President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner did not attend a rally at the Buenos Aires port where she was expected to tour the first of 25 new train cars the government acquired from China to revitalize the Sarmiento railway service.
The event instead was headed by Interior and Transport Minister Florencio Randazzo and Cabinet Chief Jorge Capitanich.
“This is a first show of the extraordinary quality the Sarmiento service will have. The Argentinean people will know what is to invest to improve the quality of the service,” Capitanich told media.
On his turn, Minister Randazzo announced that the «complete renovation» of the Sarmiento line should be accomplished by June this year, involving the improvement and replacement of rails and “a new marking system” that the Chinese cars have that “allows the train to stop if the maximum speed limit is exceeded.”
The Sarmiento line service has been put under the spotlight mainly since February 2012 when a train crashed into the Buenos Aires City Once station killing 51 people and injuring hundreds.
buenosairesherald.com