "Portland gauge" ) but

1702-733: The time, becoming one of the most emblematic services by Ferrocarriles Argentinos . Some of the works made that contributed to the success of the Express included 357 km of new rail tracks in Santiago del Estero Province and José León Suárez in Greater Buenos Aires , reparating and maintenance of rolling stock in Rosario workshops, remodelation of Hitachi coaches in Junín workshops, brand new Fiat -Concord coaches acquired, remodelling of stations, level crossings, bridges, signalling , construction of new platforms, installation of

1748-402: The urban passenger services in Buenos Aires. Ferrocarriles Argentinos continued operating the freight and passenger interurban services. On March 10, 1993, A new decree by President Carlos Menem established all the passenger interurban railways ceased their activities. The only way to reactivate the lines would be if the provincial governments took over the services. About the freight services,

1794-430: The wide gauge for its "great stability and smoother riding qualities" and intended to make a state-of-the-art system for other municipalities to emulate. The use of 1,676 mm ( 5 ft 6 in ) broad gauge rails was one of many unconventional design elements included in its design which, in addition to its unusual gauge, also used flat-edge rail, rather than typical rail that angles slightly inward (although

1840-662: The widest gauge in regular passenger use anywhere in the world. In India , the initial freight railway lines were built using standard gauge . In the 1850s, the Great Indian Peninsula Railway adopted the gauge of 1,676 mm ( 5 ft 6 in ) for the first passenger railway in India between Bori Bunder and Thane . This was then adopted as the standard for the nationwide network. Indian Railways today predominantly operates on 1,676 mm ( 5 ft 6 in ) broad gauge. Most of

1886-578: Was changed to standard gauge in 1873. The Grand Trunk Railway operated from headquarters in Montreal , Quebec, although corporate headquarters were in London , England . The St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad which operated in Quebec , Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine also used it but was converted in 1873. There is a longstanding rumour that the Provincial gauge was selected specifically to create

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1932-682: Was converted in 1873. Several Maine railroads connected to the Grand Trunk Railway shared its "Portland Gauge". The Androscoggin and Kennebec Railroad and the Buckfield Branch Railroad were later consolidated as the Maine Central Railroad which converted to standard gauge in 1871. John A. Poor's chief engineer Alvin C. Morton compiled the following advantages of "Portland Gauge" for Maine railways in 1847: The national railway network

1978-410: Was a service that made its first trip in the 1969 after two years working in the maintenance of the infraestructure of the branch. The service joined Buenos Aires and Tucumán taking 15 hours to make 1,156 km between both cities. The service on board included a restaurant, ambient music, air conditioning among other comforts. The Express was considered one of the most luxurious trains in the world at

2024-468: Was also closed soon after. On the land where it stood, a public park (named "Parque Urquiza") was planted. The Fisherton station was renamed "Antártida Argentina". In 1977 the most of urban passenger services in the city were cancelled. The Rosario Central station was closed, becoming Rosario Norte the new terminus of the line. Many stations also ceased their activities, such as Antártida Argentina, Barrio Vila, Sarratea, Ludueña and Alberdi. One year later

2070-480: Was built just in front of former terminus Bartolomé Mitre. Both stations were connected through a pedestrian bridge over Maipú Avenue. Unlike the Retiro-B. Mitre branch, the new Maipú-Delta service was a light rail system, using two-car train sets acquired to Spanish company Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF). The service between Maipú-Delta was opened in April 1995. The project delayed more than

2116-537: Was known as the "Provincial gauge" in Canada. The earliest railways in Canada, including the 1836 Champlain and St. Lawrence and 1847 Montreal and Lachine Railway however, were built to 4 ft  8 + 1 ⁄ 2  in ( 1,435 mm ) standard gauge . The Grand Trunk Railway which operated in several Canadian provinces ( Quebec and Ontario ) and American states ( Connecticut , Maine , Massachusetts , New Hampshire , and Vermont ) used it, but

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