Minister of the Interior and Transport Florencio Randazzo (photo by Cesar Auspitz on Wikipedia)

Minister of the Interior and Transport, Florencio Randazzo, and Security Secretary, Sergio Berni, announced today that they will increase the presence of security forces on main railway lines.

Randazzo announced that they will expand the presence of federal security forces to guard the stations of main railway branches, including the Mitre and Sarmiento lines. Randazzo spoke of the upcoming increase in the number of coast guards and gendarmes patrolling, and anticipated that there will also be a higher presence within cars.

Randazzo announced that “it was determined that the priority is the coverage of railway lines, so a reallocation of tasks was ordered”, and that “there will be some officers performing overtime.” The Minister also announced that there would be 2,000 new agents on the lines in the forthcoming months.

During the press conference held at the Casa del Gobierno, Randazzo spoke of how the good results obtained from the implementation of the plan in some of the stations on the Mitre line had led President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner to extend the programme, in order to ensure the safety of users.

Randazzo continued by announcing that “there will be 47 stations covered, we have determined the stations of greater conflict, and we intend for both coast guards and gendarmes to be present, and because most of the crimes occur when there is the least amount of passengers, it is during these times when we will have officers going into the carriages.”

In addition, the Minister explained that from tomorrow they will expand the presence of security forces on the Mitre, Sarmiento, Urquiza and Belgrano Sur stations, and said that from Monday the plan will be implemented on the San Martín and Roca lines.

The announcement comes after an incident on a train in the Sarmiento line this weekend when someone set fire to a mattress and threw it onto the tracks. Passengers panicked and attempted to flee the train, leading 10 people to suffer minor injuries. The incident occurred 500 metres from Once station, and staff are still attempting to identify the person responsible from CCTV footage, although it has been suggested that the situation was a “sabotage” against the company running the service.

On the one-year anniversary of one of the worst train accidents in Argentine history, thousands of demonstrators gathered in Plaza de Mayo last Friday to honour the lives of victims and call for change from the government.

This accident, known as the Once tragedy, caused 51 deaths and 703 injuries. The contract of Trenes de Buenos Aires (TBA), the company that was operating the line at the time of the crash, has since been terminated, leaving the management of the system to a conglomerate that includes both state and private operators. Beyond the new management, officials have promised change in the form of revolutionised train systems. Twenty-eight people are under investigation for criminal charges surrounding the incident.

Protesters gathered at Plaza de Mayo demanding justice for the victims (photo by Stephanie Halovanic)

Despite these measures, many of Friday’s demonstrators claim that nothing has really changed, and that the government’s response has been nothing more than a symbolic gesture to appease public outcry.

Halfway through the demonstration, Roberto Ramos, a 23-year-old survivor of the crash, took off his shirt and changed into one he had bought in the plaza, emblazoned with the words “JUSTICIA PARA LAS VÍCTIMAS DE LA TRAGEDIA DE ONCE” (Justice for the victims of the Once Tragedy) in bright red and black. Ramos said that he came to demand that the government provide financial, psychological, and medical help to victims of the tragedy and their families.

“The truth is, after the accident, my life changed a lot,” he said. “I couldn’t work for four months, and the psychological effects continue every day. I barely sleep. I cannot ride trains anymore. I have to find new ways to get to work.”

Three of his family members accompanied him to the protest, and he held them closely as relatives of the tragedy’s victims spoke on stage.

“The people who lost family members have suffered a worse injury than I did; I am here to support them,” he said. “The government has not done anything since the tragedy. We have already suffered too many deaths because of the political corruption in this country. This cannot continue.”

The Crash

The tragedy occurred on 22nd February 2012, when the Sarmiento train line failed to brake on time and crashed into the shock absorbers at  Once station. It occurred during rush hour and the train was transporting over 1,200 people at the time.

Although the crash at Once was one of the more fatal train accidents in Argentine history, accidents are far from rare. According to a report from Clarín newspaper, between January and July 2012, there were more than 1,200 accidents and 190 deaths on the main lines of Mitre, Roca, Belgrano Norte , Urquiza, and Sarmiento, where the Once accident occurred. Those 190 deaths include 61 suicides and the 51 deaths from the Once tragedy.

The accident happened a year ago (photo by Beatrice Murch)

“These numbers are an example of what a terrible state the trains and stations are in,” train engineer Norberto Rosendo told Clarín. “The cars are overloaded with people, and the safety conditions are insufficient. People do not ride on top of the train, clinging to the cars, because they want to, but because there is no space inside.”

