| Box Width: | 250 |
| Tren al Desarrollo | |
| Type: | Commuter rail |
| Status: | Active |
| Locale: | Santiago del Estero |
| Operator: | Government of Santiago del Estero |
| Formeroperator: | Ferrocarriles Argentinos |
| Start: | Santiago del Estero |
| Stops: | 4 |
| End: | La Banda |
| Distance: | 8km (05miles) |
| Journeytime: | 25 min |
| Frequency: | 30 min [1] |
| Route: | FC Mitre |
| Class: | Unique |
| Seating: | Yes |
| Owners: | Government of Argentina |
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.[2]
In the beginning, the project only planned a 4 km-long line, then extended to 8 km. length to reach La Banda.[3] [4]
The rolling stock used is railbuses made by Argentine company TecnoTren.[5] Each unit has a capacity of 100 passengers (70 seated). The journey time is about 25 minutes.[6] Santiago Centro terminus station was inaugurated in May 2015.[7]
Thr 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.[8] The total path from Forum to Banda stations is a 5,10 metre-high viaduct to avoid interfering with road traffic.[9] [10]
In September 2016, the first section of 4-km length (from Santiago to Nodo Tecnológico) was inaugurated. The next section of La Banda was opened in March 2017.[11]
There were also plans to reach Termas de Río Hondo, one of the main attractions of the Province,[12] and another extension to San Miguel de Tucumán,[13] although it has not been carried out.