Buenos Aires to Córdoba
This overnight train boasts 4 clases ranging from hard seat tourist class to 2 bed sleepers. It leaves from the Retiro train station Monday and Friday at 8:30 PM and arrive in Córdoba at 11:30 the next morning. From Córdoba trains leave Sunday at 2:42 PM, arriving to BA the next morning at 7:33AM and Wednesday at 7:30PM arriving to Retiro at 12:33 PM.
Buenos Aires to Tucuman
Run by the same company as the train to Cordoba, this train takes 25 hours to get to its destination. The scenery is a bit monotonous but the food in the diner car is surprisingly good and reasonably priced. Like the train to Cordoba, there are 4 classes ranging from cheapo tourist to comfy camarote class.
Trains leave Retiro Monday and Friday at 9:55 AM and arrive in Tucumán at 11AM the next day. From Tucumán, trains depart Wednesday at 5PM and Saturday at 7:43PM, arriving the next day at Retiro at 19:21 and 22:04, respectively.
Both the Tucuman and Cordoba services are in high demand, so you will have to buy your ticket a month ahead of time, and for trains during holiday periods up to 3 months before the day of departure.
Tickets can be purchased at the Retiro terminal from 10AM to 6PM Monday thru Friday and Saturday from 9AM to 1PM. Phone reservations are not taken.
Buenos Aires to Mar Del Plata
A reasonable alternative to taking the bus, this train takes 6 hours to get to the coast. You can board it at the Constitución train station daily at 7:40AM and 11PM, returning from MDP at 10:15AM and 7:15PM. In addition an express service departs Constitución Friday night at 6:25PM and arrives at the coast just after midnight. The same express returns Sunday at 8:25PM, arriving at Constitución at 2 Monday morning.
Viedma To Bariloche – The Tren Patagonico
The only part of the train ride that is scenic lies within an hour of Bariloche. If for some reason you need to go between Bariloche and Viedma, this might be an option although it is painstakingly slow. The train leaves Viedma on Friday at 6PM and arrives Saturday sometime in the afternoon. The return leaves Bariloche Sunday at 5PM, arriving in Viedma Mondy in the afternoon. Note that the official timetables are inaccurate, and the train has not arrived on time in over 5 years.
If you are thinking about trying to combine this with a trip on the train BA->Carmen de Patagones be aware that service on that line only goes as far as Stroeder as of August of 2010. Even if the service is restored, you will need to lay over 6 days in Viedma while waiting for the train to Bariloche. Viedma is not such an exciting town that you would want to spend almost a week there.
Another option would be to take the train to Bahia Blanca on Wednesday or Thursday, then a bus to Viedma where you could catch the train out on Friday.
The Patagonian Express, Esquel
This train really doesn’t go anywhere you would need to go, but then again that isn’t the reason you would take it anyway. There is a frequent tourist service to Nahuel Pan, a small Mapuche community, and sporadically theu will take the full 9 hour trip to El Maitén, where the railroad workshops are located.
South America