Trenes Argentinos Operaciones

For the freight railway operator, see Trenes Argentinos Cargas.

Operadora Ferroviaria Sociedad del Estado (SOFSE), trading as Trenes Argentinos Operaciones, is an Argentine state-owned company created in 2008 to operate passenger services in Argentina. It operates as a division of Ferrocarriles Argentinos S.E..^[1][2]

Operadora Ferroviaria S.E.

Company headquarters in Retiro, Buenos Aires
Trade name	Trenes Argentinos Operaciones
Company type	State-owned
Industry	Railway
Predecessor	List UGOMS Soc. Com. Del Plata Ferrocentral SEFECHA Argentren Corredores Ferroviarios
Founded	2008; 16 years ago (2008)
Founder	Government of Argentina
Headquarters	Buenos Aires , Argentina
Area served	National
Key people	Luis A. Luque (President)
Services	Railway transport and maintenance
Owner	Government of Argentina
Parent	Ferrocarriles Argentinos S.E.
Website	argentina.gob.ar/transporte/trenes

Since March 2015 SOFSE has run the Buenos Aires commuter rail services Mitre, San Martín, Roca and Belgrano Sur lines^[3][4] previously operated by private companies.

History

Background

After the railway privatisation in Argentina at the beginning of the 1990s, the railway assets that had not been 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" (ENABIEF) 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" (ONABE) began its activities as an organisation created to manage the assets not directly affected by State activities.^[5]

The first SOFSE logo (2008)

Law 26.352 promulgated in 2008 re-organized the railway operations in Argentina creating two State organisations, the "Administración de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias" (ADIF) and the "Operadora Ferroviaria" (SOFSE). Decree N° 752/08 regulated the activities by the recently established company since then.

Further operations

A CSR train running on Sarmiento line

SOFSE Materfer and CNR CKD8 rolling stock in Bragado

Although having been established in 2008, SOFSE became active two years later, when the organisation took over the railway services in Chaco Province left by Servicios Ferroviarios del Chaco (SEFECHA). In 2011 the organisation added the regional services of Salta and Buenos Aires Provinces. When the Ministry 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 interurban services such as train services to Córdoba, Tucumán cities and other services previously operated by the Government of Entre Ríos Province.

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.^[6]

In September 2013, the Government of Argentina designed SOFSE to operate the Mitre and Sarmiento lines, after their contracts of concession were revoked to Trenes de Buenos Aires. This decision was officially promulgated through Resolution N° 1083/13.^{[7][8][9][10][11]}

SOFSE temporarily operated the Mitre line until the Government of Argentina re-privatised it, giving the line concession to "Corredores Ferroviarios S.A." (a private company part of Emepa Group) on February 12, 2014.^[12][13][14]

In December 2014, brand new trains acquired by the Government of Argentina from Chinese company CNR Dalian, started to run luxury services from Constitución to Mar del Plata.^[15][16] The classic service continued to be operated by Ferrobaires.^[17]

In February 2015, services from Buenos Aires to Rufino, Santa Fe were reestablished after 22 years. The service runs with brand-new trains acquired from China on Ferrocarril San Martín tracks. Trains make stops at Chacabuco, Junín, Vedia and Alberdi, among other stations.^[18][19]

In March 2015, SOFSE started to run the CNR CKD8 trains from Retiro to Córdoba. Due to the poor condition of the tracks, trains took 19½ hours to run the 700 km (430 mi). This was more than twice the time that it took in 1938, when services operated by Central Argentine took 9 hours to connect both cities with two intermediate stops.^[20][21]

Commuter rail renationalisation

SOFSE took over Belgrano Sur and Roca (operated by Argentren) and Mitre and San Martín (operated by Corredores Ferroviarios) 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.^[3] The agreements had been signed in February 2014, committing Argentren and Corredores Ferroviarios to operate the lines.^[4][22][23]

Latest news

In January 2016, the Ministry of Transport ceased operations over services to La Pampa Province. The Government took the decision based on the low demand of the Santa Rosa–General Pico line and the poor conditions of some bridges that had deteriorated after the flooding in August 2015.^[24][25][26]

In June 2016, the Buenos Aires–Rosario service extended operations to Rosario Norte Station (located at the north of the city, closer to the downtown) instead of Rosario Sur, which had been terminus until then.^[27]

In March 2023, Trenes Argentinos announced the return of passenger services to Mendoza Province,^[28] which had been interrupted since 1993 during the Carlos Menem presidency.^[29] As the former Mendoza railway station had been converted into a tram stop and added to the Metrotranvía network, the terminus was set in Palmira, distant 5 km from the city of Mendoza.^[28] A test ride was run in March, nevertheless it was severely criticized due to the excessive journey time (27 hours) alleging that in the 1960s the travel took only 13 hours.^[30][29] After a delay that took more than two months,^[31][32] the service (that had terminus in Justo Daract, San Luis Province) was finally reestablished to reach Palmira in June 2023.^[33]

Services operated

As of 19 Nov 2024

The following is a list of services operated by Operadora Ferroviaria in Argentina. The list includes urban railways such as Mitre, San Martín, Roca and Belgrano Sur lines previously managed by private companies.