TBA has blamed the Once tragedy on “human error.” However, the 28-year-old train driver Marcos Antonio Córdoba said he tried to brake twice, but the mechanism failed.

Leonardo Andrada, a key witness in the accident, testified that the train left from the Moreno station for the Once station 20 minutes late, causing the conductor to drive too fast and take on too many people to compensate. Andrada was murdered two weeks ago, prompting an investigation. His attackers stole his mobile phone but did not take any of the other belongings including a rucksack and over $1,200 in cash. This caused Sergio Berni, Security Secretary, to call an investigation into his death. “There is no doubt that the circumstances are suspicious,” he said. “The judiciary needs to fully examine what happened and make a conclusion.”

Renovation 

After relentless public criticism, in 2012 the government announced a series of changes to the railways. In July, Minister of  Interior and Transport Florencio Randazzo -who took over the Transport Secretariat, previously under the Infrastructure Ministry- announced an ambitious plan to fix the Sarmiento line and others. He promised “a new railway” and said the government would renovate nine out of 18 formations on that line.

Minister Randazzo shows the new passenger information system (photo courtesy of Ministry of Interior and Transport)

President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner announced plans to invest US$1bn in the country’s railways, saying they will replace its outdated and dangerous cars with 400 new wagons from China and “revolutionise” the system.

At Friday’s protests, family members of the victims read letter addressing the government’s response to the crash. Constructed by many relatives of the victims, the document was read aloud by María Luján Rey and Paolo Menghini, mother and father of the last victim to be found after the accident, Lucas Meghini. The family members’ document addressed the president’s projects, which have not yet been realised, saying it is too little too late.

“Improving the lines that are devastated by union, business, and state corruption is not a revolution. Completing one’s duties as a public figure is not a revolution. That is an obligation of those who form our government,” Luján Rey read.

Search for Justice

The trial is set to begin in the second half of the year, though the date has not been decided yet, for the 28 people under investigation for the incident. Those charged include two former transport secretaries and two TBA executives, Claudio and Mario Cirigliano, who prosecutors say pocketed billions intended for the trains.

“Justice! Justice for the victims! Justice for the survivors!” the crowd shouted across the Plaza, towards the presidential office on the other side.

The document read by the families also lambasted President Fernández for her inaction in the year since the accident and for the corruption that led up to the tragedy. The president has been criticised for not commenting on the incident until four days after the fact.

Many say ongoing government corruption caused the crash, and that officials had ample warnings. In a document released by the families earlier this year, they said “Why does the executive branch remain silent, without assuming responsibility in the tragedy when their former employees are being charged?”

The newest document continued with the same criticisms of government corruption and silence on the issue.

“What happened on the 22nd February was not an accident, nor the work of a reckless driver — it was a foreseeable tragedy: the product of the disastrous way the service is being run, the product of the excessive ambition and the chaos of officials, businessmen, and workers,” Luján Rey read from the document.

“Justice for the victims of the Once tragedy” (photo by Stephanie Halovanic)

Activist group Frente Popular Darío Santillán handed out stacks of fliers at the event, which read “If it could have been avoided, it was not a tragedy. It was a massacre.”

Daniela Ramos, a spokeswoman for the group, said the government is not doing enough to complete its responsibility to fix the broken public transport system.

“There is no way to give back the lives of those lost to their family members who remain. The only thing the government can do is work to ensure this never happens again, and they have an obligation to do so.

“The working public needs public transport to get to work and get home after work safely. And right now that is not possible because of how much the public transport has deteriorated. We believe that a safe way of public transport is a right, not a negotiation,” she added.

Safe transport is a priority for protesters, but government accountability is the message that rang out above all other demands.

“Wherever they are from, whatever they call themselves, murderers are murderers, corrupt (people) are corrupt, and accomplices are accomplices. Because of this, they should be judged and condemned, ” Paolo Menghini shouted.

María Luján Rey then added, to roaring applause from the audience, “The Once tragedy was the consequence of the choice of some to line their pockets without caring about the consequences. They acted with complete disregard to life, thinking themselves immune to punishment. Today, we fight to end this impunity.”

How do Argentines think the Once tragedy has been handled by the government? Click here to find out.

The Interior and Transport Minister Florencio Randazzo announced that 400 gendarmes will start patrolling the Sarmiento and Mitre lines starting tomorrow.

“We will double the number of agents in order to ensure security on the Mitre and Sarmiento lines”, said Randazzo at a press conference held at the Casa Rosada.

