en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Government of Santa Fe Province, through its Ministry of Production Development, has formally submitted a technical-strategic proposal to the National Secretariat of Transport regarding the privatization, concession, and operational opening process of the national freight railway system.
The proposal is formulated in accordance with Decree No. 67/2025 and Resolution No. 1049/2025. Under the aforementioned decree, the National Executive Branch has decided to reconfigure the Belgrano, San Martín, and Urquiza railway lines within 12 months. Santa Fe Province believes this measure aims to strengthen Argentina's freight railway transport capacity. Currently, the country's total annual freight volume is approximately 450 million tons, of which only 18.8 million tons are transported by rail, with the remainder relying on road transport, leading to higher logistics costs and weakened overall competitiveness.
Santa Fe Province emphasizes its strategic position in foreign trade. The port complex located on the Paraná River processes and dispatches 80% of Argentina's grains, oils, and their by-products, with its terminals handling 28% of the country's total exports. To ensure transparency, predictability, and inter-institutional coordination in the bidding process, the province proposes establishing a working group comprising the Secretariat of Transport, the Railway Infrastructure Administration (Adif), the State Enterprise Transformation Agency (Atep), and the Government of Santa Fe Province itself, aimed at evaluating technical solutions, coordinating investments, and advancing the restructuring of the national railway network through a consultative approach.
A core recommendation in the proposal is the completion of the railway ring road project in the provincial capital, Santa Fe City. This project connects Santo Tomé to the north via the F1 branch line and Laguna Paiva via the C branch line, and is currently nearly 70% complete. The local government requests that this project be explicitly included as a priority in the tender documents, with clear execution deadlines and start dates, and that bidders committing to its early advancement receive positive evaluation.
The document also proposes the need to develop dedicated railway branch lines to improve connectivity for cooperatives, warehouses, port terminals, and industrial facilities. To this end, it recommends establishing clear mechanisms to facilitate the transfer or delivery of abandoned railway infrastructure (especially tracks) by Adif. Additionally, the province requests an analysis of the impact of future concessions on the port system of Santa Fe Province, which includes ports such as Rosario, Santa Fe, Villa Constitución, San Lorenzo, General San Martín, and Timbúes.
Another key point is the inclusion of new types of cargo related to strategic sectors such as mining, agro-industry, and regional economies, to increase railway freight volume, reduce logistics costs, and decrease road truck traffic. This proposal is part of the logistics development strategy promoted by the provincial government, which also includes new waterway concessions, strengthening provincial public ports, road projects connecting to ports, and introducing new freight modes such as double-trailer trucks. Within this framework, the railway system is seen as an important tool to enhance export competitiveness and promote provincial integration, aiming to consolidate Santa Fe Province, particularly the Greater Rosario area, as one of South America's main logistics hubs, and to strengthen connections with new value chains related to lithium production and copper mine development in the Cuyo region.
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