Trenes Argentinos Cargas (TAC) transported 15% more cargo in 2020 compared to 2019According to sources from the operator, which is dependent on the Ministry of Transport, this was mainly due to the recovery of customers, reactivation of routes and diversification of products.
The agency, responsible for managing the three state cargo lines - Belgrano, San Martín and Urquiza -, closed 2020 with a total of 6.146.039 tons compared to the 5.347.411 recorded the previous yearThis was the best TAC record in the last 10 years, which is part of the strategic plan that promotes measures to enhance all modes of transport and benefit regional economies throughout the country.
About, Transport Minister Mario Meoni said that “with President Alberto Fernández supporting us in our strategic vision, we are moving forward with the development of freight rail to connect all productive provinces with our ports.”"We do this because we understand that it is the best way to achieve a truly federal development of the country. The investment in our trains is already translating into a significant increase in the number of tons transported and that, ultimately, means more growth and more work throughout the entire country," he said.
Within these cargo volumes, although 65% of the transported tons correspond to the dispatch of grainsDuring the pandemic, work was done on cargo diversification, with which many of the products from the regional economies of NOA, Cuyo and Mesopotamia reached historic records during the year. At this point, sugar stands out from Jujuy to the provinces of Santa Fe and Buenos Aires with numbers that had not been achieved since 2010; coke coal surpassed its record with more than 26 thousand tons in one month from Mendoza and destined for the YPF refinery in La Plata and also from the province of Cuyo, the transport of gypsum was recovered after 17 years.
In relation to aggregates, clinker and limestone consolidated records with origin in Mendoza and Jujuy. Meanwhile, flux, an essential raw material for the manufacture of steel, exceeded 53.000 tons during September, a number that had not been reached since 2013. Regarding the Mesopotamian line, which this year once again covered its entire route between Zárate in Buenos Aires and Garupá, Misiones, the increase in the transport of stone was highlighted, from Curuzú Cuatiá, in Corrientes, destined for Irazusta and Enrique Carbó in Entre Ríos and Zárate in Buenos Aires. Regarding pine logs, which go from Corrientes to the Entre Ríos ports of Ibicuy, in October and November of last year, the transported tons were doubled in relation to the same period in 2019, which was added to the recovery of the transport of cellulose pulp and cement between Misiones and Buenos Aires.
Trenes Argentinos highlighted the confidence of clients who invested in railway detours for direct loading of grains in the provinces of Chaco and Salta, while beverage, food, construction materials and paper derivatives companies from different parts of the country again chose the railway as their means of transport. “The support of ministerial authorities, unions, suppliers and contractors, clients and of course the commitment of workers was the key to closing this year with these results,” said TAC president Daniel Vispo.
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