Paraguay and Argentina are reconnecting their rail networks for freight traffic on a 1,200-kilometer line that runs into Uruguay and borders Brazil.
The Urquiza and Mesopotámica networks in Argentina, with a gauge of 1435 mm, are a rare example in North and South America where the same gauge connects four countries (although the border crossing into Brazil requires conversion to meter gauge cars).
The cooperation between Paraguayan and Argentine rail authorities that resulted in a freight train crossing the border from Argentina on September 6 and running to Encarnación in Paraguay could be the beginning of greater logistical integration in this South American region.
The reopening of the cross-border line is the result of agreements between “Trenes Argentinos Cargas” (TAC) and the Paraguayan railroad company “Ferrocarril del Paraguay” (Fepasa).
It is expected to generate new freight flows, reduce transportation costs and times, and allow Paraguayan producers to export value-added goods, generating new foreign exchange revenues.
In the next few days, a fully loaded train with wagons loaded with bagged rice for export will begin its return trip to Zárate in Buenos Aires province. It will be the first train of its kind to cross the border by rail.
The reopening of the network began in July 2020, when, after two years of stoppage, trains resumed running on the northern line between Santo Tomé in Argentina’s Corrientes province and Garupá in Misiones province.
It allowed freight trains to cover the entire distance between the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires, and Misiones, encouraging companies in the northern regions to switch to rail.
Today, two years later, 10% of all freight traffic on the Mesopotámica line comes from the reopened portion of the line.
Further improvements on the Urquiza line have resulted in eight new freight customers switching to rail between 2020 and 2021, and the amount of freight transported has increased from 25,000 tons per month to an average of 40,000 tons.
By the end of August 2022, the railroad was carrying more than 50,000 tons of freight per month.
The railroad now carries a wide range of goods, including agricultural products, stones, pine wood, and container products such as pulp and cement.
It was achieved despite two unexpected obstacles – first, the Covid 19 pandemic and then, in March of this year, forest fires that affected the line for two months and resulted in the need to double the workforce to get the line back into service.
With the reopening of the border crossing with Paraguay, there are now even greater opportunities for expanding freight traffic.
With information from Latina Press