Belgrano Norte Line: Difference between revisions

| caption = Train operated by [[Ferrovías]], pictured in 2020

The '''Belgrano Norte line''' is a commuter rail service in [[Buenos Aires]], [[Argentina]] run by the [[Privately held company|private company]] [[Ferrovías]] since 1 April 1994. This service had previously been run by the state-owned [[General Belgrano Railway]] since [[railway Nationalisation in Argentina|nationalisation]] of the railways in 1948. Ferrovías also formed part of the consortium Unidad de Gestión Operativa Ferroviaria de Emergencia ([[Unidad de Gestión Operativa Ferroviaria de Emergencia|UGOFE]]) which operated other commuter rail services in Buenos Aires.

[[File:Estación Retiro Belgrano Norte en 2013.JPG|thumb|left|170px|[[Retiro Belgrano railway station|Retiro]], terminus of the line.]]

[[File:Provincia de Buenos Aires - Vicente López - Cochemotor Ganz sobre Avenida del Libertador.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Ganz Works]] [[railcar]] crossing [[Avenida del Libertador (Buenos Aires)|Avenida del Libertador]] in [[Vicente López Partido]].]]

[[File:English electric retiro 1959.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[English Electric]] locomotive in [[Retiro Belgrano railway station|Retiro]], 1959.]]

[[File:Munro-bn.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Munro, Buenos Aires|Munro]] station.]]

[[File:Padilla sign levelcross.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Railway signalling]] by [[General Railway Signal|GRS]] in M. Padilla, 2015.]]

[[File:Estación de Villa Adelina (2010).jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Villa Adelina]] station and low level crossing.]]

[[File:Provincia de Buenos Aires - Del Viso - Estación 1.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Del Viso]] station.]]

In 1903 the company was authorised to extend railsthe railway to [[Boulogne Sur Mer]] in [[Greater Buenos Aires]] and the workswork began three years later. In 1909 the line was finally opened. The trainTrains departed from Rosario, finishing the journey in [[Villa Adelina]], named in honour of [[Adelina Munro Drysdale]], the General Manager's granddaughter. The traintrains stopped inat the other four stations in existence at the time;: Villa Rosa, [[Del Viso]], [[Los Polvorines]] and [[Don Torcuato]].

In 1912, the line reachedwas extended to [[Retiro Belgrano railway station|Retiro]] in central Buenos Aires. Other stations were opened, such as [[Munro, Buenos Aires|Munro]] (named in memory of Duncan McKay Munro) and "Kilómetro 14", later renamed "Juan B. Justo" in commemoration of [[Juan B. Justo|the founder of the Socialist Party of Argentina]].

Between Juan B. Justo and Retiro, tracks crossedhad to cross over the Maipú Avenue in [[Vicente López Partido]], so a railway bridge was built to solve the issue. This bridge was named "Puente Saavedra". A short time after that, a new station, "Km. 12" was built near the bridge and renamed "Aristóbulo del Valle" in the 1920s.

The current [[Florida Oeste, Buenos Aires|Florida]] station was initially opened as a simplerailway stop along the way. In 1913, when the San Martín Avenue was paved, a storage property of the ''Narciso Agüero & Cía'' company was established there. For that reason, the stop was named "Parada Agüero" for a period.

In 1931, the Juan B. Justo station changedhad its name changed to M.M. Padilla to avoid being confused with the station of the same name that belongs to the [[Mitre Line]], only a few blocks from thereaway. During the 1930s, the "Km. 18" station was established and many names were proposed (Ader, Drysdale, La Tahona, among others) until the National Academy of History suggested "Carapachay", which was chosen in 1946.

Due to Córdoba Central Railway's financial problems, the [[Government of Argentina]] took over the company and began operating the trains. In 1949 the line was merged into the then- recently created [[General Belgrano Railway]], which incorporated all of the country's {{RailGauge|1000mm}} rail lines. Local services were operatedrun by [[Ferrocarriles Argentinos]] under the name "Belgrano Norte" to distinguish it from the [[Belgrano Sur Line]]. In 1955, 30 [[Stork B.V.|Werkspoor]] locomotives were acquired and, as a result, Ferrocarriles Argentinos putremoved the Ganz vehicles out offrom service inon the Belgrano Norte line, sending them to [[Córdoba Province (Argentina)|Córdoba]] to serve local railways there.

Four years later, a fleet of 21 [[English Electric]] locomotives arrived to replace the Whitcomb and Werkspoor machineslocomotives. In 1961 the Government led by President [[Arturo Frondizi]] closed several railway lines, with the Don Torcuato-Campo de Mayo line among them. In 1964, 27 coaches built by [[Aerfer]], an Argentine subsidiary of [[FIAT Ferroviaria]], were added to the line. Four years later, the fleet size was increased with the addition of 20 coaches built by local company [[Materfer]], which replaced the old ones made in Tafí Viejo. ThereforeAs a result, the English Electric locomotives functionedoperated simultaneously withalongside the Aerfer and Werkspoor coaches from then on.

