The CSR EMU is a series of electric multiple unit cars manufactured by CSR Corporation Limited for use on Buenos Aires' commuter rail network.Broad-gauge Suburban EMU - CSR Corporation Limited As of 2015, the trains operated on three of the city's lines and 705 cars were manufactured, with each line using a different number of cars per train. They were created for use on lines electrified using both third rail and overhead lines.
Background
By 2013, the rolling stock of Buenos Aires' commuter rail network was ageing and deteriorating rapidly. At the same time, high-profile accidents in Flores and Once in previous years had led the national government to revise the concession-based railway privatisation, which was largely blamed for the deterioration of the network. The government thus decided to intervene, revoking concessions to companies such as Trenes de Buenos Aires and setting up Trenes Argentinos to manage the lines."Nueva empresa estatal para el Belgrano Cargas", Página/12, 23 May 2013
This was followed by a series of rolling stock purchases from China CNR Corporation and CSR Corporation Limited (and later some Argentine companies) to replace trains on both the diesel and electrified segments. For the electrified lines, CSR won the contract to provide the electric multiple units, and an order was placed in January 2013 for 405 cars for the Mitre and Sarmiento lines, with another order for 300 cars for the Roca Line signed in August 2013.Decreto 9/2013 - Ministerio del Interior, 10 January 2013.Decisión Administrativa 584/2013 - Ministerio del Interior, 15 August 2013.
The acquisition of the CSR rolling stock was also accompanied by a series of works on all three lines, to accommodate the new trains (e.g. the electrification of the Buenos Aires - La Plata segment on the Roca Line), and to generally improve rail services.Adjudican la última parte de la electrificación del ferrocarril que une Constitución con La Plata - InfoBAE, 5 February 2015. On top of the emergency improvements undertaken following the Once Tragedy,Arranca un plan de obras atrasadas en el tren Mitre - Clarin, 10 August 2012. some of these improvements included the modernisation of stations, raising the height of platforms to match the new trains, incorporating train protection systems, creating new underpasses and rail infrastructure improvements, some of which were also undertaken by the City of Buenos Aires.Randazzo anunció avances en la renovación del Mitre - Sala de Prensa de la Republica Argentina, 16 January 2014.Comenzaron a funcionar seis de los nuevos trenes chinos del Sarmiento - Clarin, 21 July 2014Obras que alivian la circulación, unen barrios y evitan accidentes - Buenos Aires Ciudad, 23 June 2015. However, not all works were finished by the time the CSR EMUs arrived on their respective lines, and some works continued on while they were already running services.Los nuevos trenes del Roca arrancan el 8 de junio - EnElSubte, 22 May 2015.
A further 200 cars were purchased for the Roca Line in 2017 to replace the aging Toshiba EMUs which had exceeded their 30-year lifespan.
Overview
The units were built at CSR's Qingdao factory, a large complex with of covered space.Los trenes que se vienen desde China - Pagina/12, 23 September 2013. The total cost for the 709 cars was $841 million, which also included R&D as well as shipping, or $1.09 million to $1.27 million per car depending on the line, which was noted as being significantly below market prices. In 2014, CSR then purchased the Argentine rolling stock manufacturer Emprendimientos Ferroviarios, in part to establish a place in Argentina to maintain the trains once they were in operation.Company Overview of Emprendimientos Ferroviarios S.A. Emfer S.A. - Bloomberg Business
The trains have a series of features in line with modern rolling stock, such as ABS, air conditioning, CCTV, a train protection system and intelligent doors, while numerous components such as the brakes and traction system were sourced from countries such as Germany, Sweden and Japan.Randazzo expuso sobre la recuperación ferroviaria en Argentina. - Trenes Argentinosa Cargas y Logistica, 24 September 2014. The Roca Line trains have some differences: overhead collection at 25 000 V (instead of 800 V third rail), more (but smaller) windows per car, and no CCTV cameras. The trains began to arrive in February 2014, just 13 months after the order was signed.
Usage
The electric multiple units are used on all of Buenos Aires' electrified commuter rail lines, with the exception of the Urquiza Line which uses Japanese Toshiba EMUs.Historia - Metrovias The Belgrano Sur line had diesel multiple units with a similar appearance to the CSR electric multiple units, which arrived in the country from 2015.Presentaron los trenes 0 km de la línea Belgrano Sur: llegarán al país en junio - La Nacion, 20 April 2015. The San Martín Line also saw new rolling stock from CSR, but in the form of CSR SDD7 diesel-electric locomotives, while the Belgrano Norte line has seen the incorporation of Argentine-built EMEPA DMUs.Los nuevos trenes chinos en el San Martín - La Nacion, 26 October 2013. Servicio diferencial en la Línea Belgrano Norte con coches motores "Alerce" - Crónica Ferroviaria, 26 March 2015
The Sarmiento Line was the first to begin operating the CSR trains in July 2014, followed by the Mitre Line and then the Roca Line. In the case of the Mitre and Sarmiento lines, the CSR EMUs make up the entirety of the electric rolling stock, while diesel segments such as the Victoria - Capilla del Señor route on the Mitre Line use Argentine-built Materfer CMM 400-2 DMUs.Incorporan nuevos trenes y servicios en el Victoria – Capilla - EnElSubte, 13 April 2015. The first Roca Line trains began arriving in 2015, continuing to arrive throughout the year, and began to be integrated in June 2015. These are running alongside the existing Toshiba rolling stock purchased in 1985.Avanza la obra de electrificación del Roca - EnElSubte, 18 June 2015.
All the trains are operated by the state-owned Trenes Argentinos, which is now a part of the larger Ferrocarriles Argentinos umbrella company.Formalizan la estatización del San Martín, el Mitre y el Belgrano Sur - Diario Registrado, 2 March 2015.
Gallery
See also
CSR SDD7 - Locomotive manufactured by the same company for the San Martin Line CNR CKD8 - Other Chinese rolling stock in Argentina CITIC-CNR - Chinese underground cars for the Buenos Aires Underground Rail transport in Argentina
References