Nuevo Central Argentino
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Rail transport |
| Founded | December 23, 1992 |
| Headquarters | Rosario , Argentina |
Area served | Buenos Aires, Santa Fe, Córdoba, Santiago del Estero, Tucumán provinces |
| Products | Freight rail transport |
| Owner | Aceitera General Deheza S.A. |
Nuevo Central Argentino S. A. (NCA) is a privately held Argentine company that operates the former Mitre Railway segment of Ferrocarriles Argentinos under a concession granted on 23 December 1992 amid the railway privatisation initiatives during President Carlos Menem's administration.
NCA oversees nearly 5,000 kilometers of Indian gauge freight rail infrastructure spanning the provinces of Buenos Aires, Santa Fe, Córdoba, Santiago del Estero, and Tucumán. The company’s main office is located in Rosario, Santa Fe. It also manages storage facilities in Rosario, Villa Gobernador Gálvez, and Villa María (Córdoba), with operational hubs situated in Colombres and Córdoba City, alongside transfer stations in San Miguel de Tucumán and Retiro, Buenos Aires.
Owned by Aceitera General Deheza S.A., NCA played a crucial role in Argentina's freight rail industry by transporting 7.4 million tonnes of cargo in 2014.
History
During the early 1990s, the state-owned Ferrocarriles Argentinos was experiencing severe financial difficulties. To address this, National Decree N° 520/91 established the residual entity FEMESA to manage urban passenger services within Buenos Aires, while Ferrocarriles Argentinos continued to handle freight and long-distance passenger transport.
On March 10, 1993, President Carlos Menem issued a decree terminating all interurban passenger rail services, delegating their potential revival to provincial authorities. In terms of freight operations, the government initiated a bidding process for line concessions, requiring consortia to pay fees to the state. In April 2002, the private consortium Nuevo Central Argentino (NCA)—comprising Aceitera General Deheza, Banco Francés del Río de la Plata, Asociación de Cooperativas Argentinas, and Román Marítima—secured the contract to operate and maintain the Ferrocarril Mitre network.
NCA commenced its services on December 23, 1992, managing train operations across Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Santa Fe, Santiago del Estero, and Tucumán provinces over extensive rail lines. The consortium established its headquarters in Rosario, Santa Fe.
At the beginning of its concession, Ferrocarriles Argentinos was operating only 45% of the network due to track degradation and insufficient ballast. NCA inherited a fleet consisting of 63 diesel locomotives—only 23 of which were operational—and 5,354 freight wagons with approximately 60% deemed serviceable.