At the same time, there are among these concessions a few projects which seem to be capable of immediate realisation; these are concessions granted to already existing companies, for the extension of their systems, which have the necessary capital at their disposal.
Among new lines in active construction we must cite that for which the concession was granted to MM. de Bruyn and Otamendi: a narrow-gauge railway in the Province of Buenos Ayres. This concession has been taken over by a French company, and may require a maximum capital of £8,000,000.
This undertaking, which is really the extension into the Province of Buenos Ayres of the network of narrow-gauge lines, exploited by the French company of the Santa Fé Railroads, includes several long lines starting from Rosario, crossing the most productive and thickly-peopled regions of the West, and terminating at the three great centres of export: Buenos Ayres, Bahia Blanca, and La Plata.
This undertaking, which has been well thought out by its promoter and present director, the engineer Girodias, is based upon two ideas; one being to build cross lines connecting the principal railways of the south and the west in agricultural districts where these two lines hold an absolute monopoly; the other is to extend to Buenos Ayres the narrow-gauge system of the north and north-west. This system consists at present of 3444 miles of railways, having their terminus at Rosario; it is therefore most desirable that these lines should be prolonged towards the south, and especially as far as the capital, in order to avoid troublesome transhipments. This will be a great advantage, for example, to the sugar-growing districts of Tucuman.
At the present moment, this new narrow-gauge system is
already working from Rosario to Buenos Ayres, the equipment being excellent, and westward as far as Nuevo de Julio. The first results have confirmed the forecasts as to the development of traffic in this region.
Another concession for a line on the same basis is that obtained by Mr Duncan Munroe, for the establishment of a narrow-gauge railway between Rosario and Buenos Ayres, to be a prolongation of the “Central Córdoba”, of which he is the Director. This scheme, thanks to the support given by the “Central Córdoba and the Córdoba and Rosario,” has been put into execution, and is on the eve of being opened to the public.
The proposal to unite Rosario and Bahia Blanca—the two chief Argentine ports—by a line crossing the Province of Buenos Ayres in its most fertile region, is also on the way to completion. The construction of this line is being actively pushed, so that it is hoped that the line may be open for service in the course of 1910.
This important line is being built by French capital, the executive being known as the Rosario and Puerto Belgrano Railways Company.
The National Congress has also granted to existing companies, which can offer all requisite guarantees, the authorisation to construct new branch lines, which will attain a total length of 3370 miles, and will absorb a capital of £25,000,000. Of this total, 797 miles will be built by the Western Railways Company, 874 by the Southern Railway Company, 328 by the Pacific Company, 192 by the Central Córdoba, 427 by the Rosario and Puerto Belgrano Railway, 190 by the Province of Buenos Ayres Railways, 87 by the French Company of the Province of Santa Fé Railways, and 476 by the Central Argentine Railway.