The TRAIN STATION at the END OF THE WORLD

Travelling at a speed of 10 km/h on rails with a gauge of 50 cm, a train approaches a small station. Where does it stop? At the end of the world!

Credit: it.wikipedia.org

EDB Travelling at a speed of 10 km/h on rails with a gauge of 50 cm, a train approaches a small station. Where does it stop? At the end of the world!

The TRAIN STATION at the END OF THE WORLD

#Welcome at the end of the world!

Credit: @ushuaialovers

We are in Ushuaia, the capital of the “Land of fire”, so far away from the equator that it is called “the end of the world”.

In the indigenous language, it literally means “Bay that penetrates to the west”, built on the last strip of the southern coast of Argentina beyond which the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans meet, it is the southernmost place on the planet.

That the station at the end of the world is located right here in Ushuaia.

# The prison train

Credit: @cartolinedai6continenti

The Train at the End of the World, also known as the Southern Fuegina Railway, is a steam-train railway in the Argentinian province of Tierra del Fuego.

The history of this station unfolded in 1909, when a prison director informed the government that the railway line needed to be upgraded. In 1909 and 1910, new Decauville tracks with a narrow gauge of 600 mm were laid, designed to be used for trains driven by a steam locomotive.

The train connected the prison camp with the forest camp, running along the coast in front of the city of Ushuaia.

In fact, during that period of time, it took the name of “Prison Train” and carried wood for heating and cooking as well as for the prison construction works.

# The new life of the train

Credit: @nikoargen

In 1947, the prison was closed and replaced by a naval base.

Two years later, due to the 1949 Tierra del Fuego earthquakes, a large section of the train line was blocked and, in the following years, the service was discontinued altogether.

In the last years of the 1900s, however, the railway was rebuilt and began operating again.
As in the tale of Cinderella, this train changed its life and started a new service, in luxury conditions compared to its origins as a prison train.

# The station at the end of the world today


Credit: @rumbosurexcursiones

Nowadays the train offers a short journey departing from the “End of the World” station (about 10 km west of Ushuaia airport).

The train route takes passengers along the Pico Valley into the Toro Gorge and to the Cascada de la Macarena station, where visitors can learn about the Yámana people and climb to a lookout point in a 15-minute stop.

The train then enters the national park and forest, traveling through the valley below the mountains, reaching El Parque station.

The whole route is surrounded by nature, which reigns supreme here: green and wild, it will take your breath away.

This station is the southernmost station on the entire planet and is one of a kind.

Today, it is served by only three trains that travel at a speed of 10 km/h on rails with a gauge of 50 cm. Where is the last stop? At the end of the world!

ARIANNA BOTTINI