The Urquiza Cargo railway will reach Paraguay again after seven years without services, After the successful completion of the circulation test carried out through the Posadas-Encarnación San Roque González de Santa Cruz International Bridge, sources from Trenes Argentinos Cargas (TAC) reported.
This will make it possible to extend the route and increase the loads transported, strengthening logistics, as well as the development of regional economies.
According to spokespersons for the portfolio, the reconnection and reactivation of rail services is a priority of the Ministry of Transport led by Alexis Guerrera, and is one of the objectives set by Daniel Vispo, head of TAC, within the framework of the reactivation of the Mesopotamian line and as part of the Transportation Modernization Plan, it continues.
Vispo faced the challenge, two years ago, of enhancing the value of the Urquiza line and for this reestablished the circulation of the 146 kilometers that link Santo Tomé, Corrientes, with Garupá, in Misiones; that due to a decision of the previous conduction they had left the railway out of logistics in that extensive section.
During these 24 months, the line went from transporting an average of 25,000 tons per month to 40,000 even reaching the record of 48,528 tons dispatched in May 2022, reaching 2011 records. Seven customers were added and reincorporated and the transport of cement and cellulose pulp between Misiones and Buenos Aires, the two heads of the line, was recovered.
This growth was achieved despite two unexpected brakes: the Covid-19 pandemic Y the forest fires occurred in March of this year in Corrientes, which kept the track affected for two months, in which the works with more personnel were doubled so that the road is operational again in record time.
?????@TALoads comes back to Paraguay!
We successfully carried out the test so that after 7 years the #UrquizaCargas reach Paraguay again through the Posadas – Encarnación pass.#TransportModernizationPlan#GrowthOnTheGo pic.twitter.com/8cj5aA6itT
— Ministry of Transport (@MindeTransporte) July 28, 2022
Refering to diversity of cargo that runs through the Mesopotamian roads, aggregates (crushed stone) are the main product originating in Corrientes, followed by general cargo, which includes thinning, cement and cellulose paste in its Buenos Aires-Misiones flow and vice versa. Finally, and not least, the agricultural segment from Entre Ríos.
In 2021, three maintenance works were carried out and completed and four others are currently underway. The fact to note is that these rail infrastructure refurbishment projects take place in strategic sectors that cover nearly 100 kilometers and that will improve the safety and stability of the formations.
The total number of active tracks on the Urquiza line amounts to 1,500 passing through Buenos Aires, Entre Ríos, Corrientes and Misiones. They are covered with 14 locomotives and 947 wagons; all mobilized by the operation of 571 workers. The recovery of the northern headwaters was the first strategic step in the scheme of this management.
Meanwhile, the load amplification potentials, in addition to continuing to add customers, The recovery of international traffic between Posadas in Misiones and Encarnación in Paraguay is now projected.
