Ferrocarril Provincial de Buenos Aires
Encyclopedia
Metre gauge
Metre gauge refers to narrow gauge railways and tramways with a track gauge of . In some African, American and Asian countries it is the main gauge. In Europe it has been used for local railways in France, Germany, and Belgium, most of which were closed down in mid 20th century. Only in Switzerland...
railway network in the Province of Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires Province
The Province of Buenos Aires is the largest and most populous province of Argentina. It takes the name from the city of Buenos Aires, which used to be the provincial capital until it was federalized in 1880...
in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
. Founded in 1907 as the Ferrocarril Provincial del Puerto de La Plata al Meridiano V, the company changed its name to FCPBA in 1924, in 1951 it was taken in to state ownership and in 1953 it was absorbed by the state-owned Ferrocarril General Manuel Belgrano
Ferrocarril General Manuel Belgrano
Ferrocarril General Manuel Belgrano , named after the Argentine politician and military leader Manuel Belgrano, was one of the six state-owned Argentine railway companies formed after President Juan Perón's nationalisation of the railway network in 1948...
. The FCPBA should not confused with the similarly named French–owned Ferrocarril Compañía General en la Provincia de Buenos Aires
Ferrocarril Compañía General en la Provincia de Buenos Aires
The Ferrocarril Compañía General de Buenos Aires was a French–owned company, formed in 1904, which operated a metre gauge railway network in Argentina....
(CGBA) which also operated in the Province.
Construction
In August 1907 authorisation was given for the construction of the line, originally named Ferrocarril Provincial del Puerto de La Plata al Meridiano V, by the Province of Buenos Aires and the Societe Anonime Franco-Argentine de Travaux Publics (in English: Franco-Argentine Public Works Company), a Franco-Belgium company headed by Otto Bemberg.Construction began in La Plata
La Plata
La Plata is the capital city of the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and of La Plata partido. According to the , the city proper has a population of 574,369 and its metropolitan area has 694,253 inhabitants....
in June 1909 and the sections of the line were opened as follows: to Saladillo Norte (206 km) on 12 March 1912, to Blas Durañona (36 km) on 1 August 1912, to 9 de Julio (66 km) on 7 February 1913, to Km 440 (132 km) on 21 May 1913 and finally to Mira Pampa (113 km) on 7 January 1914. This completed a 553 km line with 31 stations and on 31 August 1916 the provincial government took over the operation of the railway. On 14 November 1924 the name of the company was changed to the FCPBA.
Exploitation and Expansion
The following branch lines were opened: Carlos Beguerie to Azul (169 km) and La Plata to AvellanedaAvellaneda
Avellaneda is a port city in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and the seat of the Avellaneda Partido, whose population was 328,980 as per the ....
(50.9 km) on 20 January 1927, Pedro Gamen to Pehuajo
Pehuajó
Pehuajó is a city in the Pehuajó Partido in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The partido has about 38,400 inhabitants as per the...
(20 km) on 10 May 1930, Ariel
Ariel
Ariel may refer to:-Film:*Ariel Award, a Mexican Academy of Film award*Ariel , a 1988 Finnish film by Aki Kaurismäki-People:*Ariel , any of several real or fictional people of that name...
to Olavarria
Olavarría
Olavarría is a city in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, located. It is the capital of the Olavarría Partido and has over 111,320 inhabitants, per the ....
(56 km) on 6 October 1930, Tcnl Miñana to Sierra Chica (6.5 km). Later in the 1950’s branches were opened between Olavarria and Loma Negra
Loma Negra
Loma Negra Companía Industrial Argentina S.A. is an Argentine manufacturer and the country's leading maker of cement, concrete, and lime.-History:...
(17 km) and between Tcnl Miñana and Azul (30 km), making a total rail network of 902 km.
On 31 December 1951 the company was transferred to state ownership as an independent entity under the control of the Empresa Nacional de Transportes (ENT) and in 1953 was absorbed by Ferrocarril General Manuel Belgrano
Ferrocarril General Manuel Belgrano
Ferrocarril General Manuel Belgrano , named after the Argentine politician and military leader Manuel Belgrano, was one of the six state-owned Argentine railway companies formed after President Juan Perón's nationalisation of the railway network in 1948...
(FCGMB), one of the six state-owned companies formed after the nationalisation
Railway Nationalisation in Argentina
In 1948, during President Juan Perón’s first term of office, the seven British-owned and three French-owned railway companies then operating in Argentina, were purchased by the state...
of the entire railway network in 1948.
On 1 January 1954 the Ferrocarril Nacional Provincia de Buenos Aires (FNPBA) was formed by integrating the FCPBA, the CGBA and the Buenos Aires Midland Railway
Buenos Aires Midland Railway
The Buenos Aires Midland Railway was a British-owned railway company which operated in Argentina where it was known as Ferrocarril Midland de Buenos Aires. The company built and operated the line between Estación Puente Alsina and Carhué in Buenos Aires Province...
and was incorporated into the FCGMB on 7 October 1957.
Decline and Closure
The lines between EtcheverryEtcheverry
Etcheverry, originally Etxeberri is a Basque surname, means "new house" . Variants: Etxeverry, Etcheverri, Etxeverri, Echeverry, Echeverri, Echeverri, Etxeberry, Etcheberry, Echeberry, Etxeberri, Echeberri, Echavarri, Echabarri, Chabarri, Chavarri, Etcheber, Etxeber. And may refer to:* Fernando...
and Mira Pampa and Carlos Beguerie to Azul and Olavarria, together with their respective branch lines, were closed on 28 October 1961. The line between Olavarria and La Plata was re-opened temporarily for freight traffic only from April 1964 to 1968. The track between Carlos Beguerie and Mira Pampa was removed in October 1974 and the passenger service on the branch from Avellaneda to La Plata was discontinued in July 1977.