Train accident in Once (linea Sarmiento) 340 wounded

[chris]

It does not seem that the train lines in Argentina are an integral part of the transportation system compared especially to Europe but even the U.S. As the colectivo and omnibus are more pervasive and connect to more destinations, there also does not seem to be a financial impetus for capital expenditure in the Argentina rail system. That being said, will we see officials speaking on the topic in the near future? The answer is, of course yes because it is news. Unfortunately, I truly doubt much in the way of pesos will be set aside for the proper investment in safety and infrastructure.

The extensive suburban rail network of BA radiates from three main stations: Retiro (there are actually several separate stations on the same block in Retiro) , Constitucion and Once. It is an extremely important part of the transportation network as it carries many thousands of people to and from work every day. The government gives substantial subsidies to the private railways however there is little accountability. Nestor Kirchner made a special point of wanting to rehabilitate the rail system. He even proposed a bullet train to Cordoba. A lot of money was spent on studies and then abandoned. As for improving the local rail system, it has yet to happen though the private railways keep on getting their subsidies. Where are all those millions of pesos going, if not into maintenance and new rolling stock? It never ceases to amaze me that people will go on voting for the same politicians despite this sort of thing - and this is hardly an isolated incident.

 

[notebook.fix]

The Sarmiento line is being revamped. There are 24 formations, more than half of those are new, or revamped cars with A/C (3-4 are the superb 2-floor new trains, some 10 or more are 1-floor with A/C, some of them the new "aerodinamic" line). The rails have been changed, everything was running better. But, they had old trains in the line still, and one of those was THIS one.

I would take the line from the private concessionaire and with the money now lost to him change all the old remaining cars right away. I would also investigate the possibility of sabotage, after all, this is the country where a neocon-peronista (M***m) destroyed a town (Rio Tercero) to hid illegal weapons´trade.

Hey Che! Who's in charge of the railways???????????? MACRI?????????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
NO NO NO! - It's the FEDERAL K GOVERNMENT who is wholly & solely responsible for the national railways ...not capitalism.

The train's brakes failed....you know why? no money, bad maintenance....they have been scavenging spare parts from other broken down trains in order to make do...this is because everyone knows that the sheer magnitude of the corruption under this K gov in the railways is such that there's no MONEY to properly maintain the system, it's rotting in corruption....and here you have the resulting consequences.

 

[Crema Americana]

It does not seem that the train lines in Argentina are an integral part of the transportation system compared especially to Europe but even the U.S.

I'd say more people here use the trains than the US. This particular train was packed... as are many others where people are literally holding on for dear life outside the train doors. Upkeep is another matter.

There's a lot of abandoned trolly and railroad track all over the city - not to mention the deteriorated condition of the trains themselves. Investment into infrustructure is definitely needed, but that's nothing new in Buenos Aires. It's still not exactly clear what happened... but chances are it could have been avoided with better equipment, safety policies, or training.

 

[notebook.fix]

They'll be on their knees, praying for the English to come to the rescue & distract the Argentine public for when the 54% start to wake up to these pathetic K Klowns...the moment of reckoning is coming FAST! Like a train! As Lanata said..."this gov will pay the bill for it's negligence".

Then this incident is certainly going to put K´s Falkland Islands smear campaign on the back burner.

 

[chris]

I'd say more people here use the trains than the US. This particular train was packed... as are many others where people are literally holding on for dear life outside the train doors. Upkeep is another matter.

There's a lot of abandoned trolly and railroad track all over the city - not to mention the deteriorated condition of the trains themselves. Investment into infrustructure is definitely needed, but that's nothing new in Buenos Aires. It's still not exactly clear what happened... but chances are it could have been avoided with better equipment, safety policies, or training.

It's basically the reverse in the US. Suburban trains in major cities like New York and Philadelphia tend to serve the middle class who live in the suburbs and work in the city. The poor tend to live in the inner city and use mostly buses or subways. In BA the middle class often shun the train whereas the working class and poor ride trains, often very long distances, to and from work (many times a combination of subway / bus / train). You'd be amazed at the incredibly long trips these people make every work day. They travel under third world conditions. I don't know how they do it but they have no choice. I know from experience how bad the conditions are as I have ridden a lot of the BA suburban lines. The worst leave from Constitucion and Once. The line to Pilar, for example, passes many villas which are often right next to luxurious gated communities and beautiful country clubs. The walls surrounding these upper middle / upper class oases do not completely hide the reality of the social gap. It's all unnecessary as the railways are receiving subsidies and should be providing decent service. This government talks about human rights all the time. What about the right to decent, affordable, safe and minimally comfortable train service for the working poor?

 

[citygirl]

What an absolute horror show 550+ injured, 49 dead. It defies description and I certainly hope there is a full investigation and people are held accountable.

Deepest condolences to those that lost friends and family.

 

[chris]

I certainly hope there is a full investigation and people are held accountable.



Wishful thinking.

 

[AndrewWoodward]

No idea if this is true, but it just came up on my twitter timeline:

Acabo de escuchar en Radio Mitre que el tren que impactó en Once fue fabricado en 1957 y entró en servicio en 1958.

 

[chris]

In reality that is not so old if the equipment is well maintained. Alaska Railroad runs wonderful reconditioned trains manufactured in the 1950's. The best train in Argentina, the Marplatense, was manufactured by the Budd Company in Philadelphia about 1950 and is still going strong. The problem is lack of maintenance. Of course new equipment would help. They tend to buy cast offs from places like Spain and Portugal and do little maintenance.

 

[citygirl]

I certainly hope there is a full investigation and people are held accountable.



Wishful thinking.

True but when the general public gets riled up, something usually gets done (remember the nightclub fire and all the boliches were shut down afterward)

Granted, it will probably be some poor mid-level person at a private company that gets scapegoated , not anyone higher up or in the gov't