Argentina's current rail network spanning over 36,000km in length ranks the eighth largest in the world. Argentina used to have about 47,000km of rail network at the end of the Second World War, mostly operated by British and French-owned railway companies. But the decline of profits and the rise of highway construction in the subsequent decades reduced the network to the 36,000km of line that exists today. The railway companies operating on the network were nationalised in 1948 with the creation of the state railroad corporation Ferrocarriles Argentinos.
The Argentinean railway was privatised between 1992 and 1995 with the grant of concessions to different private companies for operating six divisions of the formerly state-owned rail network. Cities such as Buenos Aires, Resistencia and Mendoza offer extensive suburban passenger services, as well as the long distance passenger lines in the country.
The much talked-about Argentine high-speed railway is not a reality yet. An announcement was made in 2006 to develop a 310km high-speed line between Buenos Aires and Rosario. The project was, however, not implemented as of 2013. A second high-speed line stretching 400km between Rosario and Cordoba has also been proposed.