Estación Constitución
Encyclopedia
| Estación Plaza Constitución Constitution Square Station  |
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| City | Buenos Aires Buenos Aires Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent... , Argentina Argentina Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires... |
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| Location | 11 General Hornos Avenue, Plaza Constitución, Constitución borough Constitución, Buenos Aires Constitución is a barrio or neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina, approximately two kilometers south of the city's center.It is centered around Constitución Station and the square of the same name and can be reached by subway, by bus and enjoys easy access by car via 9 de Julio, San Juan and... , Buenos Aires Buenos Aires Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent... |
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| Year of Opening | 1907 | ||
| Management | ? | ||
| Aerial Photo | Google Maps | ||
| Served by: | UGOFE Ferrobaires Ferrobaires Ferrobaires S.A. is the commercial name of a public railway company which operates extensive long-distance passenger trains throughout Buenos Aires Province in Argentina. Its official corporate name is Unidad Ejecutora del Plan Ferroviario Provincial , or Executing Unit of the Provincial Railway... Line C Metro |
Constitución railway station (Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
: "Estación Constitución") is a large railway terminus in Barrio Constitución
Constitución, Buenos Aires
Constitución is a barrio or neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina, approximately two kilometers south of the city's center.It is centered around Constitución Station and the square of the same name and can be reached by subway, by bus and enjoys easy access by car via 9 de Julio, San Juan and...
in central Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
. The full official name of the station is Estación Plaza Constitución (in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
: Constitution Square Station) reflecting the fact that the station is located opposite Constitution Square, two kilometers to the south of the Obelisco
Obelisk of Buenos Aires
The Obelisk of Buenos Aires is a national historic monument and icon of Buenos Aires. Located in the Plaza de la República, in the intersection of avenues Corrientes and 9 de Julio, it was built to commemorate the fourth centenary of the first foundation of the city.In order to enrich the...
landmark. The ground floor of the station has fourteen tracks and the floor below has two tracks for the metro.
History
Bartolomé Mitre
Bartolomé Mitre Martínez was an Argentine statesman, military figure, and author. He was the President of Argentina from 1862 to 1868.-Life and times:...
, construction began at Mercado Constitución, on the site of the present day terminus, as the British-owned Buenos Aires Great Southern
Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway
The Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway was one of the Big Four broad gauge, , British-owned companies that built and operated railway networks in Argentina...
railway company began building its first broad gauge
Broad gauge
Broad-gauge railways use a track gauge greater than the standard gauge of .- List :For list see: List of broad gauges, by gauge and country- History :...
line of 114 km as far as Chascomús
Chascomús
Chascomús, is the principal city in Chascomús Partido in eastern Buenos Aires Province in eastern Argentina, located south of the capital Buenos Aires. As of 2001, the city had a population of 30,670 people.-History:...
. The first section of the line to Jeppener, Buenos Aires
Jeppener, Buenos Aires
- Population :According to the last census the population count was 2,142 which represents an increase of 26.7% over 1,691 the previous census.- External links :*...
was opened on 14 August 1865 and during that same month a small terminal station at Mercado Constitución was opened to the public and renamed Plaza Constitución. Later that year in December the line to Chascomús was opened.
Between 1885 and 1887 the Plaza Constitución terminus was rebuilt and enlarged and between 1906 and 1907 further building work was carried out and extra platforms were added to cope with the increasing suburban traffic. In 1912 yet more platforms were added.
On 19 September 1925 a foundation stone for the present day terminus was laid by the Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
, later Duke of Windsor
Duke of Windsor
The title Duke of Windsor was created in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1937 for Prince Edward, the former King Edward VIII, following his abdication in December 1936. The dukedom takes its name from the town where Windsor Castle, a residence of English monarchs since the Norman Conquest, is...
, during his official visit to Argentina. The original station was then rebuilt with fourteen platforms roofed over, modern hydraulic buffer stops and an imposing concourse which formed a massive main hall, one of the largest in the world, along the entire length of the site. Of the fourteen platforms, only two or three were normally used for mainline trains, leaving the rest for suburban services. To the east of the main station a large goods and parcels section with warehouses, offices and several sidings was built. The street frontage of the original station was left untouched due to financial constraints imposed towards the end of the rebuilding.