In 1965 a group of residents collectedraised the moneyfunds to build a new railway stop, named "Km. 42", which was then changed to "Manuel Alberti". In 1975 Materfer supplied more coaches (named "FIAT IIIIIIs") for the line. That same year, some stations (such as Padilla, Florida and Aristóbulo del Valle) were completely remodelled. One year later, the first [[grade crossing signals]] and gates by [[General Railway Signal]] (GRS) were installed inat the main level crossings of the line.

In 1972, the first [[EMD G22 Series|G22]] [[diesel locomotives]] manufactured by [[General Motors]]' [[Electro-Motive Diesel|Electro Motive Division]] were delivered to the Belgrano Norte line. These were the [[EMD G22CU|CU]] version, adapted to run on [[metre-gauge railway]]s.<ref>[http://portaldetrenes.com.ar/articulos/416/las-incansables-gt-22-i "Las incansables GT-22" by Andrés Blinstein] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150314112659/http://portaldetrenes.com.ar/articulos/416/las-incansables-gt-22-i |date=2015-03-14 }}, Portal de Trenes, 8 Jun 2014</ref> The machinesFrom then wouldon, bethe locomotives were built by the local licensee [[Astarsa]] inat its factory atin [[San Fernando, Buenos Aires|San Fernando]].

To strengthen local services to Villa Rosa, 20 brand new G22 were purchased in 1980. ThoseThese locomotives were built by the Argentine company [[Astarsa]], replacing the English Electric locomotives which were sent to the [[Belgrano Sur Line]]. The last station to be inaugurated was Tierras Altas in 1990.

Some improvements made by Ferrovías includeincluded the acquisition of 17 railcars (built by [[Alstom]] in 1977) which were to serve from [[Vicente López, Buenos Aires|Vicente López]] and [[Avellaneda Partido|Avellaneda]], crossing the [[Puerto Madero]] and [[La Boca]] neighbourhoods of Buenos Aires, with a length of 24&nbsp;km. length. However, the project was never carried out and the Alstom vehicles were sent to the [[Tren de las Sierras]] instead.<ref>[http://wwwcronicaferroviaria.blogspot.com.ar/2012/12/el-tren-del-este-un-proyecto-que-no-fue.html "Tren del Este: El proyecto que no fue"], Crónica Ferroviaria, 26 Dec 2012</ref>

In 2014 the national government began building the [[Ciudad Universitaria railway station|Ciudad Universitaria]] station. The new station, opened in August 2015, replaced Scalabrini Ortiz (located 700 metres to the south of it). Ciudad Universitaria connects the [[University of Buenos Aires|University of Buenos Aires (UBA)]] [[campus]] (known as "[[Ciudad Universitaria, Buenos Aires|Ciudad Universitaria]]" from which it took the name from) throughby a bridge which allowallows students to reach the University facilities without the risk of traffic accidents.<ref>[http://www.rieles.com/front/?p=20760 "Una estación de tren a medida de los universitarios"], ''Rieles'', 19 Mar 2015</ref> It was initially announced tothat construction would be concluded by March 2015 at a cost of [[Argentine Peso|AR$]] 48 million,. howeverHowever byin June 2015 it was announced asthat it was "completed and awaiting its opening" by the Ministry.<ref>[http://www.clarin.com/ciudades/tren-Belgrano_Norte-estacion-Ciudad_Universitaria_0_1291670858.html "Avanza la obra de la estación que acercará el tren a Ciudad Universitaria"], ''Clarín'', 25 Jan 2015</ref><ref>[http://mininterior.gov.ar/prensa/prensa.php?i=4141 Randazzo visitó la nueva estación Ciudad Universitaria y anunció: "ya está lista y será inaugurada por la presidenta"] - Ministerio del Interior y Transporte, 16 June 2015.</ref> Finally, the station was opened at the end of August 2015,<ref>[http://prensa.argentina.ar/2015/08/29/60233-cristina-inaugura-hoy-en-ciudad-universitaria-la-primera-estacion-de-trenes-hecha-en-30-anos-en-el-area-metropolitana.php "Cristina inaugura hoy en Ciudad Universitaria la primera estación de trenes hecha en 30 años en el área metropolitana"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151003065346/http://prensa.argentina.ar/2015/08/29/60233-cristina-inaugura-hoy-en-ciudad-universitaria-la-primera-estacion-de-trenes-hecha-en-30-anos-en-el-area-metropolitana.php |date=2015-10-03 }}, Prensa Argentina, 29 Aug 2015</ref> afterproviding arail longoaccess claim byfor the 40,000 people thatwho attend the UBA campus each day.<ref>[http://www.clarin.com/ciudades/Ciudad_de_Buenos_Aires-estacion_Ciudad_Universitaria_0_1421257923.html "Inauguran hoy la estación de tren de Ciudad Universitaria"], ''Clarín'', 29 Ago 2015</ref>

