Tren al Desarrollo
Tren al Desarrollo is an elevated commuter rail service between the cities of Santiago del Estero and La Banda in Santiago del Estero Province. Trains run on Mitre Railway tracks were disused. The line also crosses the Puente Negro, a bridge that had been closed for over 40 years.
At the beginning, the project only planned a 4 km-long line, then extended to 8 km. length to reach La Banda.
Rolling stock used are railbuses made by Argentine company TecnoTren. Each unit has a capacity of 100 passengers. The journey time will be about 25 minutes. Santiago Centro terminus station was inaugurated in May 2015.
A total of 3 new stations were projected to built, "Botánico", "Parque Tecnológico" and "Banda", terminus of the line. The total path from Forum to Banda stations will be a 5,10 metre-high viaduct to avoid interfering with road traffic.
A third phase of the project focuses on reaching the Termas de Río Hondo, one of the main attractions of the Province, although it could be extended to San Miguel de Tucumán.
In September 2016, the first section of 4-km length was inaugurated. The next section to La Banda is expected to be opened in March 2017.