Present day
All southbound trains on the RocaFerrocarril General Roca
Ferrocarril General Roca , named after the former Argentine president Julio Argentino Roca, was one of the six state-owned Argentine railway companies formed after President Juan Perón's nationalisation of the railway network in 1948...
line have their terminus at Constitución and the station is served by two railway companies:
- UGOFEUnidad de Gestión Operativa Ferroviaria de EmergenciaUnidad de Gestión Operativa Ferroviaria de Emergencia is a temporary consortium of Argentine companies formed on 7 January 2005 by Ferrovías, Metrovías and Trenes de Buenos Aires to take over the running of commuter railway services in Buenos Aires after concessions granted to Metropolitano in...
: a company which provides commuter services to the nearby city of La PlataLa PlataLa Plata is the capital city of the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and of La Plata partido. According to the , the city proper has a population of 574,369 and its metropolitan area has 694,253 inhabitants....
and to the surrounding suburbs of Buenos Aires.
- FerrobairesFerrobairesFerrobaires S.A. is the commercial name of a public railway company which operates extensive long-distance passenger trains throughout Buenos Aires Province in Argentina. Its official corporate name is Unidad Ejecutora del Plan Ferroviario Provincial , or Executing Unit of the Provincial Railway...
: a publicly owned company which operates long-distance services throughout much of Buenos Aires ProvinceBuenos Aires ProvinceThe Province of Buenos Aires is the largest and most populous province of Argentina. It takes the name from the city of Buenos Aires, which used to be the provincial capital until it was federalized in 1880...
. Major destinations include Mar del PlataMar del PlataMar del Plata is an Argentine city located on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, south of Buenos Aires. Mar del Plata is the second largest city of Buenos Aires Province. The name "Mar del Plata" had apparently the sense of "sea of the Río de la Plata region" or "adjoining sea to the Río de la Plata"...
, MiramarMiramar, Buenos Aires ProvinceMiramar is an Argentine city located on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean in Buenos Aires Province, south of Buenos Aires. It is the capital of General Alvarado Partido...
, and Bahía BlancaBahía BlancaBahía Blanca is a city located in the south-west of the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, by the Atlantic Ocean, and seat of government of Bahía Blanca Partido. It has a population of 274,509 inhabitants according to the...
, with connecting services further south to Carmen de PatagonesCarmen de Patagones- Geography :It is located 937 km from the city of Buenos Aires, on the north bank of the Río Negro , near the Atlantic Ocean, and opposite Viedma, capital of the province of Río Negro...
.
Constitución is accessible by the C line
Line C (Buenos Aires)
Line C of the Buenos Aires Metro that runs from Retiro to Constitución terminus, opened on 9 November 1934, and it has a length of 4.3 km.-Stations and connections:-Murals:...
of the city's subte
Buenos Aires Metro
The Buenos Aires Metro , locally known as Subte is a mass-transit system that serves the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The first station of this network opened in 1913, the first of its kind in South America, the Southern Hemisphere and the entire Spanish-speaking world...
metro and by numerous public bus services (including the colectivo 60
Colectivo 60
The Colectivo 60 runs from Constitución station, in the centre of the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina to the Tigre Club in the partido of Tigre...
service), and by long-distance bus services.
The surrounding neighbourhood - part of Barrio Constitución
Constitución, Buenos Aires
Constitución is a barrio or neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina, approximately two kilometers south of the city's center.It is centered around Constitución Station and the square of the same name and can be reached by subway, by bus and enjoys easy access by car via 9 de Julio, San Juan and...
- is characterized by low-rent residences for people from the provinces (or from neighboring Paraguay
Paraguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
and Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
) who come to work in the city.
May 16 riot
The station was the site of a riot on May 16, 2007, during the evening rush hourRush hour
A rush hour or peak hour is a part of the day during which traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport is at its highest. Normally, this happens twice a day—once in the morning and once in the evening, the times during when the most people commute...
, which provoked debate and discussion in Argentina over railroad service and privatization. A crowded train broke down within walking distance of the station blocking the railway and the irate passengers from trains trapped at the station, after waiting for the train to be fixed and to move, walked to the platform, thus triggering the chaos. Around 25 people were injured, and a total of 16 were arrested and later released.