| Domingo Faustino Sarmiento Railway | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Overview | |||
| Native name | Ferrocarril Sarmiento | ||
| Status | Active | ||
| Owner | Government of Argentina | ||
| Locale | Buenos Aires La Pampa San Luis Mendoza | ||
| Termini |
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| Service | |||
| Type | Inter-city | ||
| Operator(s) | Trenes Argentinos (passengers) Ferroexpreso Pampeano (freight) | ||
| History | |||
| Opened | 1948 | ||
| Technical | |||
| Track gauge | 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) | ||
| |||
The Domingo Faustino Sarmiento Railway (FCDFS) (Spanish: Ferrocarril Domingo Faustino Sarmiento), named after the former Argentine president, statesman, educator, and author Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, is one of the six state-owned Argentine railway divisions formed after President Juan Perón's nationalisation of the Argentine railway network in 1948. The six companies were managed by Ferrocarriles Argentinos which was later broken up during the process of railway privatisation beginning in 1991 during Carlos Menem's presidency.
The principal lines departed from Once railway station in Buenos Aires to the west through the provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, Córdoba, San Luis and Mendoza.
The railway was created after the nationalization of 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge lines on the British-owned company Buenos Aires Western Railway on 13 February 1947. The state-owned company created with the nationalization, Ferrocarriles Argentinos took over all the English and French railway lines.
When Ferrocarriles Argentinos was dissolved and the long-distance services closed by the government of Argentina (with Carlos Menem as president), the freight lines of the FC Sarmiento were given in concession to Ferroexpreso Pampeano. On the other hand, some passenger services were taken over by Ferrobaires, a state-owned company established by the government of Buenos Aires Province.
The urban and suburban services were operated by transitional company FEMESA until they were given in concession to local private company Trenes de Buenos Aires (TBA), which was widely criticized due to the poor conditions of its services. After the rail disaster of 2012, the government revoked its contract with TBA[1] and the services were taken over by a newly created state-owned company, SOFSE, which later renewed the urban parts of the network with new rolling stock and infrastructure.[2][3]
The interurban service of Ferrocarril Sarmiento is second in number of passengers after Ferrocarril General Roca.
- ^ "El Gobierno le quitó a TBA la concesión de los trenes Sarmiento y Mitre", Infobae, 24 May 2012
- ^ "Transfirieron a SOFSE las líneas Mitre y Sarmiento" Archived 19 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Después de Sarmiento, el turno de Mitre – Pagina/12, 22 July 2014