On 6 April 1888 the line was opened by the "Tramway Rural" company and was extended by 53 km to Zárate on 27 July of the same year.

[3] In 1913 the BACR linked with the Entre Ríos Railway (ERR), which passengers took after crossing the river by ferry.

Once the transhipment was done, the ERR carried passengers to the neighbouring cities of Asunción, Salto (Uruguay) and Uruguaiana (Brazil).

[2] Branch lines to San Martín and to Campo de Mayo in Greater Buenos Aires were opened on 20 February 1911 and 30 November 1914, respectively.

Interchange was possible with the French-owned 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) metre gauge line of the Compañía General de Buenos Aires in Salto, with the 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge line of the British-owned Central Argentine Railway in San Martín (GBA) and with the 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge line of the British-owned Buenos Aires and Pacific Railway in Caseros.