Metropolitan

Commuter rail services within the Buenos Aires Province:^[34]

Keys

•   – service suspended in May 2024 due to damaged bridge.^[35][36]

A Materfer DMU on the Mitre Line, 2015

Maipú station platforms in Olivos, Buenos Aires

University train of La Plata

Terminus cities	Service	Dist.	Line
Once – Moreno	Electric	45	Sarmiento
Moreno – Mercedes	Diesel	62	Sarmiento
Merlo – Lobos	Diesel	90	Sarmiento
Constitución – Ezeiza	Electric	35	Roca
Ezeiza – Cañuelas	Diesel	35	Roca
Constitución – Alejandro Korn	Electric	45	Roca
Alejandro Korn – Chascomús	Diesel	93	Roca
Constitución – La Plata	Electric	60	Roca
La Plata – Policlínico (University train)	Diesel	4	Roca
Constitución – Temperley	Electric	19	Roca
Temperley – Haedo	Diesel	30	Roca
Constitución – Bosques (via Quilmes)	Electric	19	Roca
Constitución – Bosques (via Temperley)	Electric	19	Roca
Bosques – Gutiérrez	Diesel	7	Roca
Cañuelas – Lobos	Diesel	37	Roca
Dr. A. Sáenz – Villars	Diesel	70	Belgrano Sur
Dr. A. Sáenz – Marinos Cruc. Belgrano	Diesel	43	Belgrano Sur
Retiro – Tigre	Electric	30	Mitre
Retiro – B. Mitre	Electric	15	Mitre
Retiro – José León Suárez	Electric	27	Mitre
Victoria – Capilla del Señor	Diesel	60	Mitre
Villa Ballester – Zárate	Diesel	75	Mitre
Retiro – Doctor Cabred	Diesel	70	San Martín
Maipú – Delta	Electric	15	Tren de la Costa [n1 1]
Mercedes – Tomás Jofré [37][38]	Diesel	15	Belgrano Sur

Notes

1. The original line became part of the General Mitre Railway after the 1948 nationalisation. The B. Mitre–Delta route (a part of the branch that had a similar path to the Retiro–Tigre line) was closed by the Arturo Frondizi's administration in 1961 to reduce costs. The service was put into operation again under the name "Tren de la Costa" in 1995, being run by private concessionaire Sociedad Comercial del Plata. Since the concession's revocation in 2013, the line has been operated by Trenes Argentinos, although the company has not included this service into the Mitre Line.

Long distance

Inter-city services along Argentina.^[39]

A CNR locomotive running express services to Mar del Plata

Train at Palmira, Mendoza, June 2023

Province/s covered	Terminus	Frec.	Dist.	Company/Line
Buenos Aires	Constitución – Mar del Plata[40] [n2 1]	2 pd	400	Roca
	Gral. Guido – Divisadero de Pinamar	3 pw	98	Roca
	Once – Bragado	1 pw	304	Sarmiento
	Retiro (SM) – Junín	1 pd	254	San Martín
Buenos Aires – Santa Fe – Córdoba	Retiro (M) – Córdoba (M)[43][44][45]	2 tpw	695	Mitre
Buenos Aires – Santa Fe	Retiro (M) – Rosario Norte	1 pd	315	Mitre
Buenos Aires – Santa Fe – Santiago del Estero – Tucumán	Retiro (M) – S.M. de Tucumán[43][44]	2 pw	1,170	Mitre

Notes

1. The service was inactive from August 2015 to July 2017 due to the poor condition of the rail tracks.^[41][42]

Regional

Keys

•   International service
•   Service suspended

Tren del Valle running on Neuquén bridge

Tren de las Sierras at Alta Córdoba station

Province/s covered	Terminus	Frec.	Dist.	Company/Line
Chaco	R.S. Peña – Chorotis[46]	7 pw	185	Belgrano
	Resistencia – Los Amores	4 pw	162	Belgrano
Córdoba	Córdoba / Alta Córdoba – Valle Hermoso (Tren de las Sierras)	6 pd	66	Belgrano
Entre Ríos	Paraná – Jorge Méndez	4 pd	16	Urquiza
Neuquén – Río Negro	Cipolletti – Plottier (Tren del Valle)[47]	10 pd	16	Roca
Salta	Gral. Güemes – Campo Quijano	4 pw	85	Belgrano
Santa Fe	Rosario Norte – Cañada de Gómez[48]	–	72	Mitre

