Tucumán Ferrocarriles
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Railway transport |
| Founded | 1997 |
| Founder | David Giménez |
| Defunct | 2000 |
| Headquarters | Argentina |
Area served | Buenos Aires–Tucumán route |
Key people | David Giménez (initial chairman), Viviana Totongi (general manager) |
| Products | Passenger rail transport |
Tucumán Ferrocarriles S.A. (TUFESA) was an Argentine enterprise managing a railway route connecting Buenos Aires and Tucumán. This line was part of the Mitre Railway system following its nationalisation in 1948.
History
After the railway privatisation process initiated under President Carlos Menem, the Tucumán provincial authorities obtained a concession in 1992 to operate the route, launching a service named El Tucumano, which operated briefly.
When El Tucumano ceased operations in 1997, Tucumán opened a bidding process for the train service. The concession was granted to TUFESA, initially chaired by David Giménez. The company operated an express train making limited stops at La Banda, Colonia Dorá, and Rosario Norte, utilizing diesel locomotives such as the EMD GT-22 and Alco RSD-16 models. Following Giménez’s exit, Viviana Totongi took over as general manager during a period marked by financial strain. TUFESA launched a regular service with four weekly trips to Tucumán and showed signs of recovery, though political interference impeded further advancement.
Persistent financial difficulties combined with political obstacles led to the termination of TUFESA’s concession in 2000, resulting in the suspension of passenger operations. Subsequently, in 2002, NOA Ferrocarriles S.A. assumed control with the introduction of El Jardín de la República, a 24-hour journey between Buenos Aires and Tucumán; however, service reliability remained inconsistent.
In 2005, following the revocation of NOA’s concession by Tucumán’s government, private company Ferrocentral took over the services to Tucumán and has maintained consistent operations since then.