TWO railways have re-opened to passengers in the space of a few days in Argentina.
One offers short weekend services aimed at leisure travellers, while the other crosses the country to the foothills of the Andes... but currently only runs twice a month.
The introduction of trains for tourists on the metre gauge line from Mercedes to Tomás Jofré is the first passenger use of the once-busy metre gauge network in Mercedes, around 100km west of Buenos Aires, for decades.
Services are operated by national rail company Trenes Argentinos using a two-car DMU built in Argentina by Emepa, which is based on the Belgrano Sur commuter network when not in use; running empty from Mercedes to Gonzalez Catan in the suburbs of Buenos Aires.