International

Regions covered	Terminus	Frec.	Dist.	Company/Line
Misiones –  Paraguay	Posadas – Encarnación [n3 1][n3 2]	2 pd	8	Urquiza

1. International service to Paraguayan city Encarnación.
2. Operated jointly with private company "Casimiro Zbikoski S.A.".^[49]

Maps of services operated

As of October 2024

• 
  Metropolitan services (Buenos Aires)
• 
  Long distance services

References

1. "Resolución 162/2015". InfoLeg (in Spanish). 26 February 2015. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015.
2. "Licitación Pública Nacional 05/2015" [National Public Tender 05/2015]. Operadora Ferroviaria Sociedad del Estado (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2 April 2015.
3. Alfie, Alejandro (5 March 2015). "Ya está lista la ley que prevé más control estatal sobre los trenes" [The law that provides for more state control over trains is ready]. Clarín (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2 April 2015.
4. "Estado rescindió contrato de trenes a privados y avisó que no pagará indemnizaciones" [The State rescinds the private train contract and announced that it will not pay compensation]. Ámbito Financiero (in Spanish). 2 March 2015. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015.
5. "Historia del organismo". ONABE (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 11 June 2009. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
6. "Trenes: el Gobierno reestatizó una línea de carga y otra de pasajeros" [Trains: the Government renationalized a cargo line and another passenger line]. Infobae (in Spanish). 4 June 2013. Archived from the original on 23 December 2014.
7. "Transfirieron a SOFSE la Línea Mitre y Sarmiento" [The Mitre and Sarmiento Lines are transferred to SOFSE]. Rieles.com (in Spanish). 13 September 2013. Archived from the original on 16 January 2015.
8. "El gobierno nacional estatizó los ferrocarriles Sarmiento y Mitre" [The national government nationalized the Sarmiento and Mitre railways]. Infobae (in Spanish). 11 September 2013.
9. "Avanza la estatización de trenes: se suman Sarmiento y Mitre" [The nationalization of trains advances: Sarmiento and Mitre join]. Diario Popular (in Spanish). 12 September 2013.
10. "El Sarmiento ya es estatal" [Sarmiento is now state-owned]. Página 12 (in Spanish). 26 October 2013.
11. "Resolution N° 1083/13". Official Bulletin of Argentina (in Spanish). 11 September 2013.
12. "Trenes: le dan a Roggio el Mitre y el San Martín y a Emepa, el Roca y el Belgrano Sur" [Trains: they give Roggio the Mitre and the San Martín and Emepa, the Roca and the Belgrano Sur]. La Nación (in Spanish). 12 February 2014.
13. "Las privadas volverán a operar la mayoría de las líneas ferroviarias" [Private companies return to operate the majority of the railway lines]. Clarín (in Spanish). 12 February 2014.
14. "El Gobierno estableció un nuevo régimen de operaciones de las líneas ferroviarias" [The Government establishes a new operations regime for railway lines]. Télam (in Spanish). 12 February 2014.
15. "Los nuevos trenes a Mar del Plata funcionarán desde este viernes" [The new trains to Mar del Plata will run from this Friday]. Telam (in Spanish). 19 December 2014.
16. "Realizará su primer viaje el tren chino que unirá Buenos Aires con Mar del Plata" [The Chinese train that will connect Buenos Aires with Mar del Plata will make its first journey]. Minuto Uno (in Spanish). 21 November 2014.
17. "Horarios y Destinos: Plaza Constitución – Mar del Plata" [Schedules and Destinations: Plaza Constitución – Mar del Plata]. Satélite Ferroviario (in Spanish).
18. "Después de más de dos décadas volvió el tren de pasajeros a Rufino" [After more than two decades, the passenger train returns to Rufino]. Cronica Ferroviaria (in Spanish). 2 March 2015.
19. "Mañana vuelve el tren a Rufino" [Tomorrow the train returns to Rufino]. La Capital (in Spanish). 27 February 2015. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015.
20. "Un viaje interminable: El nuevo tren a Córdoba tardó media hora más que en 1890" [An endless journey: The new train to Córdoba took half an hour longer than in 1890]. Clarín (in Spanish). 11 March 2015.
