Alta Córdoba railway station

Alta Córdoba is a railway station located in the Alta Córdoba neighborhood of Córdoba in the province of the same name, Argentina. The station is terminus of the Tren de las Sierras service operated by state-owned Trenes Argentinos. Likewise, another state company, Trenes Argentinos Cargas y Logística, operates freight services there.

Alta Córdoba
Commuter rail
Upper facade of the station.
LocationGerónimo Cabrera 320, Córdoba
Argentina
Owned byGovernment of Argentina
Line(s)Belgrano
Distance700 km (430 mi) from Buenos Aires
Train operatorsTrenes Argentinos (passenger)
Trenes Argentinos Cargas y Logística (freight)
History
Opened1891 (1891)

History
The station under construction, c. 1880s.
Train in Alta Córdoba in March 2015, when the station was set as terminus again.

The station was originally built by the Córdoba North Western Railway that operated a line between the cities of Córdoba and Cruz del Eje, opening the first section in 1891. Nevertheless, the CNWR only operated until 1901 when it was acquired by the Córdoba Central Railway due to financial problems. The CCR continued services for a short period so in 1909 the line was definitely taken over by state-owned Argentine State Railway.[1][2]

When the Juan Perón's administration nationalised the whole railway network in 1948, the CNWR (and therefore the Alta Córdoba station) 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 from Valle de Punilla, as well as tourists coming from the cities of Córdoba, Rosario and Buenos Aires at attractive prices. Nevertheless, the railway was closed in 1977. When the Government of Argentina led by Carlos Menem 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 Carlos Menem, a concession to operate the line was granted to local consortium Grupo Alcázar,[3] which operated the line (also naming it Tren de las Sierras)[4] from Córdoba to Capilla del Monte (100-km length) but services suddenly stopped in 2001.[5] 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.[6]

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, with concession granted to private consortium Ferrocentral 2 the Alta Córdoba station with no services operating.

On June 22, 2009, Alta Córdoba was set up as terminus, but the concessionary decided to move terminus to Rodríguez del Busto due to people from poor neighborhoods around the station used to throw stones to the trains.[7][8] In March 2015, this section of the railway was re-opened by the Minister of the Interior and Transport, Florencio Randazzo[9]

With Alta Córdoba station virtually abandoned, the Municipality of Córdoba requested the National Government permission to move the City Council to the station building.[10]

In September 2013 state-owned company Trenes Argentinos took over the Tren de las Sierras.[11] In March 2015, Alta Córdoba was set up as terminus again.[12][13][14]

See also

References
  1. Lewis, Colin M. (1983). British Railways in Argentina 1857-1914: A Case Study of Foreign Investment. Athlone Press (for the Institute of Latin American Studies, University of London).
  2. Stones, H.R. (1993). British Railways in Argentina 1860-1948. Bromley, Kent, England: P.E. Waters & Associates.
  3. "Las vías fantasmas de las sierras". La Voz. February 18, 2007.
  4. Cicero, Gabriela (June 8, 2001). "La Argentina, por la ventanilla de un tren". La Nación.
  5. "El fin del Tren de las Sierras". Todo Tren. April 23, 2002. Archived from the original on 2016-03-07. Retrieved 2015-06-14.
  6. "El tren de los $127 millones". La Voz del Interior.
  7. "Tren de las Sierras: Un viaje de placer". Crónica Ferroviaria. May 30, 2011.
  8. "Lo que faltaba: El Tren de las Sierras deja de usar la estación Alta Córdoba". Crónica Ferroviaria. August 7, 2012.
  9. "Mañana Randazzo visitará la estación Alta Córdoba para recibir el tren que la unirá con Cosquín".
  10. "El Concejo Deliberante de Córdoba podría trasladarse a la Estación Manuel Belgrano". Cadena 3. August 3, 2012.
  11. Government of Argentina (September 17, 2013). "Resolución 1093/2013". Boletín Oficial. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014.
  12. "Randazzo recibió al Tren de las Sierras en Alta Córdoba". Cadena 3. March 17, 2015.
  13. "Se reactivó el Tren de las Sierras desde Alta Córdoba". La Mañana. March 17, 2015. Archived from the original on July 17, 2015. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
  14. "Randazzo recibió el tren que vuelve a unir Alta Córdoba con Cosquín". Ministerio del Interior y Trasporte. March 17, 2015. Archived from the original on May 5, 2015. Retrieved June 14, 2015.

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