Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Randazzo: ‘Trains are a disaster’

Interior and Transport Minister Florencio Randazzo yesterday held a video conference with Chinese Company CSR’s heads, manufacturers of the new carriages for the Sarmiento and Mitre train lines, who confirmed that the carriages “will arrive in Argentina in the next 13 months.”

Randazzo, with other members from his Ministry, highlighted to the Chinese businessmen “the importance of strictly complying with the determined deadline for the delivery of the 25 carriages for the Sarmiento and 30 for the Mitre service.”

Randazzo acknowledged that the Mitre and Sarmiento trainlines “are a disaster,” adding that the delays in the service “will continue to occur.”

“There are delays, and they will continue occurring. The Mitre and Sarmiento are a disaster,” he said.

In relation to the Sarmiento service, which runs between the Moreno and Once stations, “it’s currently working with 12 trains,” said the minister, adding that the 25 new ones purchased by the national government will be delivered “next year.”

The “maximum and optimum” number of trains that can travel along this line “are 21,” said Randazzo.

A few days away from the first anniversary of the Once train station tragedy, which occurred on February 22, 2012, and resulted in the deaths of 51 people, Randazzo said that what has to be done in order to honour the victims is “to work everyday so we have a better Sarmiento.”

The working plans for the Sarmiento and Mitre service include rail track improvements; carriage maintenance; train station restorations; refurbishment of the Once train station; a new train schedule information system, and the refurbishment of train crossings, among others.