“We need each and every Argentine to have a decent job,” the president emphasized Alberto Fernandez by leading the act of reactivation of the Cañada de Gómez-Rosario passenger rail service, in the province of Santa Fe, which had ceased to function 45 years ago. It was the president’s first act together with Economy Minister Sergio Massa.
In this sense, the president left a strong message of management responsibility towards the Argentines: “Sergio knows, like me, the obligation we have with each one of you, and that obligation is not going to stop. Our duty is with you, not with others.”
In his presentation, Fernández recognized the difficult moment that the country is going through and emphasized the points to work on: “We came to the Government with a decision: to put Argentina on its feet. We need a fairer federal development and that each Argentine man and woman have a decent job to live with“.
“None of the 5,000 public works we are doing will stopnone of the 100 technical schools, none of the 120,000 homes that we are building,” he listed in another part of his speech.
In another section, the head of state raised the need for unity to prevail beyond the Frente de Todos: “We must take one more step, the unity of Argentines, once we understand that we have a great opportunity and we must not waste it” .
Looking ahead to 2023, the President highlighted the differences between the different electoral offers: “These are times to think that not everything is the same. I see despair in men and women who think that everything in politics is the same, the truth is that things are not like that.”
“Clearly we went through difficult economic times, and some are in charge of making it more difficult, but now not even their will is going to bend our decision,” he concluded.
The officials arrived at the Correa commune – located about 60 kilometers from Rosario – where they were received by the governor of Santa Fe, Omar Perotti.
From there, the entourage traveled by train to Cañada de Gómez, after which the head of state inaugurated the railway section that connects the city of Rosario with Cañada de Gómez, after 45 years without service.
“The train connects us and makes us equal”
In relation to the announcements, the president highlighted the importance of the train for the country: “It connects us and makes us equal. They are two values that in this time that we live we must rescue”. He also indicated that “the train is needed throughout Argentina so that it ends with the disintegration of the country”.
“Today I am experiencing a moment of privilege, which is to see how we connected Argentina in points. Like many boys who surely see that for the first time, that which made Argentina great,” he stressed.
Regarding this aspect, Fernández reviewed the relationship between the different governments and the politics linked to transport, and recalled that it was Juan Domingo Perón who “nationalized the trains, said that the trains should be at the service of the people and should belong to the State Argentinian”.
And he summed up: “We have had difficult years, but I know we have a promising future. We have a future that the train tells us how it should be. We must connect more, connect the country.”
How much will it cost to travel on the train
According to the official report, it is estimated that 2,000 passengers per day will move between the 71 kilometers that separate the Rosario Norte and Cañada de Gómez stations, a route that demand 2 hours and 10 minutesand has intermediate stops in Correa, Carcarañá, San Gerónimo, Roldán, Funes and Antártida Argentina.
The provision will be made with three long-distance cars, a locomotive and a generator car; and will have 216 first-class locations, and will have a total of 16 weekly services.
The cost of the ticket between the main stations is 120 pesos, and to the Roldán station, which is halfway, 60 pesos. Tickets can be purchased 24 hours in advance, through the company’s website or at the ticket offices of both terminal stations.
To reactivate the service, a replacement of sleepers and fixings was carried out, and the level crossings were adapted to provide higher levels of safety to the operation.
The enhancement has an investment of one billion pesos and its execution allows reestablishing an accessible and quality means of transport for the citizens of the province of Santa Fe.
The Rosario-Cañada de Gómez service is the first commuter train that was established in Argentina outside the AMBA at the end of the 19th century, and it was closed by the military dictatorship in 1977.
When democracy returned, Ferrocarriles Argentinos proposed to reactivate the branch but it was not fulfilled.
In the 1990s, the Cañada de Gómez station of the Miter branch, equidistant between Córdoba and Retiro in CABA, was permanently closed.
In 2015, the national government called for a tender to renew these roads, but later, the administration of Mauricio Macri annulled it.