page_title: Mitre Line
section_title: Background
hierarchical_section_title: Mitre Line / History / Background
caption_attribution_description: English: View of old Retiro railway station of Central Argentine Railway. The station was not still terminus by then, so its tracks continued to Central Station. Español: Vista de la estación Retiro del Ferrocarril Central Argentino, en su configuración primitiva a fines del siglo XIX. La estación no era aún terminal, puesto que las vías continuaban hacia la Estación Central.
context_page_description: The Mitre line is an Argentine broad gauge commuter rail service in Buenos Aires Province as part of Ferrocarril General Bartolomé Mitre. The service is currently operated by State-owned company Operadora Ferroviaria Sociedad del Estado after the Government of Argentina rescinded contract with Corredores Ferroviarios in March 2015.
context_section_description: The first line was built and operated by the Buenos Aires Northern Railway, a British-owned company that ran trains from Central Station (then from Retiro) to Tigre, joining both cities in 1857. The company was then taken over by the Central Argentine Railway in 1888 due to financial problems.
  In 1891, Victoria station was inaugurated. Trains to Zelaya and Capilla del Señor departed from Victoria for the first time one year later. In 1916, the Retiro-Tigre line was electrified, becoming the first electrified railway system of South America. New British Thomson-Houston (BTH) multiple units were acquired to run on the line. The CAR also installed the first crossbuck and manually-operated gates in the many level crossings existing by then.
  During successive years, several new stations were built by the company, such as Beccar (1913), La Lucila (1933), Acassuso (1934) and Virreyes (1938).
caption: Old Retiro station, c. 1890s. Current building was inaugurated in 1915.
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