21. "El nuevo tren a Córdoba tarda más del doble que en 1938" [The new train to Córdoba takes more than twice as long as in 1938]. Infobae (in Spanish). 12 March 2015.
22. "Buenos Aires commuter routes renationalised". Railway Gazette International. 3 March 2015.
23. "Resolution N° 171/2015". Official Bulletin of Argentina (in Spanish).
24. "La Pampa se quedó otra vez sin tren de pasajeros" [La Pampa is once again without a passenger train]. El Diario de La Pampa (in Spanish). 26 January 2016. Archived from the original on 4 February 2016.
25. Cabot, Diego (21 January 2016). "Trenes: una herencia precaria que dejó el kichnerismo y que el maquillaje no disimula" [Trains: a precarious legacy left by Kirchnerism and that makeup does not hide]. La Nación (in Spanish).
26. "En La Pampa ya dejaron de funcionar los trenes de pasajeros" [In La Pampa the passenger trains have already stopped working]. Diario Registrado (in Spanish). 26 January 2016. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016.
27. "El tren a Retiro llega ahora hasta la estación Rosario Norte, en pleno Pichincha" [The train to Retiro now arrives at the Rosario Norte station, in the heart of Pichincha]. La Capital (in Spanish). 16 June 2016.
28. Después de 30 años, volvimos a Mendoza on Trenes Argentinos, 23 Mar 2023
29. Volvió el tren a Mendoza, pero tarda 10 horas más que en 1910: la odisea de su construcción en el siglo XIX by Adrián Pignatelli on Infobae, 29 March 2023
30. Cruces entre el Gobierno y la oposición por las treinta horas que tarda el tren a Mendoza at Perfil, 24 Mar 2023
31. El radicalismo pide explicaciones por la demora de la llegada del tren a Mendoza on El Sol, 25 May 2023
32. Exigen explicaciones por la demora del tren entre Buenos Aires y Mendoza by Juan Stagnoli on Diario Mendoza, 24 May 2023
33. El primer servicio regular de tren de pasajeros llegó a Mendoza luego de 30 años on Télam, 3 Jun 2023.
34. Recorridos - Área metropolitana on Trenes Argentinos, 31 Jul 2022
35. Un camión derrumbó un puente ferroviario, La Nación. 8 May 2024
36. Cuestionan que, a poco más de un año de su inauguración, el tren turístico esté ausente on Noticias Mercedinas, 18 Aug 2024
37. Inauguraron un tren turístico en Mercedes, sin la presencia de Matías Lammens, Página/12, 27 May 2023
38. Tren turístico Mercedes-Tomás Jofré: cuáles son las estaciones y cuánto dura el recorrido on TN, 27 May 2023
39. Servicios regionales y de larga distancia on Trenes Argentinos, 17 Sep 2024
40. "Tras dos años sin funcionar, vuelve el tren a Mar del Plata y tendrá 12 paradas" [After two years without working, the train returns to Mar del Plata and will have 12 stops]. Clarín (in Spanish). 15 June 2017.
41. "Tren fantasma" [Ghost train]. Diario Hoy (in Spanish). 25 May 2016.
42. "Mar del Plata sin trenes: el puente del río Salado está listo, falta que unan las vías" [Mar del Plata without trains: the Salado river bridge is ready, the tracks need to be joined]. 0223 Noticias (in Spanish). 11 April 2016.
43. "Estatizaron los trenes de pasajeros de larga distancia" [They nationalized long-distance passenger trains]. Clarín (in Spanish). 8 November 2014. Archived from the original on 16 January 2015.
44. "Resolución 1093/2013 – Asignación de servicios y administración de infraestructura". Official Bulletin of Argentina (in Spanish).
45. "Horarios y Destinos: Retiro – Córdoba". Satélite Ferrovario (in Spanish).
46. "Horarios y Destinos: Roque Sáenz Peña – Chorotis". Satelite Ferroviario (in Spanish).
47. "Resolución 1281/2015 – Ministry of Transport". Official Bulletin of Argentina (in Spanish). 16 July 2015.
48. Servicio regional Rosario - Cañada de Gómez on Trenes Argentinos, 31 Jul 2022
49. Cortés, Elrafa (22 March 2019). "Tren a Posadas – Encarnación: con una escribana pública en la redacción de Misiones Online, la empresa Casimiro Zbikoski SA pidió derecho a réplica" [Train to Posadas – Encarnación: The company Casimiro Zbikoski SA requested the right to reply in the Misiones Online newsroom with a public notary present]. Misiones Online (in Spanish).

External links

• Official website