US$47m Belgrano spend proposed

THE GOVERNOR of Argentina's Salta province, Juan Carlos Romero, has presented a plan that would see US$47m invested in the metre-gauge Belgrano network (RG 7.06 p376) to restore key routes over a 16-month period.

The 500 km identified as priority routes under the plan include Embarcación - Formosa, Joaquín V Gonz lez - Barranqueras and the route from Met n to the Bolivian border.

Salta's Minister of Production & Employment Sergio Camacho said 'in three years we could once again see rail carrying 2·5million tonnes a year', in contrast to the 800000 tonnes of freight a year that the Belgrano has latterly been moving. According to Camacho, major investment in the locomotive fleet could see annual freight traffic on the Belgrano return to its record level of 4·5million tonnes between years 5 and 10 of the plan.

Meanwhile, the province is spending 14m pesos to undertake track repairs on 220 km of Belgrano infrastructure between Salta and the famous viaduct at La Polvorilla, which lies at 4200m above sea level on the route to the Chilean border at Socompa. It expects to be reimbursed by either the national government or the new owners of Belgrano Cargas, and has awarded the Ecotren consortium a 23-year concession to operate tourist trains over the route. Ecotren has promised to invest 43m pesos in the first four years, and is planning to introduce a luxury service featuring a panoramic car.

H The province of Tucum n expects to complete within six months a 10m pesos programme of works to restore passenger services on the Belgrano route between Concepción and San Miguel de Tucum n, the provincial capital, via Monteros. The province aims to create a loop that would also see services running from Concepción to Tucum n via Aguilares, La Madrid and Bella Vista. n