State Railways Administration of Uruguay

The State Railways Administration of Uruguay, commonly known by its Spanish initials AFE, is the autonomous public agency responsible for railway transport and railway infrastructure administration in Uruguay. Its functions include managing the national rail network, maintaining railway infrastructure, operating passenger and freight services, and permitting other companies or institutions to operate rolling stock over the network under applicable access arrangements. AFE was created during the nationalization and consolidation of Uruguay’s railway system after the Second World War. On 31 December 1948, Uruguay’s Parliament approved the acquisition of foreign-owned railway companies. The transaction was connected with the settlement of financial obligations owed by the United Kingdom to Uruguay for wartime purchases. The railway companies were nationalized on 31 January 1949. During the transition, the nationalized companies were organized as the Ferrocarril Central del Uruguay, while the pre-existing state railway and tram system continued separately. An earlier proposal to create a broader state land-transport body was not pursued in its original form. Instead, the state concentrated the new institution’s mandate on rail transport. The two state railway structures were merged on 19 September 1952, when AFE was established. Uruguay’s railway system has historically comprised approximately 2,900 kilometres of standard-gauge track. The network uses diesel traction and has relatively little double track. Over time, a substantial portion of the network has been closed or seen limited service, while freight traffic has continued on selected corridors linking Montevideo with northern, western and river-port destinations. Passenger operations have been more limited and have principally served suburban or regional routes from Montevideo, including lines toward Florida, San José and the northeastern suburbs. Since 2003, passenger trains have used a terminal north of Montevideo’s historic Central Station, a change that was associated with a significant reduction in passenger usage. AFE’s role has increasingly combined infrastructure stewardship with an open-access framework. Other companies and public institutions, including industrial and utility organizations, have operated or owned locomotives and wagons, while AFE has administered the infrastructure and enabled the movement of rolling stock. Freight transport has been particularly important because industrial traffic provides a commercial basis for maintaining and upgrading rail corridors. The largest recent transformation has been the Ferrocarril Central reconstruction project. The project rebuilt the central railway corridor between the Montevideo area and the interior of the country to support pulp and chemical traffic associated with UPM’s plant near Paso de los Toros. Construction began in 2019 after a consortium formed by Saceem, Berkes, Sacyr and Groupe NGE won the tender. The works included new track, bridges, grade separations, trenches, viaducts, signaling and access improvements. Track installation began in 2022, and the rebuilt line was completed for testing in November 2023. The project was politically and environmentally controversial, with opponents often referring to it as UPM’s train and calling for passenger-service commitments. The government and transport authorities argued that freight revenue was necessary to sustain the corridor and that the infrastructure should remain available to multiple operators. AFE therefore occupies a distinctive position in Uruguay’s transport system: it is both a public railway institution and the administrator of infrastructure that can be used by other operators. Its present significance is tied less to a nationwide passenger monopoly than to the preservation, modernization and commercial use of Uruguay’s rail network, especially for agricultural, industrial, port and forestry-related freight.

Uruguay’s modern state railway administration emerged from the postwar nationalization of the country’s foreign-owned railway companies. On 31 December 1948, Parliament approved the acquisition of foreign railway assets. The arrangement was linked to the settlement of approximately £17 million owed by the United Kingdom to Uruguay for purchases made during the Second World War. Nationalization took effect on 31 January 1949. The transition initially produced two state railway structures. The nationalized companies were organized as the Ferrocarril Central del Uruguay, while the existing state railway and tram network continued its previous activities. In August 1949, the executive branch proposed a broader institution called the Land Transport Management of the State, or ATTE, which would have combined road passenger and freight transport with railway operation and maintenance. The proposal reflected a desire to avoid destructive competition and to prepare for the gradual absorption of private transport companies. Because the plan encountered difficulty in the General Assembly, the government did not continue with the broader design and instead limited the new organization’s role to railways. The two state railway systems were merged on 19 September 1952, creating the Administración de Ferrocarriles del Estado, or AFE. The agency became responsible for operating and maintaining Uruguay’s railways and, over time, for managing a network of roughly 2,900 kilometres of standard-gauge track. The network was built around diesel traction and included only a small amount of double track. Although the system once supported extensive national passenger and freight movement, portions of the network were subsequently closed or placed into limited use. Freight continued on selected corridors from Montevideo toward Rivera and Livramento, the west and northwest, Minas, industrial facilities, Paysandú, Salto, Concordia and Fray Bentos. Passenger services have mainly consisted of suburban and regional routes from Montevideo. Lines have served destinations including Florida, San José and the northeastern corridor toward Víctor Sudriers. In March 2003, trains were moved from the historic Central Station to a new terminal approximately 500 metres to its north. The relocation was associated with a loss of more than 100,000 passengers, illustrating the difficulties faced by passenger rail in competition with road transport and amid constrained infrastructure. AFE’s institutional role also extends beyond operating its own trains. The agency administers the rail network and permits rolling stock belonging to other companies and institutions to move over it. Industrial and public-sector organizations have maintained their own locomotives or wagons, while railway logistics arrangements have evolved around the needs of Uruguay’s ports, utilities, fuel industry and agricultural economy. AFE and the Corporación Nacional para el Desarrollo also became associated with Servicios Logísticos Ferroviarios, a freight-oriented joint venture that received and refurbished some locomotives. The central railway reconstruction was the most consequential infrastructure project described in recent accounts of AFE. UPM’s pulp mill near Paso de los Toros created a requirement for regular rail movement of pulp to Montevideo’s port and chemicals in the opposite direction. In 2019, a consortium known as Grupo Vía Central, comprising the Uruguayan companies Saceem and Berkes together with Spain’s Sacyr and France’s Groupe NGE, began rebuilding the corridor. Passenger operations on the old central line ended in June 2019, after which sections of track were dismantled, the alignment was widened and extensive civil works were undertaken. The reconstruction included new continuously welded rail, double track on part of the Montevideo–Progreso section, road overpasses, bypasses, trenches in Montevideo and Las Piedras, a Canelones access viaduct and improvements to the port approach. European-compatible signaling and level-crossing technology was incorporated. The work was completed for testing on 20 November 2023. The project provoked controversy because critics associated it closely with UPM and sought stronger passenger-service guarantees. Transport authorities maintained that freight traffic was needed to provide the revenue required to maintain the line, while AFE’s open-access policy was intended to allow other operators to use the infrastructure by paying access fees. The resulting model places AFE at the center of a more commercially oriented, multi-operator railway system.

