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 5
31st December 2008 
 

FLB NEWS
FAHRPLANCENTER NEWS
THE NEXT FLB EVENTS
 
  
FLB COMMITTEE MEETINGS
on Saturdays:

On 24th January 2009, 13 h 30

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

Actuality from Latin America.

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

 
 


MEMBERS' MEETINGS

on Saturdays:

On 24th January 2009, 14 h 30

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

Actuality from Latin America

On 28 February 2009, 14 h 30
Annual General Assembly and 
Slide show by Dieter Hauss, 
Railways at Santiago de Chile in the 1980ties.



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
 



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


FLB IS ONLINE UNDER: www.ferrolatino.ch
 

BOOKS ABOUT  BRASILIAN RAILWAYS:

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

Details:

http://www.fahrplancenter.com/
Buecherliste_Lateinamerika.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. Currently AIFFLA helps to get used railcars (DH1 und DH2)  from the Netherlands for Urutren. Cost: almost €2 Million.

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.
 

 . 

 FLB News

Invitation to the FLB MEETING on 24th January 2009 at 2.30pm
 

On the 24th January 2009 the next FLB meeting will take place in Winterthur. Start at 14.30 hours at Restaurant Sternen, Löwenstrasse 4 in Winterthur-Veltheim.
Theme:

Actuality from Latin America.

RESUME OF THE MEETING OF  25TH OCTOBER 2008
 

Patrick Rudin presented an interesting slide show about Panama and Costa Rica. The small locomotives which are pulling the enormous ocean going ships in and out of the locks are very impressing. But the other railways in both countries have not been of lesser interest, especially the Panama Canal Railway and the suburban services of San José in Costa Rica. We could even appreciate pictures of a real narrow Swiss mountain railway, in the middle of the Costarican jungle! Peter Koch presented us current pictures from Ecuador. Furthermore the newest study of Urutren‘s planned railcar services could be studied.
 

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.

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

After several months of work, SOE (Emergency Operator) of the General Belgrano freight railway could finally reopen the Salta - Avia Teraí - Resistencia line, a corridor very important for the transport of agriculture crops from the North of the country for exportation.

BRASIL

The Brazilian Senate agreed to build a nation wide railway network, to supplement the existing one, which does by far not match all transportation necessities of the country. 

The most important lines are:

Lengthening the North-South line to Belém in the North and to Panorama in São Paulo state to the South, reaching a total of 2760 km.

Construction of a completely new East-West railway from the Northern coast of Rio de Janeiro state, through Minas Gerais, Brasília, the South of Goias state, through Mato Grosso and Rondônia and ending at the Peruvian border in Acre state, in all 4400 km.

A new line of 750 km from Panorama to Porto Murtinho in the extreme Southwest of Mato Grosso do Sul state.

A 1500 km long line from the port of Ilhéus in Bahia state straight to the West to Alvorada in Tocantins state on the North-South railway.

SUBURBAN TRAIN AT SÃO JOSÉ DO RIO PRETO

A new railbus, built at Guarulhos (São Paulo), was presented to the public at São José do Preto. As soon as a trailer and second railbus will be available a suburban service between São José and Engenheiro Schmitt (14 km) will be launched.

SUBURBAN TRANSPORT AT CAMPOS

The city of Campos (Rio de Janeiro state) could reach the necessary agreements so that the suburban service between Campos and Guarus will now be a permanent service. The trains continue to be operated by Central and trips are for free.


 CHILE

The corruptive railway management of ex-Railway president Ajenjo has been put at court. Its about missmanaging of several hundred millions of USD, some Managers received a already a prison sentence of many years. Furthermore investigations have commenced at Spanish railways Renfe due to the bad technical situation of the railcars delivered to Chile, which could often operate for a few months only.

ECUADOR
 

During the first days of 2009 rail services between Quito and Latacunga may resume. A personal command by state president Corrêa was speeding up works after a complete stop during August 2008. On Dec. 20 all people at Quito have been called to clean up the surroundings of the railway line and to beware of train movements.


MEXICO

IXTEPEC-TAPACHULA

State Railway Ferrocarril del Istmo de Tehuantepec FIT is rehabilitating this line which was destroyed by hurricane Stan in 2005. The connection to Guatemala would not be rehabilitated and passenger service not reinstated.


 PERU

Still not confirmed are news that re-gauging of the Huancayo - Huancavelica railway has been completed. It was reported that all 914 mm gauge tracks have been lifted at Huancayo and that the line has been connected to the Central Railway from Lima.
 
 

The PR Manager and the whole FLB directorate

are extending the best wishes to all FLB members and readers for a happy and healthy new year.


 
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