Argentine president unveils major railway electrification system

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez inaugurated here a major railway electrification system aboard a Chinese-made train on Saturday.

"We are making the largest investment in railways in 60 years," Fernandez said at a ceremony at the Don Bosco train station in Quilmes district on the southern outskirts of Buenos Aires, referring to the purchase of 300 electric railcars from China to upgrade the capital city's commuter rail system.

The purchase, part of Argentina's railway renovation plan, aims to forge a railway electrification system along the Constitucion-Quilmes section of the Roca commuter rail line.

The system is expected to reach La Plata, a district 60 km away from Buenos Aires where Fernandez was born.

"The station brings back many memories because I always traveled on the old Roca train and now we're going to ride on the new Roca train," Fernandez said after boarding one of the newly bought electric railcars.

Argentina made the electrification plan some 42 years ago, but has never made it real until this year.

"We are launching a dream that has been promised for decades," said Fernandez, who is five days from concluding her presidential term. Endi