Emepa Alerce

Emepa Alerce
Emepa Alerce
	An Alerce outside Emepa's Factory in Chascomús.
Manufacturer	Emepa Group
Built at	Chascomús
Constructed	2015
Entered service	2015
Number built	20
Formation	2 cars per trainset
Capacity	120 per car
Operator(s)	Trenes Argentinos
Line(s) served	Belgrano Norte Line
Specifications
Doors	2 per side
Track gauge	1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in),; 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm)

The Alerce is an Argentine railcar produced by the Emepa Group in Chascomús, Buenos Aires Province.^[1] As of 2015, the units are produced for the General Belgrano Railway's narrow gauge network and are currently used on commuter rail services, though a broad gauge variant is currently in the works. They are designed to be easily converted into Electric Multiple Units, though thus far only diesel variants have been produced. The Alerce's namesake is a type of coniferous tree native to Argentina and Chile.

Overview[]

The first prototype of the Alerce began circulating the Belgrano Norte Line on test runs in 2012 from Boulogne Sur Mer to Retiro Belgrano railway station and the National Government then decided to purchase 20 trains from Emepa for use on the line.^[2] Each train has a capacity for 240 passengers and feature intelligent doors, air conditioning, security cameras, disabled access and Wi-Fi.^[3]

The Alerce's engine is located between the two carriages on its own articulated bogie with an access corridor between the two carriages.^[4] The trains use 90% of its parts from Argentine origin, with the remaining 10% being specialised parts imported from abroad, such as the German brakes and Austrian intelligent doors.^[5] The trains are also designed to be easily converted into Electric Multiple Units should the lines they run on be electrified.^[6]

In June 2015 it was announced that Emepa would produce a broad gauge variant of the Alerce for use on local service on the General Roca Railway.^[7]

Usage[]

An Alerce stopped at Ciudad Universitaria station in the Belgrano neighbourhood, (August 2015).

The narrow gauge variant of the Alerce is currently used for differential services on the Belgrano Norte Line commuter rail service in Buenos Aires. The service stops at Retiro Belgrano railway station, the University of Buenos Aires' Ciudad Universitaria campus, Aristóbulo del Valle and Del Viso with prices ranging from AR$ 1.50-17 with a SUBE card and AR$ 3-34 without a SUBE card. The journey time between Retiro and Del Viso is 65 minutes.^[8] Unlike the rest of the line operated by Ferrovías, the service is operated by the state-owned Trenes Argentinos.^[9] The service was also going to have a stop at Aeroparque Jorge Newbery airport, however this station was cancelled with the Ministry of the Interior and Transport citing the station causing a possible increase in security concerns at the airport as the reason for its cancellation.^[10]

The broad gauge variant of the Alerce will be used on the General Roca Railway between Constitución railway station and Dolores on a rural service which will stop at all stations between the two termini.^[11]