Mendoza railway station

Mendoza Station is a railway station located in the city of the same name in Argentina. It was inaugurated in 1885 and originally operated by state-owned Andean Railway (then taken over by British companies such as Buenos Aires and Pacific Railway).[1] Nowadays Mendoza is currently used by Metrotranvía Mendoza, a light rail transport system inaugurated in 2012.[2] The station is also served by state-owned company Trenes Argentinos Cargas which runs freight trains in the region.

Merndoza
Light rail
Mendoza station as a tram stop in 2015. The old semaphore signals are visible at background
General information
LocationAv. Belgrano and Av. Las Heras, Mendoza
Argentina
Coordinates32.8841°S 68.8485°W / -32.8841; -68.8485
Owned byGovernment of Argentina
Operated byMetrotranvía Mendoza
(passenger)
Trenes Argentinos Cargas
(freight)
Line(s)San Martín Railway
Platforms2
Tracks2
History
Opened1885 (1885)
Closed1993 (reopened in 2012)
ElectrifiedYes (2012)
Location

The station operated between 1885 and 1993 when it was closed by the national government.[3] It remained disused and abandoned until 2012 when the Metrotranvía was inaugurated. The administrative building was reopened as a cultural centre named "Estación Cultural",[4] while the main station building was completely remodelled when Metrotranvía extended to Las Heras in 2019.[5]

History
Mendoza station in 1890

The station was opened in 1885 by state-owned Ferrocarril Andino, then taken over by British operator Buenos Aires and Pacific Railway, which managed all railway services in Argentine central west. Mendoza was one of the stations that connected the Cuyo region with the city of Buenos Aires[1][6] until 1993 when the administration led by Carlos Menem closed all the long-distance passenger train services.[3][7][8]

Several services ran between Buenos Aires and San Juan (with stop in Mendoza), some of them were "El Zonda", "El Sanjuanino", and an express and faster one ("El Libertador", which took 12h 45').[6][1]

Mendoza station's deterioration as seen in 2013

After the services to Mendoza and other provinces in Cuyo region were cancelled in 1993, Mendoza station remained abandoned. Since its closure, Mendoza steadily deteriorated with some of its structures being stolen or vandalised.[1] In 2012, the Government of Mendoza opened the "Metrotranvía Mendoza", a light rail system that ran on former San Martín Railway tracks. The Mendoza station was partially refurbished to operate the service, but works did not include the main building, which remained abandoned and vandalised.[1]

When the provincial government started works to extend the Metrotranvía line to the city of Panquehua in Las Heras Department at a cost of AR$224 million in 2014, the original building of Mendoza station was completely refurbished. Although works were intended to be completed in 2016,[9] the station was not finished until 2019,[5] when the Mendoza – Panquehua section was inaugurated.[10][11][12]

The administrative building located at the corner of Av. Perú and Av. Las Heras was reopened as a cultural center, administered by the Municipality of Mendoza.[4]

Historic operators
Company Period
Argentina Ferrocarril Andino1885–1887
United Kingdom Argentine Great Western Railway1887–1907
United Kingdom Buenos Aires and Pacific Railway1907–1948
Argentina Ferrocarriles Argentinos1948–1993
Argentina Sociedad de Transporte de Mendoza [n 1]2012–present
Notes
  1. Operator of Metrotranvía Mendoza which serves the line.
  • El Aconcagua at Mendoza, c. 1990
    El Aconcagua at Mendoza, c. 1990
  • Platform and bridge, 2008
    Platform and bridge, 2008
  • Deteriorated platform and building
    Deteriorated platform and building
  • Train at the station 2008
    Train at the station 2008
  • Signals in 2014
    Signals in 2014
  • Main building before restoration
    Main building before restoration
  • View of the offices
    View of the offices
  • Cultural Center, 2015
    Cultural Center, 2015

References
  1. "Estación Mendoza" on Horizonte Ferroviaro, 29 Aug 2014
  2. Zavala Tello, Ignacio (20 August 2013). "El Metrotranvía cumplió un año y tiene 5.000 usuarios por día" [The Metrotranvía has been in service for one year and has 5,000 users per day]. Diario Uno (in Spanish). Mendoza, Argentina. Retrieved 2014-10-26.
  3. Clarín.com (1997-05-25). "Ramal que cierra, pueblo que muere". Clarín (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-08-31.
  4. Conocé los talleres que ofrece la Estación Cultural de Ciudad on Sitio Andino, 7 Jul 2021
  5. "Así quedó la vieja estación Mendoza" by Estefanía Scortichini on Los Andes, 11 Dec 2018
  6. Recuerdos e historias de los viajes de Junín a Mendoza on Diariodemocracia, 5 Sep 2021
  7. "Página/12 De la resistencia a la recuperación". www.pagina12.com.ar (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-08-31.
  8. COMO PERDIMOS EL FERROCARRIL ARGENTINO on Ancaloo.com.ar, 29Sep 2008
  9. Preparan el terreno para los rieles del Metrotranvía a Las Heras by Miguel Títiro on Los Andes
  10. Habilitaron la extensión del Metrotranvía de Mendoza a Las Heras at "En el Subte", 7 May 2019
  11. Llegó el Metrotranvía a Las Heras at Unidiversidad.com.ar, 6 May 2019
  12. Comenzó a funcionar el nuevo recorrido del Metrotranvía hacia Las Heras at Rieles.com, 7 May 2019
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