Another proposed station was "Aeroparque", which would join the railway station with [[Aeroparque Jorge Newbery]] airport. The original project saw the addition of a pedestrian tunnel to be built between the station and the airport.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.adifse.com.ar/licitaciones_nuevas/PCP%20ADIF%2031-14.pdf |title="Construcción de nueva estación Aeroparque: Licitación Pública ADIF 31-14" on ADIF website |access-date=2015-01-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518103433/http://www.adifse.com.ar/licitaciones_nuevas/PCP%20ADIF%2031-14.pdf |archive-date=2015-05-18 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>[http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1723196-prometen-para-fin-de-ano-la-apertura-de-la-estacion-de-tren-aeroparque ""], ''La Nación'', 31 Aug 2014</ref><ref>[http://www.girabsas.com/nota/550/ "Anuncian que el Belgrano Norte llegará hasta Aeroparque a fin de año" GiraBsAs] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518094631/http://www.girabsas.com/nota/550/ |date=2015-05-18 }}, 31 Aug 2014</ref> However, in 2015 it was announced that this station's construction was cancelled with the [[Ministry of the Interior and Transport]] citing a possible increase in security concerns at the airport with the inclusion of a station.<ref>[http://enelsubte.com/noticias/cancelaron-estacion-aeroparque-por-recomendacion-de-anac-y-ausa/ Cancelaron estación Aeroparque por recomendación de ANAC y AUSA] - EnElSubte, 10 July 2015</ref>

[[File:Emepa alerce padilla3.jpg|200px|thumbnail|A [[Trenes Argentinos]] [[Emepa Alerce]] railcar passing M. M. Padilla station.]]

In March 2015, the [[Ministry of the Interior and Transport|Ministry of Transport]] announced the purchase of [[Emepa Alerce|Alerce]] trains manufactured by the [[Emepa Group]], the first train completely built in Argentina, to run on the Belgrano Norte Line. A fleet of 20 [[diesel multiple unit]]s were bought to be built and put into operation foras an express service covering the Retiro-[[Boulogne Sur Mer]] section, with only two intermediate stops, Ciudad Universitaria and Aristóbulo del Valle. For a second phase of the project, the service would be extended to Pilar. TheConstruction of the first train was manufacturedcompleted in the Grupo Emepa's workshops at [[Chascomús]] in March 2015.<ref>[http://www.telam.com.ar/notas/201503/99169-randazzo-tren-fabricacion-nacional-belgrano-norte.html "Randazzo presentó un nuevo tren de fabricación nacional"], Télam, 25 Mar 2015</ref><ref>[http://www.diariopopular.com.ar/notas/220551-randazzo-presento-alerce-el-primer-tren-0-km-nacional "Randazzo presentó "Alerce", el primer tren 0 km nacional"], Diario Popular, 25 Mar 2015</ref>

The new service withbegins at [[EmepaRetiro Alerce|AlerceBelgrano railway DMUsstation]] startedand operationsstops onat 13the July[[University 2015of withBuenos threeAires]]' Ciudad AlerceUniversitaria trainscampus, withAristóbulo thedel otherValle 17and trains to be added to the lineterminates at a[[Del rateViso]] ofin one[[Pilar perPartido]] monthwith asprices theyranging arefrom produced[[Argentine byPeso|AR$]] Emepa1.<ref>[http://www.rieles.com/front/?p=2592050 "Servicioto diferencialAR$17 enwith ela Belgrano[[SUBE Norte"card]], Rieles,and 13 Jul 2015</ref> Trains run from Del VisoAR$3 to RetiroAR$34 withwithout a journey time of 65' to connect bothSUBE terminalscard.<ref>[http://misdiasenlavia1.blogspot.com.ar/2015/07/ferrovias-nuevo-servicio.html "Ferrovías: nuevo servicio"], MDV, 13 Jul 2015</ref> The Alerce DMUsservice's comfortroute featureswas includealtered [[HVAC]]from andits [[Wi-Fi]].<ref>[http://www.ferrovias.com.ar/imgs/comunes/SERV_ESP.jpgoriginal Servicio diferencial] on Ferrovías websiteplans, 13skipping Julthe 2015</ref>Boulogne UnlikeSur theMer reststation ofand the line,proposed thenew servicestation is operated by the state-ownedat [[TrenesAeroparque ArgentinosJorge Newbery]] ratherairport thanthat Ferrovíaswas not built.<ref>[http://enelsubte.com/noticias/diferencialcancelaron-delestacion-belgranoaeroparque-nortepor-serarecomendacion-operadode-poranac-ely-estadoausa/ DiferencialCancelaron delestación BelgranoAeroparque Norte:por serárecomendación operadode porANAC ely EstadoAUSA] - EnElSubte, 810 July 2015.</ref>

| [[Ferrovías]] || 1994–pres.1994–present

File:Vagón Emepa de Ferrovías.jpg|One of the line's carriages exhibited at [[Tecnopolis]].

File:Interior del vagón Emepa de Ferrovías.jpg|Interior of one of the carriages.

File:Belgrano Norte Line.jpg|Diesel-Electric rolling stock.

File:Ferrovias trains retiro.jpg|Trains in Retiro.

* ''Historia del Ferrocarril al Norte del Gran Buenos Aires: Ferrocarriles Mitre y Belgrano'' by Ariel Bernasconi -, Dunken Editorial, (2012) -. {{ISBN|978-9870257691}}.