Shaw vows to get western trains rolling
Published:Saturday | February 12, 2022 | 12:07 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Transport and Mining Minister Audley Shaw has said that under his administration, the railway system from Montego Bay to Kingston, which has been out of service since 1992, will be reopened.
Addressing journalists during Wednesday’s US$34 million (J$5.3 billion) contract signing ceremony for a runway expansion project at the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, St James, Shaw said that Jamaica’s railway service, which was built in 1845, should not be allowed to remain unused.
“In terms of the railway, I just want you to know that I am taking a very, very serious and careful look at it, and it is not ‘if’ we are going to bring it back to Jamaica, it is ‘when’. The reason why we must do that is that history would frown upon us if we don’t,” said Shaw.
“The British brought the rail service to Jamaica, primarily to haul around sugar cane, but 30 years ago, we closed down Jamaica’s rail service. The tracks are still there, and we are going to reopen the service,” Shaw added. “We cannot allow this valuable asset to remain dormant, and I am committed to restoring the train service in Jamaica.”
Prior to its closure, Jamaica’s railway system saw much use in the 1940s when bauxite was discovered in the island, with the railway being the preferred means of transporting the bauxite extract for processing and shipping.
The rail service also provided various types of employment to rural western communities such as Catadupa, St James, where a railway station was installed and active as the train ran its route to and from the Appleton Estate.
While he did not give an estimated timeline for the revival of the service, Shaw said that it would be done in three phases, with focus on tourist trips to the Appleton Estate in St Elizabeth.
“We are going to start with the first phase being from Montpelier [in St James] to the Appleton Estate, which is going to be primarily focused on tourism and tourists. They can go through and make stops along the way, and end up at Appleton Estate,” Shaw explained. “Then the next phase will be Montego Bay to Montpelier, and then the final phase is going to be going back to the rail service from Kingston to Montego Bay.”
The Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) administration elected in 2007 had previously attempted to revive the railway service, but this effort fell through after the People’s National Party came to power in 2011. At that time, it was argued that the operation of a railway service in Jamaica was unsustainable as it was too costly.
After the JLP returned to power in 2016, the administration held high-level talks with Hertzog Jamaica Limited, a subsidiary of the United States-based Herzog International Incorporated which outlined plans for phased revitalisation of local passenger rail service. However, those talks were halted in December 2017 after Hertzog Jamaica Limited failed to meet the deliverables of a non-binding memorandum of understanding that was signed with the Ministry of Transport and Mining.
During the recent roll-out of Jamaica’s new commuter rail service for students last month, the Transport Minister Robert Montague said he was proposing a further expansion of the Jamaican rail service to minimise the traffic on the island’s roads.