Randazzo added that President Fernandez is behind the new measures and that newly mobilised police officers would focus on “stations with the most conflicts and the biggest number of passengers”. He also said they would be mobile in order to deal with problems when and where they occur.

The minister announced that federal police presence would be stepped up at Constitución, Retiro and Once the three main train hubs in Buenos Aires.

These new security measures come into place after the two lines concerned were paralysed by strikes last week following an attack on a security guard on the Mitre line.

The Argentine Gendarmerie counts 42,000 policemen and its primary role is to ensure national security along the countries border and national premises on foreign soil. They also are responsible for some high security complexes inside the country such as nuclear plants.

Metrovías today announced a 20 train reduction to the subte network, prompting new calls from the national government for an agreement on the long term contract.  Interior and transport minister Florencio Randazzo delivered a press conference today at midday to call for Buenos Aires city mayor Mauricio Macri to take responsibility for the subte. The national and city government signed an agreement on the 3^rd January which Marci continues to dispute.

Metrovías have announced the decision to withdraw 20 train coaches from the six line subte network as well as other reductions to the Premetro lines. The company has announced cuts to the service claiming they do not have enough money to cover maintenance on all lines.

“In light of the irresponsibility of Metrovías in failing to deliver an effective and adequate service appropriate to the thousands of people that use it, we feel obligated to speak out because this is something that affects us directly,” confirmed a spokesperson from the union of subte and premetro workers (AGTSyP).

The union has called a state of emergency and declared its readiness to strike.

The national and city governments have failed to reach an agreement on who will manage the service. On the 3^rd January a contract was signed to hand over power to the city government. With this, Macri accepted a reduction in national subsidies for an increase in economic control. However he now denies the validity of this contract and is refusing to acknowledge an agreement.

Randazzo said this morning that the national government has already handed money over to the city government accounts and upheld their side of the deal Macri continues to dispute.

“$210 million have already been transferred [to the city]” said Randazzo, on the transfer of the contract from the national to the city government. “$102 million are for operational expenses, and $108 million for maintenance and investment”.

Issues with the subte have been a source of constant tension between the national and city government since privatisation in 1994. In January of this year, Buenos Aires city mayor, Mauricio Macri signed an agreement to return the contract to city control. The handover meant a drastic reduction in subsidy levels given by the national government, for which Macri was compensated with the final say in all economic issues.

Problems came to a head on with the tragic February Once train crash. Macri immediately denied his desire to take over the network and problems with consistent lack of investment and long term management continue.

“The subte is the responsibility of the city government” said Randazzo earlier today.

To a distracted spectator, President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and Buenos Aires Mayor Mauricio Macri fighting over the subte looks like two children passing each other the hot potato.

Waiting in long lines for the buses on a day without a subte strike. (Photo: Beatrice Murch)

While the debate over who the subte really belongs to continues, its workers went on strike to demand better working conditions and pushed the city to the brink of collapse for 36 hours. It was the eleventh strike since the beginning of the year, and the above-mentioned distracted spectator was forced to wait endless hours in line to catch a bus crammed with people, trying to make their way around the jam-packed roads of the city.

A twelfth strike that threatened to last 72 hours was avoided at the last minute when the subte workers’ unions and operator Metrovias S.A. came to an agreement over a 10-15% salary increase, still far from the 28% one demanded.

More than one journalist, however, has defined it “a precarious truce”.

Grupo Roggio, the company controlling Metrovias and holding the concession to run the subte since its privatisation in 1994, “promised money [to its workers], and no one knows where it will come from,” La Nación reported last week, meaning that it is still not clear whether it will be up to the national state or to the city of Buenos Aires to help Metrovias pay the promised salary adjustment.

“The demand is still on. The patching is temporary,” said Roberto Pianelli, representative of one of the two subte workers’ associations, Trade Union for Subte and Premetro (AGTSyP). The deal will last until 1st August, when the parties will meet again to discuss a new agreement.

At the moment, the subte situation is at a legislative no man’s land, and this is not good to anyone. What is there really at stake in the subte dispute?

The Story So Far

The salary dispute of these last days is an indirect consequence of the delayed transition of the subte from national to city control.

The first subway line in South America - Linea A - is constructed under Avenida de Mayo in 1912.

The subte belonged to the city for decades, even before Buenos Aires gained autonomous status through a constitutional reform in 1994. In that year, the underground network was also privatised, and a 20-year concession to run it was granted to Grupo Roggio.

