Gov't announces replacement of 7,000km of railway lines

The national government has presented today a massive transport infrastructure program intended to replace 7,000 kilometres of railways nationwide.

The measure, announced by Transport Secretary Alejandro Ramos and Industry Minister Débora Giorgi at the Economy Ministry, will affect both passengers and cargo train services.

Numerous businessmen were invited to the presentation as the program contemplates the promotion of local providers in order to replace imports.

The announcement came after President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner's last week televised speech in which she along with Federal Planning Minister Julio De Vido remarked the importance of rail transport to then surprised everybody announcing the remodeling and reopening of the train work-shops of Tafí Viejo in Tucumán province built by former President Juan Domingo Perón in the mid 1940s, and permanetly closed since 1987.

Since the arrival of the Kirchnerism in 2003, bombastic official announcements for the reopening as well the creation of job posts for the forgotten shops have been made five times. 

Thus, former ruler Néstor Kirchner did his part in 2003, 2004 and 2006. In 2008 was the turn of the current Head of State, who repeated the pattern last week.    

When fully operational, the shops used to employ 20,000 people (direct and indirect positions).