FLB

Friends of Latin American Railways

PR-OFFICE: Samuel Rachdi, Bahnhof,

CH-6422 Steinen SZ; Tel. +41/41/832.01.34; Fax +41/41/832.01.35

Email: info@fahrplancenter.com


Hitachi train of Trensurb, suburban railway in Porto Alegre. Photo by Peter Lais
 
 
VOLTA O TREM
Information Organ  of the Association Friends of Latin American Railways

12th Year, Number 4
30th September 2008
  
 

FLB NEWS
FAHRPLANCENTER NEWS
THE NEXT FLB EVENTS
 
 

FLB COMMITTEE MEETINGS
on Saturdays:

On 25th October 2008, 13 h 30

at Restaurant Sternen, Winterthur-Veltheim
(Bus etc. see below)

On 24th January 2009, 13 h 30

On  28th February 2009, 13 h 00

Board members may participate in any case
regardless if they are participating at the
main meeting or not. Please inform us!
 

 

THE FAHRPLANCENTER ONLINE:

www.fahrplancenter.com
 



Calls for meetings, orders etc.
may also be made by email:

info@fahrplancenter.com



FLB IS ONLINE UNDER: www.ferrolatino.ch
 

MEMBERS' MEETINGS

on Saturdays:

On 25th October 2008, 14 h 30
at Restaurant Sternen, Winterthur-Veltheim
(Bus etc. see below):

Slide show by Patrick Rudin
Actualities from Costa Rica and Panama

On 24th January 2009, 14 h 30
 Theme not yet fixed

On 28 February 2009, 14 h 30
Annual General Assembly and
 Slide show by Dieter Hauss, Brasil
 
 
 
 
 



100 years Lima – Huancayo

Incas del Peru offers a superb rail voyage through Peru. By train from Lima to Huancayo, then to Huancavelica, Cuzco - Machu Picchu, Cuzco - Puno, museum tram Barranco, suburban railway Lima, car barn visits, etc. THIS TRIP HAS BEEN POSTPONED TO 2009! Details see under

http://www.fahrplancenter.com/
AIFFLATicketHuancayo.html
 




The International Co-operative for the Development of Latin-American Railways AIFFLA has now been working for nearly two years. Up to know AIFFLA was heavily dependent from its mother organisation FLB. This should change now. Buy AIFFLA bonds and help to make AIFFLA independent and powerful. AIFFLA is already working. In Uruguay the organisation was helping Urutren to buy a rail bus. In Brazil AIFFLA will help restoring a Locobreque of the former São Paulo - Santos funicular railway as soon as a financing and work plan has been established. For more information look at 

  www.aiffla.com
 
Bonds for CHF50.00 and CHF100.00 are available in unlimited quantities. Orders may be placed at: FAHRPLANCENTER, S. Rachdi, Bahnhof, CH-6422 Steinen SZ, info@fahrplancenter.com , your order will be forwarded. Interested customers in EU countries may pay to a German account, excluding high international money transfer rates.

Thank you for supporting AIFFLA.
 

 
BOOKS ABOUT  BRASILIAN RAILWAYS:

Attention please: some titles are on a very 
limited stock, delivery as long as stock last, restocking not guaranteed!

At Fahrplancenter; Prices excluding 
postage and packing:

THE NITRATE RAILWAYS COMPANY LIMITED by Donald Binns; on 100 pages with more than 130 photographs and pictures, as well as some technical drawings, some area maps etc., describing the history of the numerous railways in the Iquique area in the north of Chile and casting a special eye on the locomotives.  Beside the Nitrate Railway are also described some narrow gauge lines (2ft6in): Agua Santa Railway, Junín Railway and Patillos Railway  Text in English, few pictures also in colour. CHF59.00 / €39,35

EL FERROCARRIL OESTE SANTAFECINO
Subtitle: Carlos Casado y la colonización de la Pampa, Tomo 1; by C. A. Fernandez Priotti; 303 p.; This book deals mainly with the colonisation west of the city of Rosario (in the province of Santa Fé) during the 1880 years and the influence which the construction of the railway line Rosario - Villa Casilda played. The book contains few b/w pictures, but much detailed text, tables on the cost and receipts of the railway, but also of the general economy, development of the population,  specimen of the  timetables, fares etc. Extension of the railway line, maps from those days; there is however NO  railway technical information (about line construction and vehicles).  Text in Spanish. 
Price CHF60.00 / €40,00

RAILWAYS OF BOLIVIA, Chr. Walker, 
128 pages; CHF58.60 / €39,10

INVENTÁRIO DAS LOCOMOTIVAS A VAPOR NO BRASIL, R. Pérez, 303 Seiten, alle still existing steam engines in Brasil, CHF177.00 / €118,00