• 2023

  Central corridor reconstruction is completed for testing

  [1]State Railways Administration of Uruguayen.wikipedia.org

  Track and associated infrastructure works on the rebuilt central corridor were completed on 20 November, followed by testing.

• 2019

  Ferrocarril Central reconstruction starts

  [1]State Railways Administration of Uruguayen.wikipedia.org

  Rebuilding of the central corridor began under Grupo Vía Central to support industrial freight traffic between the interior and Montevideo’s port.

• 2013

  AFE receives refurbished Y1 railcars

  [1]State Railways Administration of Uruguayen.wikipedia.org

  Five Swedish-built Y1 railcars, refurbished with Volvo engines, were acquired through an arrangement involving Uruguayan public institutions.

• 2006

  San José passenger service reopens

  [1]State Railways Administration of Uruguayen.wikipedia.org

  The section toward San José was reopened for passenger service in December during the renovation of the 25 de Agosto–San José–Ombucitos branch.

• 2003

  Passenger trains move to a new Montevideo terminal

  [1]State Railways Administration of Uruguayen.wikipedia.org

  Passenger departures and arrivals were transferred from the Central Station to a terminal north of it.

• 1952

  AFE is established

  [1]State Railways Administration of Uruguayen.wikipedia.org

  The Ferrocarril Central del Uruguay and the existing state railway system were merged on 19 September to create AFE.

• 1949

  Railways are nationalized

  [1]State Railways Administration of Uruguayen.wikipedia.org

  The foreign-owned railway companies were nationalized on 31 January, beginning the process that led to a unified state railway administration.

• 1948

  Parliament approves railway acquisition

  [1]State Railways Administration of Uruguayen.wikipedia.org

  Uruguay’s Parliament approved projects to acquire foreign-owned railway companies as part of a postwar financial settlement involving the United Kingdom.

Public railway infrastructure administrator and rail transport provider for Uruguay, with an increasing emphasis on freight connectivity and open access alongside limited passenger services.

• Rail transport · 1952

  Passenger rail services

  AFE has historically provided suburban and regional passenger services from Montevideo. The routes described in reference material include corridors toward Florida, San José and Víctor Sudriers, although the passenger network has been much smaller than the historical national railway system and has faced competition from road transport.

• Rail transport · 1952

  Freight rail services

  Freight movement is a central part of AFE’s railway role. Selected corridors connect Montevideo and its port with northern, western and industrial destinations. The modernized central corridor was designed particularly for pulp and chemical traffic associated with Uruguay’s forestry and paper industry.

• Infrastructure management · 1952

  Railway infrastructure administration

  AFE administers and maintains Uruguay’s railway infrastructure, including standard-gauge track, stations, bridges, crossings and associated systems. Its infrastructure role also includes permitting rolling stock owned by other companies or institutions to operate over the network.

• Rail infrastructure · 2023

  Ferrocarril Central corridor

  The Ferrocarril Central is a reconstructed central railway corridor linking the Montevideo area with the interior. The project introduced new welded rail, sections of double track, grade separations, trenches, viaducts and modern signaling to support higher-capacity freight operations and preserve the possibility of broader rail use.

• 2019Ferrocarril Central reconstruction

  Uruguay

  A national railway modernization and infrastructure program rebuilt the central corridor to carry pulp from UPM’s interior mill to Montevideo’s port and chemicals in the reverse direction. The program was also presented as a foundation for a multi-operator, open-access railway.

  Outcome. The rebuilt corridor was completed for testing in November 2023. The project remained politically controversial, particularly over environmental concerns and the future of passenger services.

  Source

• 2019

  Adopt open access for railway infrastructureStrategy

  Background

  The central railway reconstruction was justified primarily by freight traffic, while the authorities sought to make the infrastructure available to more than one train operator.

  Action taken

  AFE allowed operators to use the railway infrastructure in return for access fees, rather than reserving the rebuilt corridor exclusively for a single state operator.

  Aftermath

  The policy supported the development of industrial freight services but also intensified debate about whether passenger services would receive adequate priority.

  Source

• 2003

  Relocate Montevideo passenger operationsStrategy

  Background

  The historic Central Station was closed to regular passenger departures and arrivals.

  Action taken

  AFE moved passenger operations to a new terminal approximately 500 metres north of the Central Station.

  Aftermath

  The change was associated with a decline of more than 100,000 passengers, according to the reference material.

  Source

1. 1State Railways Administration of Uruguayen.wikipedia.org