Buenos Aires mayor Mauricio Macri had long demanded the return of the subte to the hands of the city government. Then, at the end of the last year, he agreed with the national government to sign a deal for the handover of the subte on the 3rd January 2012.

The contract stated that the central government, formal owner of the concession granted to Grupo Roggio, transferred “only four of the 16 obligations that the state had with Grupo Roggio,” explains Rafael Gentili, lawyer and representative for the opposition Proyecto Sur party at the Buenos Aires legislature.

“Amongst them, that of checking that the company running the subte fulfils the terms of the licence, and the most important one: the power of setting the fares.”

The city accepted the transfer and the responsibility to have the last say on economic matters – a way to compensate the drastic cut of subsidies that came with the agreement. The state was in fact taking back half of the $740m per year given in subsidies to Metrovias, offering to pay only $360m for the first year and not a single peso from January 2013.

Thanks to state subsidies, fares have remained mostly unchanged since the 2001 crisis, despite the increases in general prices and wages. The day after the deal for the subte transition was sealed, the Buenos Aires government announced a 127% increase in the fares, from $1.10 to $2.50.

The following month, Metrovías informed that it was having ”serious difficulties” paying salaries, due to the cut in subsidies.

During a speech, President Fernández noted that with the 127% price increase in the price of subte tickets, ridership fell by 30%.

The Impact of the Once Train Crash

Once train crash that killed 51 passengers (Photo: Beatrice Murch)

Almost two months into the 90-day transition window established to regulate the legal framework of the transfer, a train on the Sarmiento line crashed on a track bumper at Once station killing 51 people and leaving nearly 700 injured.

“After the tragedy at Once station […] the landscape changed radically. Macri, without money and with audits at hand, was scared that something similar could happen to the subte network,” explains La Nacion’s journalist Pablo Tomino.

“So he launched an escape plan. […] The ending is known: the subte does not belong to anyone. The destiny of an illegitimate child.”

Ever since the tragedy happened, the subte has lied in a sort of limbo, with Macri handing it back to the national government.

For analysts and law experts close to Macri’s party, PRO, the deal signed on the 3rd January was only a pre-agreement that did not get ratified, carrying therefore no legal obligation for Macri; a big majority of commentators argue instead that the document is binding as it clearly states that the City accepts the transfer of the subte concession.

Macri also used the security vacuum caused by the withdrawal of the Federal Police from the platforms as a pretext to reject the transfer, even though Security Minister Nilda Garré said that it had been agreed upon “on the 20th January and ratified on the 27th January” with the Minister of Security for the City of Buenos Aires, Guillermo Montenegro.

The quarrel soon made it to the courts and to the national congress, where a law was passed on 28th March transferring the subte and a number of bus lines to the jurisdiction of the city. Macri, however, has so far refused to accept responsibility for these services. It is in this context that the subte workers’ wage negotiations took place.

The Russian Roulette: ‘The Subte is just like the Sarmiento Trains’

Those were Macri’s exact words on the 25th May, also adding: “they [the national government] may play Russian roulette with people, I won’t.”

Juan Pablo Piccardo, president of the Buenos Aires Underground State Society (SBASE), a state-owned company responsible for the subte, was sent by Macri to negotiate at the last meeting with trade unions. There, he complained that the lack of investments in the past 10 years have led to a “faulty service, with too-small a network, 100-year old trains and saturated subte lines.”

The subte transports between 1.2 and 1.6 million passengers per day. After the 2001 economic crisis, Metrovías was exempted from the responsibility of investing in the expansion of the network and its trains, an obligation that was dumped on the national and local governments. “The company only cared about running the trains,” La Nación wrote in January.

Federal Planification Minister Julio de Vido accused Grupo Roggio and Metrovias of mismanaging the subte concession and subsidies for personal gain at the detriment of commuters.

Recently, the centre-left Proyecto Sur party presented a report on the twisted business model of Grupo Roggio.

“The scheme is summarised in a poor concessioner [running the trains] and an owner gaining a lot of money from this concession,” Gentili points out. “Metrovias is left with the loss-making part of the business, while the owner with the profit-making part of it.”

Gentili’s words are exemplified by the way the publicity business is handled in the underground network.

“Commuters spend 15-20 min in the subte, and throughout this period they are sold ads while they wander around. Also, the underground network is a space up for sale to install high-speed Internet cables or mobile phones network antennas,” Gentili analyses.

Since 2000, the commercial exploitation of advertisement spaces is in the hands of a third-party entity called Metronec SA, also wholly owned by Grupo Roggio.

