Retiro Mitre railway station

Retiro Station (Mitre Railway) (Estación Retiro (Ferrocarril Mitre) in Spanish) 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 large public square; and is part of the Retiro station complex.

Retiro (Mitre)
Inter-city & Commuter rails
Station facade
LocationAv. Ramos Mejía 1358, Buenos Aires
Argentina
Coordinates34°35′29″S 58°22′29″W
Owned byGovernment of Argentina
Operated byTrenes Argentinos
Line(s)Mitre
Platforms8
ConnectionsSubte
Retiro Belgrano
Retiro San Martín
Bus terminus
Other information
Fare zoneRetiro, Buenos Aires
History
OpenedAugust 1, 1915 (1915-08-01)

Overview

One of Argentina's largest railway stations, Retiro Mitre is the terminus for the Mitre Railway, being located next to the Retiro Belgrano railway station.

Retiro Mitre is accessible by the C line and Line E of the Buenos Aires Metro system and by numerous local public bus services. The station will also be accessible by Line H of the metro once its extension is complete. The station is also near Retiro bus station (Terminal de Omnibus), the principal long-distance bus terminal in Buenos Aires.

History
The first Retiro station with its pedestrian bridge, 1890s. The station was an intermediate stop by then

The Edwardian-style station building was designed by the British architects Eustace L. Conder, Roger Conder and Sydney G. Follet together with the engineer Reginald Reynolds. 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, and re-assembled in Argentina. 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.

Tickets office in the main hall, 1915

After the railway Nationalisation in Argentina, the station became part of the Bartolomé Mitre Railway, a division of state-owned Ferrocarriles Argentinos, which operated commuter rail and long-distance services to Tucumán (being the Estrella del Norte the most notable of them)[1] When the entire rail network was privatised in the early 1990s, Retiro Mitre was taken over by Trenes de Buenos Aires (TBA) for commuter services and Tucumán Ferrocarriles for long-distance journeys to the province, also crossing Rosario and Santiago del Estero.[2] Other private companies operating the station were Corredores Ferroviarios[3][4] and Ferrocentral.[5]

In 1997 the Retiro Mitre station was declared a National Monument.[6]

In 2015 plans were announced to expand the station with 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, replacing land currently used for storage of rolling stock. The existing buildings are also currently being renovated, including restoration of the train shed.[7]

Services

State-owned Trenes Argentinos operates the commuter rail services calling at José León Suárez (General San Martín Partido), Tigre, and Bartolomé Mitre along its three branches. Long-distance services to Rosario and Tucumán cities are also operated by the same company.

In media

Several films have been filmed at the station, the most important of which are Evita and The Secret in Their Eyes. Also several novels take place in the station and its surroundings.

  • Original project, 1909
  • Great hall, 1915
  • Coffeehouse, 2013
  • Platform roofs, 2015
  • North view, 2015
  • Train platforms, 2017
  • Hall, 2018

See also

References
  1. "Un tren argentino para los argentinos"
  2. Advertisement of TUFESA services
  3. "De a uno por línea, para mejor control", Página 12, 12 Feb 2014
  4. "Metrovías operará las líneas Mitre y San Martín", En el Subte, 12 Feb 2014
  5. "Vuelve el tren a Tucumán", Riel FM, 12 Sep 2005 (Archive)
  6. Decreto 437/97 (Spanish) Retrieved 2010-12-27
  7. Nuevo acceso y andenes para larga distancia en Retiro Mitre - EnElSubte, 3 April 2015

Media related to Retiro Mitre station at Wikimedia Commons

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