Privatisation Derailed Argentina’s Rail System

[Judi Lynn]

Privatisation Derailed Argentina’s Rail System
By Marcela Valente

BUENOS AIRES, Feb 24, 2012 (IPS) - Increasingly frequent and tragic railway accidents in Argentina, like this week’s crash, show that the rail system, run by private companies that receive hundreds of millions of dollars in subsidies from the state, constantly ignores warnings from inspectors and fines, observers say.

"Another catastrophe could happen at any time," former socialist lawmaker Héctor Polino, founder of Consumidores Libres (Free Consumers), a citizens group that has filed numerous complaints against the companies running the railways, told IPS.

~snip~

The crash was the second in the Argentine capital in less than six months. The first occurred in September on the same line, Sarmiento, when a bus crossed the tracks in front of an oncoming train. The train crashed into the bus, and after it was derailed it was hit by a train approaching from the other direction. The accident left 11 dead and 212 injured.

Polino said the state of Argentina’s rail system today is the direct result of the wave of privatisations carried out by the government of Carlos Menem (1989-1999), which put the railways into the hands of private companies. Since then, the system has been plagued by negligence, mismanagement, a lack of maintenance, and "connivance" between the companies running the rails and officials in charge of oversight, he said.

More:
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=106877

[center]

George H W Bush and his family friend, Argentina's former President, Carlos Saul Menem[/center]

[Vogon_Glory]

1. Not Sure I Believe That

I'm not sure that I believe Mr. Polino's claim. The government-run Argentine railroads were NOT in good shape when they were privatized.

Unfortunately, the Argentine railroads suffered from a common fate of government-run Latin American enterprises. As political entities, all too often the first priority is not providing a service to the rest of the commonwealth, but as a cash cow and source of patronage and employment. Unfortunately, service suffers as political appointees make management decisions and as money for small bagatelles like equipment replacement, signal maintenance, and track repair disappates. Eventually, the enterprise loses money hand over fist, service suffers, and SOMEBODY has to decide whether rail service benefits the country as a whole and how much it should be subsidized--or if it should be subsidized at all.

This is NOT to say that I'm a fan of privatization per se. Mr. Polino may well have a point that signalling and train operations may need a serious overhaul. And, as we have seen in the US, corporate entities and regulators can and do conspire to short-shrift safety regulations, although such things can happen under socialist governments too. But some places have the choice between letting a seriously-ailing government entity to stop service entirely, or privatise it to see that something useful (and functional) emerges from the wreck. Both may be inferior choices to an ideal well-managed, well-maintained, and self-sustaining socialist entity, but they might be the only ones available.

I don't see how the bus crash and subsequent multiple-train wreck could have been avoided, save by reducing grade crossings and providing better communications between dispatchers and the engine drivers. But that other crash indicates a need to work on signaling.

[txlibdem]

2. Ah, the Capitalistas at work again

How lovely to see the swath of destruction and ruination throughout the world due to rampant Capitalism.


PS, I really don't think it's lovely at all.