Metronec paid a monthly canon of US$125,000 plus VAT for 2000-08, and US$166,000 plus VAT for 2008-17 to Metrovias. The business, however, is worth millions and the contract was never updated to current times: Metrovias still receives the same amount of money.

According to Gentili, net losses for Metrovias due to the lack of income related to publicity are around $27 million per year, while the total damage for the company resulting from this “parasitic attitude” could be around $100 million per year all considered. “Metrovias could use this money to improve and finance its service,” Gentili adds.

The newest line - Linea H - at Once (Photo: Beatrice Murch)

Despite Macri’s promises (“are we so stupid that we can’t build 10km of subte per year?”), the underground network of Buenos Aires is still considered inadequate for the capital’s needs, being only 47km long, while other large cities like London and Mexico City have 400km and 202km respectively. As data revealed by the blog Apuntes Urbanos show, in the last 15 years investments worth millions extended the network by an average of only 1.36km per year.

Gentili and various journalists analysing the state of the subte calculate that the underground network needs at least US$100m in investments for network updates, security and expansion.

“Conditions of the service now are worse than they were in 1994 – after 18 years of private management. It is impossible to think about a private investor doing enough investments to run a business [that affects the public],” Gentili points out.

“[The subte] needs long-term investments, while private companies only seek to maximise short-term profits. The state has to intervene. There is no chance for the service to be better if the contract with Metrovias is not terminated”

Gentili also argues that making investments worth US$100m is not a problem for a city like Buenos Aires, “The volume of income in the city is linked to the favourable economic cycle. But a lot of money is lost in corruption,” he says. “Public works are one of the corruption tools in politics. Works are made to last longer, therefore generating more costs for the company.” 

Future Perspectives

On the 4th May, three months after the Once tragedy, minister De Vido announced the termination of the contract with TBA, the company responsible for the management of the Sarmiento and Mitre train lines.

The problematic train lines have been temporarily handed over to a consortium made up of railway management heavyweights Metrovías and Ferrovías.

In 2013 the government is supposed to stop subsidising the subte once and for all, and analysts reckon that by then the cost of the ticket should increase up to $3.70 to avoid a deficient service – or to $4.20, in order for Metrovias to have enough money to make investments.

“Macri will end up taking responsibility for it. In August it shall all be fixed, but this country is really changing,” Gentili says. “However, it seems to me that the government is getting ready to terminate the contract with Metrovias [valid until 2017]. This is the only way to end the litigation without waiting for Macri’s signature of approval.”

“It is a tactical war on the shoulders of the citizens,” he concludes. “It is not clear who benefits from it. […] Clearly it’s not the citizens.”

Three months after a train crash in Buenos Aires left 51 people dead and more than 700 injured, the national government has terminated their contract with Buenos Aires’ Trains (TBA), the company holding the reins at the time.

Federal Planning Minister Julio De Vido announced this afternoon that TBA will lose its hold on the westbound Sarmiento and northbound Mitre lines, which will be handed over to the privately-owned Metrovías and Ferrovías. Metrovías is in charge of running the Subte and the commuters’ Urquiza Line in Buenos Aires, while Ferrovías manages some commuter rail services as well as the Puerto Madero Tramway.

Both Metrovías and Ferrovías – along with TBA, until today – are members of the Emergency Rail Operations Management Unit, which formed in 2004 after transit concessions granted to Metropolitano in 1994 were revoked due to a decline in services.

“TBA has been excluded from the system as an operator and provider of rail service,” De Vido said.

He also said the decision was based on the “the poor state of repair and maintenance, and the deterioration of the capacity and quality of service.”

The deadly 22nd February train crash at Once station had critics of the system calling for the government to end its ties with TBA. Days afterward, Argentine auditor-general Leandro Despouy called for the national government to terminate further contracts with TBA. The Nation’s General Audit also conducted a report in 2008, which denounced the failure of TBA to comply with security regulations.

The federal government announced on the 28th February that it would temporarily take over TBA while an investigation was conducted, though the government had to extend the intervention several times as the investigation went on.

Since the crash, there have been protests from victims and their families. As well, the federal transport minister resigned, and a slew of top train officials were forbidden from leaving the country.

Since the fatal Once train crash on 22 February, which left 51 dead and more than 700 injured, train operator Trains of Buenos Aires (TBA) has come under severe media scrutiny. The company, whose infrastructure has been called “obsolete”, has admitted to serious oversights in its system. At the same time, it has pointed to the failure of the government to invest in the train networks.

