Why Does An Electric Kettle Cost 2 1/2 Times More Here?

[mc kenna]

The reason i didn't mention trains is because i've seen what they've done to the railroads
Many of the railroad tracks going to little towns in the BsAS province (where they were all set up for storing and loading grain and cattle)were ''lifted'' as in they didn't even leave the railroad ties(sleepers)causing the death of all the little towns in rural BsAS province(many ''ghost'' towns around here) this was in the 80s and i will give you 1 guess as for whose fault that was.......... of course Yankees and Brits since we are the same thing in the eye of the Argentine

 

[TWB103]

Wasnt it the powerful Argentine trucker's unions and Menem that killed off the train trans national network?

 

[mc kenna]

By the time Menem got in ,the railroad was agonizing and it didn't take much to put it out of it's misery

 

[Dublin2BuenosAires]

I would definetly have a good railway system on my wish list, no idea of the economics but I'd live to take quick, clean and safe trains from here to the south, via Rosario to Cordoba and on to Mendoza etc.

3 main trunks North via Rosario, Entre Rios & Corrientes, North West - Rosario, Cordoba with a split to Salta and Mendoza and a Sourthern route into Patagonia, Puerto Madryn all the way down to Ushaai with local lines branching off.

Fantasy nonsense of course, but it would be a hell of a lot better than driving.

 

[PhilipDT]

Shouldn't they start thinking about shipping via river boat or barges then?Imagine you could ship stuff from Tierra del Fuego to BsAs much cheaper using coastline transit.....or finding ways to navigate all the rivers from up north which most of them end up in delta?As i said before lack of knowledge and i must add imagination

Lot's of things are shipped via boats up and down the parana river at least up rosario and Santa Fe. Shipping companies pay a toll of over 1000 dollars per ton to do so (I have no idea if they can pay in pesos at the official rate, seems unlikely).

As for Tierra del fuego - Buenos Aires

You would think that would make sense but the large shipping companies with all of the established infrastructure are not allowed to ship from one Argentine port to another unless the boat is registered in Argentina. The US has a similar law which is just as stupid but not nearly as damaging since there is no real US analog to the Tierra del Fuego FTZ. Imagine walmart deciding that it was going to import all of it's TV's by way Alaska where they would be put on a truck and driven through the harshest winter weather conditions, across Canada, back into the US, before arriving at the localize distribution centers.

 

[PhilipDT]

Fantasy nonsense of course, but it would be a hell of a lot better than driving.

That's why they have airplanes. Or micros.

Long distance passenger trains died out because in order for them to get you there in the speed as you would in a car you need a lot of people to be traveling that route.

If the long distance buses services here can't compete on prices with Aerolineas, a train has no chance.

 

[Dublin2BuenosAires]

Ever driven from BA to Rosario at night? It's a horror show, two lane highway with the slow lane (in ribbons due to all the heavy transit and poor surface) completely blocked by trucks and the fast lane plagued by truck drivers who have lost their patience pulling out dangerously and performing the 15 minute overtake maneuvre...111kph overtaking 109 kph. I got the impression that a lot of freight transport runs up that highway at night. It's a nightmare.

 

[Dublin2BuenosAires]

That's why they have airplanes. Or micros.

Long distance passenger trains died out because in order for them to get you there in the speed as you would in a car you need a lot of people to be traveling that route.

If the long distance buses services here can't compete on prices with Aerolineas, a train has no chance.

Buses can take a hike, I know the seats are comfortable but the bathroom arrangements are most definetly not suitable for long distance travelling, end of. You don't have a bar either, would much prefer train travel.

High speed transport is an ecnonomic enabler, especially with freight involved. I don't believe the immediate profit/loss calculations plays out over time considering the benefits for tourism and business travel. High speed trunks would help with population decentralisation which should be a strategic objective for Argentina. Sensible and well applied subsidies should apply to public transport, I support that certainly.

That idea is even more naive and idealistic than high speed rail however.

 

[PhilipDT]

High speed transport is an ecnonomic enabler, especially with freight involved.

You usually don't run freight on high speed rail lines.

I don't believe the immediate profit/loss calculations plays out over time considering the benefits for tourism and business travel. High speed trunks would help with population decentralisation which should be a strategic objective for Argentina. Sensible and well applied subsidies should apply to public transport, I support that certainly.

That idea is even more naive and idealistic than high speed rail however.

I'm not saying it's a bad idea (between buenos aires and rosario, high speed rail to the south is another matter) but in order for anybody to actually use it, it would have to be quite a bit cheaper than this:

 

[Dublin2BuenosAires]

I disagree, those prices are artificially low through subsidies, also there is greater fluctuation in air fare prices, I bet it's not that price for this weekend for example. Train tickets tend to remain more stable in price.

If I had a lunchtime meeting in Rosario and I could get a train in 2 hours or a flight in 1hr, I'd take the train because I know I could make the time back with check ins and arriving to the city centre. If the train was modern and well configured I could prob have my laptop out and get through a bit of work while I'm at it.

OK, so a high speed train to the south is just a personal preference for me, based on the fact that I'd enjoy it, but absolutely a core high speed line between BA-Rosario-Cordoba would be an excellent enabler for decentralisation and growth in the central area of the country.

There is some existing infrastructure i understand which could be upgraded. Anyway, it's fantasy stuff, I'd never fly to Rosario anyway, it's 3.5 hrs in the car and I quite enjoy the stop in San Pedro to pick up cheese and other goodies on the way back.