Tren al Desarrollo (in English: "Train to Development") is an elevated commuter rail service between the cities of Santiago del Estero (from the "Forum" station) and La Banda (with also a new building) in Santiago del Estero Province. Trains run on a track on a viaduct generally following the former Mitre Railway alignment. The line also crosses the Puente Negro, a bridge that had been closed for over 40 years."Tren al Desarrollo, obra pronto a ser inaugurada", SDE Government
In the beginning, the project only planned a -long line, then extended to . length to reach La Banda."Randazzo visitó la futura estación del "Tren al Desarrollo" en Santiago del Estero", Telam, 17 Jun 2014"Randazzo visitó la futura estación del "Tren al Desarrollo", en Santiago del Estero", La Gaceta, 18 Jun 2014
The rolling stock used is railbuses made by Argentine company TecnoTren."Santiago del Estero: La estación Fórum del Tren del Desarrollo impacta por su diseño" on Crónica Ferroviaria, 11 May 2015 Each unit has a capacity of 100 passengers (70 seated). The journey time is about 25 minutes."Iniciarán pruebas del Tren al Desarrollo en la estación Fórum", El Liberal, 12 May 2015 Santiago Centro terminus station was inaugurated in May 2015."La gobernadora y Randazzo inauguraron el Tren al Desarrollo", Government of Santiago del Estero, 14 May 2015
The route has a total of four stations, with three of them having been specially built for the occasion, Forum (terminus), Botánico (with access to the botanical garden and Estadio Único Madre de Ciudades), and Nodo Tecnológico (in the industrial park of the city). The path finishes in La Banda, which was refurbished for that purpose."Difunden cómo será el Tren al Desarrollo que tendrá Santiago del Estero", Noroeste Santafesino website The entire route from Forum to Banda is on a viaduct to avoid interfering with road traffic."Visita oficial al Tren del Desarrollo", Rieles.com, 13 May 2015"En un año estaría concluido y listo para inaugurar Tren al Desarrollo", Nuevo Diario web, 13 May 2015
In September 2016, the first section between Santiago and Nodo Tecnológico was opened. The next section of La Banda was opened in March 2017."Claudia de Zamora inauguró el primer tramo del Tren al Desarrollo", El Liberal, 19 Sep 2016
There were also plans to reach Termas de Río Hondo, one of the main attractions of the Province,"El tren al desarrollo unirá Santiago, Banda y Las Termas", El Liberal, 18 Jun 2014 and another extension to San Miguel de Tucumán,"El Tren al Desarrollo unirá Santiago del Estero y Tucumán", Cadena3, 20 Jun 2014 although it has not been carried out.
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