The crash, the worst train disaster in Argentina in decades, has brought the issue of poor maintenance and lack of security regulations to the forefront. The Once riot that followed the discovery of the body of Lucas Menghini Rey, 48 hours after the crash, was emblematic of the anger and frustration experienced by many Argentines.

Many of the problems brought to light in recent weeks have been linked to a decades-old system of privatisation and insufficient government investment. A new round of negotiations concerning the handover of the subte from federal to city hands has done nothing to placate the unrest. Rather than addressing the issue, responsibility seems to have been deflected back and forth between governing bodies.

Who, if anyone, is to blame for the disaster? And what does your average commuter think about the trains in their city? The Argentina Independent hit the streets to find out.

Elena Antonich, 55, cleaner, Campana

It’s 20 years since I’ve taken trains on a frequent basis. The service was so bad that I had to resort to taking the bus, even though it can take over an hour longer. The government needs to start investing in our trains. Look at the Once case: the train is always packed full. What Schiavi said annoyed me – that if it had been a bank holiday, there would have been less deaths. And the same thing with Lucas – he shouldn’t have been in that compartment. Well, he had no where else to go….As for the handover  of the subte, even though I don’t agree with Macri on a lot of matters, you can understand where he’s coming from – no wants to take over a business in debt. Money needs to be invested and a press conference needs to be held if we are to move forward.

Matías, 29, literature student, Villa del Parque

The system is – there’s no doubt about it – a disaster. But the problem’s not new. The trains have been in this state for at least 30 years. Have a look at old Argentine films and you’ll see that the subte hasn’t changed a bit. We’re forced to travel like cattle. The trains are old, they’re not maintained : look at what happened in Once last week. Obviously, every politician is responsible in  the upkeep of the system but the problem is much deeper rooted that this latest episode. It goes back to the impact of imperialist nations on a developing country like Argentina.

As for the city takeover – well, that’s all a joke! Nothing is going to change there! When I take the subte in Buenos Aires, I never feel safe – but that’s all part of porteño life – you go out onto the street and you never know what’s going to happen.

Yrma Nelgia, 53, hairdresser, Province of Chaco

I don’t know where all the money is going, but since I was little there has been no progress in the state of the trains in Buenos Aires. They were all privatised, there was never any maintenance; money went into other sectors. Once is the consequence of this lack of attention. What they say is true: there’s no regulations. The trains have always been run by private companies with the consent of the government. The same with the subte: they’ve continued to be subsidised by the government and by private bodies. No one’s interested in anything. The transport secretary, Schiavi, needs to address these issues.

Alejandro Sampayo, 26, administrative worker, Belgrano

The system’s pretty antiquated. There’s been no investment in trains since the 1930s, as always happens in countries like Argentina. The investment that should go into transport ends up in other areas, so it’s no surprise that you get situations like what occurred in Once last week. It’s each man for himself here, and everyone votes for someone who they believe will change the system, but it’s always the same in Argentina. I don’t mean to say it’s the fault of the government. It’s more that people don’t respect one another….The subte improved a little when Macri was first elected but really nothing has changed, the trains still operate like they’re transporting cattle, not people.

Ricardo Nicolichi, 65, Artisan, Guernica

All the governments should be held responsible: from the civic to the military. They’ve never done anything between them. It’s been fifty years now since I begun travelling by train. They had a steam model, then a diesel, and now an electric, but no matter – it’s always been the same – we’ve always travelled like animals. A person of 70 or 80 years of age packed into a carriage like a sardine – there’s not been an ounce of progress. Argentina is lagging behind in terms of its transport system. Today with 3 million inhabitants in the city and 9 million in the province of Buenos Aires, there’s simply not enough space to accommodate everyone. The government needs to build a new train network alongside the current one. If they can build more motorways, why can’t they build more train lines? We have enough land. I don’t know if there’s no money or if we are simply lazy?

Subte workers at Constitución station on Line C this morning allowed free passage for all from 7am as part of union action.

The protest, headed by Néstor Segovia, of the subte workers union, lasted throughout rush hour at the busy junction where the subte meets the overland trains coming in from the suburbs, finishing at 10am.

The union plans further similar action for the rest of the week and didn’t rule out the possibility of taking their protests further and striking. The subte workers are in conflict with the UTA, the only officially recognised railway workers’ union, and want independence and official recognition from the union.

Claudio Dellecarbonara emphasized that today’s protests represented the start of a week of protests to tie in with the arrival of a delegation from the International Workers’ Organization.