 | |
 A train inTucumán station (2006) | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Railway |
| Predecessor | Ferrocarriles Argentinos |
| Founded | 2004 |
| Defunct | 2014; 11 years ago (2014) |
| Fate | Defunct |
| Successor | Trenes Argentinos |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | Buenos Aires,Córdoba,Santa Fe,Sgo. del Estero,Tucumán Provinces |
| Services | Public transport,Maintenance, repair, and operations |
| Owner | Grupo Emepa |
Ferrocentral was anArgentine private railway company, with a name being a portmanteau of theSpanish words for "Central Rail". It operated long-distance passenger trains from its base atRetiro Mitre station inBuenos Aires to several locations in northern Argentina, running onFerrocarril Mitre's5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm)Indian gauge tracks.
The company also ran regional services (such asTren de las Sierras) onFerrocarril Belgrano's1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in)metre gauge tracks inCórdoba Province.[1][2] The National Government invested$10 million to re-open the line.[3]
All of the train routes managed by Ferrocentral had been previously operated byFerrocarriles Argentinos, the country's now-defunct national passenger railroad corporation. After theprivatisation of Ferrocarriles Argentinos starting in 1991, many train services across Argentina were indefinitely discontinued. Since the year 2005, however, Ferrocentral was formed and successfully resurrected some passenger lines.
Ferrocentral was established in 2005, being formed by two railway companies,Nuevo Central Argentino (concessionary ofFerrocarril Mitre's freight services) andFerrovías (which operates theBelgrano Norte Line) with the purpose of running trains fromRetiro station inBuenos Aires to the city ofCórdoba.[4][5][6]
In 2006 Ferrocentral started to run trains toTucumán, with stops inRosario and La Banda, a city ofSantiago del Estero Province.[7] Long-distance passenger trains were tractioned byGT22diesel locomotives.[8] Most services operated in the late night and early morning hours as the rail lines are used for transporting cargo during the daytime.
One year later the company also re-opened theTren de las Sierras ("Mountain Range Train") ofCórdoba Province that connected the cities ofCórdoba andCosquín.
On 2013, Ministry of Transport of Argentina, Florencio Randazzo, signed a resolution transferring the services toCórdoba andSan Miguel de Tucumán to State-owned companiesSOFSE (also known as "Trenes Argentinos") andAdministración de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias (ADIF).[9][10]
In addition, some problems with ticket sales were reported by users, accusing the company to give a poor service for online purchasing, as well as the virtually nil availability of seats.[11]
In November 2014, theGovernment of Argentina (through the State-owned companyTrenes Argentinos S.A.) took over the services toRosario,Tucumán andCórdoba, leaving Ferrocentral inactive.[12][13][14]
Services operated as of October 2014:[15]
| Start | End | Journey time (h) | Days p.w. | Opened |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retiro | Rosario Norte | 9 | 3 | 2005 |
| Córdoba | 14 | 4 | 2005 | |
| Tucumán | 24 | 2 | 2005 | |
| Córdoba | Villa María | 3 | 2 | 2004 |
| Alta Córdoba | Cosquín | 2 | 7 | 2007 |
