Córdoba-Buenos Aires by train: between the economic issue and the emotion of traveling

Although for most Cordoba traveling by long distance train is a rather unusual fact, there are those who choose to move on the historic rails that connect to Argentina, in an act that mixes nostalgia, emotions and economy.

Those who long for the times of splendor of the railroads, who enjoy the peculiarity of a trip without trouble, to observe from their cabin an imposing sunrise about infinite fields, for them, getting on a train is much more than moving from a place toother.

A little over a month ago the sale of long-distance tickets was rehabilitated and today it is almost impossible to get tickets to make the Córdoba-Buenos Aires section, which manages the state Argentine trains.

Prices

In terms of prices there is no comparison.While the train passage to Buenos Aires costs 500 pesos in First, 600 pesos in Pullman and 1.750 pesos in Camarote for two people, the same collective trip starts in a little less than three thousand pesos in a semicama car and can reach four thousand in a bed or executive car.

Train tickets can be bought online with a 10 percent discount.Meanwhile, there is a 40 percent discount for retirees and 50 percent for children under 12 years.Children under 3 years old who do not take a seat travel for free.

The big differences are in the frequency and duration of the trip.From the Miter de Córdoba station, you can only go to retirement on Thursdays and Sundays at 15.30, while for the reverse section there are only available services Monday and Friday at 9 p.m..30.

The collective takes an average of nine hours, while it is stipulated that the train, whose speed for this section does not exceed 38 km/h, late 19 hours, although it is usually delayed up to 22 or 23 hours to reach destination.

Many users point out, precisely, the question of travel time as the most unfavorable aspect to get on the railroad.But, at the same time, the "Pachorra" of this historical means of transport allows passengers to link and create ties that are unimaginable on a collective trip.

stories

"I take the train because I not only seek to get to destination," said the writer and journalist Utz Gregorczuk - but because I like what is generated in that space.The encounter with people, to be able to chat, share.The train is a community where anecdotes, stories are generated.And to me, as a writer, what I like most is to collect those stories to be able to tell them ”.

"Upon train everyone helps.If you are missing something, whether yerba or a charger, someone always appears to give you a hand.On a trip, a woman fell asleep and could not get off at the corresponding station;And as she got out of the next, they all made a "vaquita" to help her pay the taxi, "added the woman, for whom the service on board" is much better than that of the collective ".

To mitigate the amount of hours above the car, Gregorczuk plans a kind of routine, which includes from reading, working and doing pending things."If you take the trip as an instance to cross and have no hurry, the distances are short," he closed.

Sandra Borello is 52 years old and lives a time in Buenos Aires and another in Capilla del Monte.As UTZ, he is a frequent user of the long distance railway.“I choose the train for different factors, including the ties that are generated with the other passengers.Moments are shared and links that last over time are forged, ”he said.

"But I also choose this means of transport for security.Many complain about the amount of hours, but for me it is not annoying.From land transport, it is the safest to travel, ”he said.

The passengers consulted say that every three hours cleaning employees disinfect the bathrooms and replenish hygienic paper, soap and gel alcohol.

Services

As reported from Argentine trains, in January of this year almost six thousand passengers made the Córdoba-Buenos Aires section, or vice versa, a little less than the eight thousand who did it in January 2019, before the pandemic.

In addition to the locomotive, the train consists of 11 wagons, where the 350 seats offered to travel in First, Pullman and Camarote are distributed.

All first class cars have cold/heat air conditioning and reclining seats in rows of two.In the middle of the car there is a table with confronted seats.

They have hot and cold water dispenser, plugs at both ends of the car and in the sink.The bathrooms are located at the ends of the car, one for ladies and one for gentlemen.

Pullman category seats are wider than first class.This space allows the access of people with reduced mobility, as it has a place for a wheelchair and adapted bathroom.

The cabin, meanwhile, consists of two beds (a bunn.

Marcelo Ortiz, 57, lives in Buenos Aires, but for work he travels almost every week to Córdoba.And he does it on the train.“I made the first trip when the train returned in 2005.And from there I didn't stop.I choose it for an economic and also affective issue.My dad was a machinist, ”he said.

"I feel safe above the train.And I also share with the boys who work there.I am a friend and we eat together in the dining car.Service and attention are excellent, ”he said.

"Contra is the amount of hours.And a little comfort.As they are Chinese cars, the seats are not so fluffy and recline less than the cars that were before.And it becomes heavy to travel 22 hours like this, ”he said.

Long trip

Until 2014, the company that operated the service made by the Buenos Aires-Córdoba section was Ferrocentral.Almost six years ago, the state Argentine trains was created, which is the current rail operator.The roads through long -distance trains depend on the new Argentine central private concessionaire (owned by the general oil company).This data is not less, since this “owner” company of the infrastructure is what imposes the conditions (speed, load) to circulate on its roads.

"I choose to travel by train for several reasons," Marina Pelazzo had. ".It is very economical and apart you have great freedom to move.The people who travel are in the same as you, there is a lot of solidarity among passengers.Of so many hours sharing the car, it ends up making a big family ”.

“I don't usually sleep on the trip so I always take a book and music at Celu.But what entertains me most is to observe the outside and inside.The amounts of stories that are created inside a train are countless.Many become friends on the trip, especially older people.His life stories are told, and one is there, which spectator, ”he added.

“While the trip is long and the seats are not comfortable, I still choose it.It is not my idea to romantize the train, because the truth is that the vast majority who choose this transport, including me, does so for an economic issue.If this medium did not exist and at this price, I doubt that many of those people could pay for the micro or plane trip.But this great emphasize and recover the value of the train ”, closed.