The new agreement fits into the Rail Transport Modernization Plan and will make three cereal companies (Viterra Argentina, Asociación de Cooperativas Argentinas (ACA) and Cofco Int.) advance almost USD 27 million. From this funding, Trenes Argentinos Cargas (TAC) will make a complete overhaul of four of its diesel locomotives at Camtral SA workshop and create four trainsets with 45 wagons each to transport cereals on the Belgrano line between Chaco and the ports of Gran Rosario, Santa Fe. The funding will also be used to purchase 180 new grain wagons from China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) to form these trainsets.
With new trainsets, the volumes transported on the Belgrano line are expected to increase by 11% or 320,000 tonnes annually. In exchange for the financing, TAC agreed to provide the freight service for 7,000 tons per month, charging 50% of the current rate at the time of dispatch and compensating the remaining 50%. The repayment time of the advance sum depends on the actual tonnage transported by the agricultural business companies. The current time estimate expects it to be between four and five years.
