Argentina Railways
The initial railway in Argentina started in 1857, between El Parque and La Floresta, both places today being within the city of Buenos Aires (The actual terminus at El Parque is now the site of the Teatro Colón). It was built to Iberian (1676mm) gauge. This gauge was utilized extensively on the central plains of Argentina; although metre gauge was utilized in the mountainous north, and a network to the east of the river Paraná (linking the capital with Paraguay) was built to standard (1435mm) gauge. In the south of the country, railway growth was limited to a few isolated lines, mostly narrow gauge.
Railway coverage today remains extensive, and freight lines are well utilized, but passenger services outside the main cities are patchy. There have at one time or another been international connections with most neighbouring countries, although few of these connections are now out of utilize. A couple of interesting isolated line survive in the deep south, and these are noted in a separate table below.
Long Distance Passenger Operators
• Ferrobaires state owned passenger operator in Buenos Aires province (Site in Spanish)
• Ferrocentral passenger services between Buenos Aires and Tucumán and between Buenos Aires and Córdoba (No website located at present)
• TBA passenger operator in Buenos Aires province (Site in Spanish, English version promised)
• Trenes del Litoral passenger services between Buenos Aires and Posadas, close to the border with Paraguay (Site in Spanish)
• Suburban Passenger Operators
• Buenos Aires
o Ferrovias (Site in Spanish)
o Metropolitano
o Tren de la Costa modern electric railway running in attractive scenery alongside the Rio de la Plata
Córdoba
o FeMed (No website located at present)
Resistencia Chaco province
o SEFECHA (No website located at present)
Local & Tourist Passenger Operators
• Tren a las Nubes (Train to the Clouds). Salta to La Polvorilla Viaduct, a distance of 217km reaching a height of over 4200m above sea level. With an early morning start, the round trip takes over 16 hours. Dining facilities are provided on the train, brakfast and lunch being comprised in the fare. Operates typically three days each week.
• Tren Patagónico between Viedma and Bariloche in Rio Negro province. few trains steam hauled (Site in Spanish)
• Viejo Expreso Patagónico (ancient Patagonian Express) in Chubut province, El Maitén to Esquel, 330km, 750mm gauge. Day excursions operate over part of the line from either terminus, and trains may be chartered over all or part of the line. Trains are usually steam hauled.
• Iguazù National Park has a purpose built narrow gauge line few 3.6km in length with a LPG powered train, the Tren Ecológico de la Selva, (Ecological Train of the Jungle) to convey visitors from the central parking and commercial area to the various forest trails and the spectacular waterfalls that form the border with Brazil.
Freight Operators
• ALL main line freight operator in Argentina and Brazil (Site in Spanish)
• FerroExpreso Pampeano main line freight operator (No website located at present)
• Ferrosur Roca main line freight operator (Site in Spanish)
• NCA main line freight operator
• Minera Alumbrera owns private freight trains (operated by NCA) carrying copper ore concentrate from the processing works close to Tucumán, to Puerto Alumbrera on the Atlantic coast close to Rosario (Site in Spanish)
• Metros & Trams
• Buenos Aires
o Metro and trams
o heritage trams
• Córdoba proposed metro (No website located at present)
• Valle Hermoso miniature electric tourist tram (No website located at present)
The Deep South
Yacimientos Carboniferos Fiscales (formerly RFIRT) a 750mm gauge line, few 250km in length, started in the early 1950s to connect the coal mines of Rio Turbio with the port of Rio Gallegos. Currently a freight only line, though there are proposals to introduce a tourist passenger service. The most southerly railway on the South American mainland - though not the most southerly in Argentina: see the next item (No website located at present)
The End of the World Train
The End of the World Train towards the close of the 19th Century, the Argentine government decided to built a prison at Ushuaia, at the southern extremity of Tierra del Fuego. A xilorail (wooden railway) was installed to aid during the construction, utilizing oxen to haul wagons. By 1909, this had been replaced by a steam hauled, 600mm gauge, conventional railway. The railway brought supplies to the prison from the wharf, and building materials (stone and wood) from the hinterland. Over the years it grew to a sizeable network. The jail shut in 1947, and closure of the railway followed in 1952. However, in 1994, a part of the line was reopened as a tourist operation. It runs from a station located a few km to the west of the town of Ushuaia, into the Tierra del Fuego National Park. Not quite the most southerly railway in the world (see Antarctica), but certainly the most southerly to offer a regular service for fare paying passengers.

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