Servicios Ferroviarios Patagónico (SEFEPA) (in English: Patagonian Railway Services) is a public company owned by the Argentine

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...

 Province of Rio Negro

Río Negro Province

Río Negro is a province of Argentina, located at the northern edge of Patagonia. Neighboring provinces are from the south clockwise Chubut, Neuquén, Mendoza, La Pampa and Buenos Aires. To the east lies the Atlantic Ocean.Its capital is Viedma...

 which operates a 826 km broad gauge

Indian gauge

Indian gauge is a track gauge commonly used in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Argentina and Chile. It is also the gauge that is used on BART , in northern California.- Scotland :...

 railway line between Viedma and San Carlos de Bariloche

San Carlos de Bariloche

San Carlos de Bariloche, usually known as Bariloche, is a city in the , situated in the foothills of the Andes on the southern shores of Nahuel Huapi Lake and is located inside Nahuel Huapi National Park...

 built by Ferrocarriles Patagónicos

Ferrocarriles Patagónicos

In 1900 two British-owned companies were operating railways in Patagonia; the Central of Chubut metre gauge, , line between Puerto Madryn and Trelew and the Buenos Aires Great Southern broad gauge line between Bahía Blanca and Neuquén...

, which became the Roca

Ferrocarril 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...

 division of Ferrocarriles Argentinos

Ferrocarriles Argentinos

Ferrocarriles Argentinos was a public company that managed the entire Argentine railway system for nearly 45 years. It was formed in 1948 when all the private railway companies were nationalised during Perón's first presidential term, and transformed into the Empresa de Ferrocarriles del Estado...

 after railway nationalisation

Railway Nationalisation in Argentina

In 1948, during President Juan Perón’s first term of office, the seven British-owned and three French-owned railway companies then operating in Argentina, were purchased by the state...

 in 1948. With the increase in popularity of the line with tourists, it was decided to improve the image of the company by using the name Tren Patagónico.

As part of a railway privatisation

Railway Privatisation in Argentina

Following a prolonged period of hyperinflation in the 1980s, accompanied by a steep increase in fiscal deficit and a sharp fall in reserves, the Argentine government, under the presidency of Carlos Menem from 1989, initiated a series of neoliberal reforms which included the privatisation of...

, during the presidency of Carlos Menem

Carlos Menem

Carlos Saúl Menem is an Argentine politician who was President of Argentina from 1989 to 1999. He is currently an Argentine National Senator for La Rioja Province.-Early life:...

 from 1991, a concession to operate the line was granted to the Provincial government and later transferred to SEFEPA in September 1993. Since then the quality of service offered has been considerably improved and, apart from its popularity with tourists, the line provides a vital service for people living along its length. From Viedma the line serves San Antonio Oeste

San Antonio Oeste

San Antonio Oeste is a port city in the Argentine province of Río Negro, and head of the department of San Antonio.The town is bordered by its sister communities of San Antonio Este, to the east, and Las Grutas, to the southwest. Discovered by an expedition of the Spanish Empire in 1779, San Matías...

, Valcheta, Ministro Ramos Mexía

Ministro Ramos Mexía

Ministro Ramos Mexía is a village and municipality in Río Negro Province in Argentina.-References:...

, Sierra Colorado, Los Munucos, Clemente Onelli, Maquinchao

Maquinchao

Maquinchao is a village and municipality in Río Negro Province in Argentina.It is located in the middle of northern Patagonia, right in the steppe...

, Ingeniero Jacobacci

Ingeniero Jacobacci

Ingeniero Jacobacci is a city in Río Negro Province, Argentina. It has a population of 5,719 inhabitants and was named in honor of Guido Jacobacci, the director of the railway opened in 1916 between San Antonio Oeste, on the Atlantic Ocean coast, and San Carlos de Bariloche, in the Andes...

, Comallo

Comallo

Comallo is a village and municipality in Río Negro Province in Argentina.-References:...

, Pilcaniyeu

Pilcaniyeu

Pilcaniyeu is a village and municipality in Río Negro Province in Argentina.-References:...

and San Carlos de Bariloche.