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FRIENDS OF LATINAMERICAN RAILWAYS (FLB) FLB / AIFFLA PR OFFICE: Samuel Rachdi, Bahnhof, CH-6422 Steinen SZ; Tel. +41/41/832.01.34; Fax +41/41/832.01.35
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VOLTA O TREM 9th Year, Number 3 7th April 2005
INSIDE FLB/AIFFLA At the General Assembly of February 26, 2005, apart of the usual duties which were fulfilled quickly, a very special discussion with a following voting took place. As announced in VoT 91, the issue was whether to establish a cooperative to operate railways in Latin America. The discussion was very intensive, and various alternatives were considered. The majority approved the proposition which transforms FLB/AIFFLA from an association to a cooperative. However, it will be studied if the co-existence of an association and a cooperative shows any advantages. FLB/AIFFLA would then be a cooperative based on Swiss law. This means that any person on the world can become a member of the cooperative and buy shares, but there is no personal liability. Only the cooperative capital serves for financial liabilities; so the worst thing that can happen to the members of the cooperative is the loss of value of their shares. To form such a cooperative became more and more urgent because as an association, FLB/AIFFLA would never have the possibility to participate in establishing a railway company. A cooperative allows this, and also the consulting services of AIFFLA which already have been sought in some cases, can be easily integrated and billed. However, this change of the organisational structure will not change anything of our internal activities. There will be meetings, the VoT will be published etc. It means quite a bit of work to establish the cooperative and it will need legal counselling to put everything in order. An extraordinary General Assembly will decide the case; it will be called for it when everything is prepared. In the railway sector of Latin America there are several cooperatives, for example the passenger train Barrancabermeja Grecia in Colombia is operated be one; some railway workshops in Argentina are cooperatives and also a number of tourist trains are organised as cooperatives. Argentina Volta o Trem 92 reported the inauguration of the Buenos Aires to Córdoba long distance passenger train but, as always, there is a catch to it. Because at that moment the fares had not yet been approved by the government, the beginning of operations was postponed until April 10. To keep the staff busy, a free round-trip for interested persons took place from April 03 to 05. It has been reported cheerfully that the trains arrived punctually and without the slightest problem. After an absence of 12 years, the train has returned to connect the two biggest cities of Argentina. Argentina/Uruguay: International Train Brazil Mato Grosso do Sul It has recently been confirmed that the "Expresso do Pantanal" will start its operations in October 2005 between the stations ofCorumbá and Porto Esperança. The state of Mato Grosso do Sul is strongly backing this project and plans now to reactivate all railway lines on its territory (Campo Grande Porto Esperança, Campo Grande Três Lagoas, Campo Grande Ponta Porã) for both tourist and social passenger trains. Paraná Serra Verde Express has resumed its passenger train operations. On Saturdays and Sundays, the trains run the entire length of the line (Curitiba Paranaguá), while from Monday to Friday the trains only run on the Curitiba Morretes section, due to heavy freight traffic. Freight is now also hauled on the branch line from Morretes to the port of Antonina. Passenger trains are admitted there as well, however, only charter trains run over this branch. In Cali there are preparations under way to run tourist trains in the Valle del Cauca and between Buenaventura and Cali, by using the tracks of Ferrocarril Occidental. As freight traffic develops very badly an average of less than one train per week! the newly renovated track should be used to carry tourist trains in order to make some revenues. Also, the locomotives must be in motion, some of them suffer already from stand-still damage! Ecuador Statistics: There were exactly 2 trains running in the first quarter of 2005 between Durán and Yaguachi; steam-hauled trains on religious holidays to carry inhabitants of Guayaquil and Durán to the place ofpilgramage of Yaguachi. Each trip transported at least 700 people (the count refers only to the number of tickets sold ). According to press releases, there is an upcoming opposition both in the Ibarra and San Lorenzo areas against the planned closure of the sections Ibarra Primer Paso and San Lorenzo Cachavi. Localadministrations participate in this opposition and some of them are even willing to spend money for the preservation of the line. There are voices about a reconstruction of the entire Cajas Ibarra San Lorenzo line, in which the Esmeraldas province shows some interest. The plans are to convince the central government to hand over the line to local authorities. El Salvador It has not yet died completely, the state railway of El Salvador (FENADESAL). After 10 months of a total stand-still it was reactivated, at least on the few kilometres which separate San Salvador from Soyapango. When, at the end of October 2004, a road bridge between those two cities collapsed due to flooding, they remembered the "good old train". Since November 2004, a train composed of a diesel locomotive and 5 passenger coaches operates 5 round-trips from Monday to Friday and 2 round-trips on Saturdays. In fact an intensity of trains that hardly ever was reached on this section. This traffic will last until the end of April 2005, then the new road bridge will be opened. As a matter of fact, things do not look good for the railways in this small Central American country. The train station of San Salvador now serves as a building material market which has to be crossed in order to get to the mentioned train. Each coach is accompanied by an armed police agent because the train passes through some of the poorest neighbourhoods of San Salvador. Although locomotive and coaches are in fair technical condition, they are equipped only with wooden benches and lack of all windowpanes. Just one female manager administrates this traffic. No other train is running on the rest of the network, and as from May it will be very silent on the railway tracks of this country. Honduras The state railway FNH seems to be in its final stage, but the final stage still goes on The mixed passenger train San Pedro Sula Tela has been withdrawn; however, there are a few trains hauling wood from the sawmill at Búfalo (15 km south of San Pedro) to the port of Puerto Cortés. A surprise is the passenger train of La Ceiba on the Caribbean coast; one might even call it "the little commuter train". A locomotive and one boxcar converted into an improvised passenger coach run every 30 minutes from Monday to Friday from the La Ceiba station (or more precisely, a nearby level crossing) to the suburb Barrio Occidental and back. The fare is 3 Lempiras, in fact 25% less than the bus. As there are no switches to allow the locomotive to go to the other side of the "coach", the train is pulled in one direction and pushed in the other. The train provides employment to 3 persons. Operations started when La Ceiba was practically cut off after the hurricane Mitch and not even a road to that western suburb was passable. However, the railway track was ok. Today, this train eases some of the traffic congestion, and a fewnameless stops on request were established along the track. They are equipped with a shed of course also a converted boxcar! Not only in Africa, also in Latin America people know how to make something out of nothing and to put something useful in place.
The new government and the new board of directors of AFE, the state railway company, announced unanimously that "as soon as possible" a suburban train service from Montevideo to Sayago, Toledo, Pando and Victor Sudriers would be operated. Also, the old railway station of Montevideo (Estación Central General Artigas) should be reconnected to the railway network and again serve as passenger terminal. The president of the rail passenger committee "Grupo de Pasajeros en Defensa de la Estación Central" and manager of Líneas Férreas Uruguayas, Mr. Marcelo Benoit, participated in the ceremony of taking office of the new AFE board of directors. At this opportunity, he introduced the ideas and proposals created by both organisations represented by him regarding the future use of the central station buildings and premises, to the new directors.
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