Far-right presidential candidate Javier Milei said on Wednesday that he will privatize Argentina’s railroad service and terminate state subsidies for utility prices if elected president.

“Yes, absolutely”, said Milei when asked if train services should be private in an interview with A24 channel. 

The La Libertad Avanza (LLA) candidate said that the train service was “the finest railroad system in the world” when it was owned by British companies between the late 1800s and the mid-20th century.

“We had the best railroad system in the world back when it was British,” he said, adding that current deficit levels caused by subsidies on public utility prices, including transport, cannot continue.   

“Having a business-managing state is an oxymoron, because it doesn’t play the role of a businessman. The state should step aside. The private sector does it a lot better,” he said.  

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Milei’s statements come after the government announced on Wednesday that people can voluntarily opt out of paying subsidized transport fares. According to Economy Minister and Unión por la Patria (UxP) presidential candidate Sergio Massa, taking away the subsidies would raise train fares in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area “from AR$90 to AR$1100 pesos.”

Milei also blamed the state for the tragic Once-station train crash that took place in Buenos Aires eleven years ago, leaving 51 people dead and 800 injured.

“The state was to blame for the Once tragedy because they didn’t allow [the managing company] to raise train fares. The company defends its profit, the state doesn’t control it, and then the accident happens and we’re all crying about it,” he said.  

The Argentine railroad service is currently managed by Ferrocarriles Argentinos State Company (FASE), which runs the train network and is also in charge of improvement works for passenger and freight train services. 

The privatization of train services already happened in the mid-1990s during Carlos Menem’s administration. That decision led to several railroad lines closing, which in turn left many small towns isolated and cut off from major transport networks. The state regained control of the service in 2015 during Cristina Kirchner’s second term as president. 

According to official statistics, more than 75.5 million passengers used Argentine trains in the first quarter of 2023, between regional, long-distance, and AMBA rail services. Also, approximately 4.6 million tons of cargo were transported.

– With information by Télam