EISENBAHNEN IN PERU (Railways in Peru, 
"Bahn im Bild") A. Albé, CHF26.50 / €17,65

NARROW GAUGE IN COLOMBIA (Railways & Steam Locomotives), Ch. Walker, 
96 pages, CHF52.40 / €34,30

Details: 
http://www.fahrplancenter.com/
Buecherliste_Lateinamerika.html


A SERVICE OF FLB

In co-operation with the FAHRPLANCENTER.

all timetables of passenger trains from Mexico to Argentina, now on one single home page, go to:

http://www.fahrplancenter.com/FahrplanLatino.html

AND CLICK ON THE COUNTRY YOU LIKE.

In Deutsch; In English; En Castellano; 
Em Português-Brasileiro

 
 . 

 FLB News

Invitation to the FLB MEETING on 25 Oct. 2008 at 2.30pm
 

On the 25th October 2008 the next FLB meeting will take place in Winterthur. Start at 14.30 hours at Restaurant Sternen, Löwenstrasse 4 in Winterthur-Veltheim
 Themes:

Actuality from Costa Rica by Patrick Rudin with slides.

ITINERARY TO THE MEETING POINT

 
How to reach Restaurant Sternen:
 
From Winterthur main station take bus #3 to Rosenberg until bus stop Bachtelstrasse, cross the street crossing and then go down the Bachtelstrasse. towards Veltheim town centre, go left into Löwenstrasse, the Sternen Restaurant is just across the street from a school building.
 
Or take bus # 2 to Wülflingen, get off at Hinterwiesli and go back to Walkestr. towards Feldstr., cross the railway track and turn to the right next to the Coop market, then turn left into Löwenstr. The level crossing at Löwenstr. no longer exists.

The Löwenstrasse can be found on the town map under: http://maps.google.ch/maps?hl=de&q=Winterthur,+Schweiz&ie=UTF8&ll=47.506824,8.724539&spn=0.006682,0.019999&z=16

If you wish to participate, please inform us in advance, by tuesday at 12 am,  21st October 2008, so that enough seats can be provided, under info@fahrplancenter.com or telephone +41 41 832 0134. Thank you. 

 
 
LATIN AMERICA NEWS

ARGENTINA

Tren a las Nubes operates again, since August 6, 2008. After an act of sabotage it was withdrawn temporarily, but in the meantime it runs again every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.
 
FerroCentral opened a further section of Tren de las Sierras between La Calera and Cosquín on 24 July 2008. Demand for transportation is so great that a third round trip has been added on weekends between Córdoba and Cosquín.
 

 
BRASIL

Flumitrens of Rio de Janeiro reduced again the frequencies of the Saracuruna - Guapimirim suburban train, which caused a substantial loss of passengers. In August a train derailed at Magé; only 5 passengers have been on board.
 
CBTU João Pessoa opened two additional stations on its line to Cabedelo.

  
  
COLOMBIA

The Colombian government is about to look for a new concessionaire for the Bogotá - Santa Marta route. The government will also spend some money for rehabilitation of this line to allow better freight operation and to run a through passenger train, which should not need more than 18 hours for the 960 km journey.
 
Of the 3154 km of railways in the country, currently 1013 km are completely out of operation.

 
 
CUBA

After several hurricanes which hit the island, Cuban railways are recovering very fast.
 
Delivery of new Chinese locomotives is going ahead, together with passenger vehicles of which 18 are cafeteria cars and 18 are power vans. The coaches are of Chinese origin but assembled in Iran. Furthermore great quantities of new freight rolling stock is currently being delivered from Iranian builders. Furthermore 28 new locomotives will be bought from Russia. Some of the existing rolling stock is undergoing renewals, including Cuban built Taino coaches.

 
 
ECUADOR
 
Finally reconstruction of Ecuador Railways is going on. USD297 Million is now available. The entire corridor Durán - Quito - Ibarra - San Lorenzo will be rehabilitated. Quito - Durán will be reopened in several sections by the second half of 2009.
 
 
MEXICO

National Railway Ferrocarril del Istmo de Tehuantepec FIT is currently repairing all lines in Yucatán state. These are Campeche - Mérida, Mérida - Tizimin, Mérida - Valladolid and even the long closed Mérida - Progreso line. Currently nearly 80 pct. of all cargo to and from Yucatán is conveyed by rail, including commodities such as as raw material, oil products, construction material, food and more being transported by train.

 
 PANAMA

During 2008 the last narrow gauge railway, the Chiriquí Railway Bocas Division, has been closed to all traffic and dismantled. Freight and passengers have been transported until the last days.
 

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