Pilot Student Passenger Rail Service Successfully Implemented

The pilot student-passenger rail-service project was successfully implemented this January to provide safe and cost-effective transportation to students from Old Harbour and Linstead to Spanish Town.

Six schools participated in the programme, where the trains carried more than 66 per cent of their capacity, transporting a combined total of 16,683 students on two round trips per day during the pilot.

Minister of Transport and Mining, Hon. Audley Shaw, provided details during his contribution to the 2022/23 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on April 27.

“As we approach the summer months, where schools will be closed, the option of opening up the service to the general commuting public is currently being explored,” Mr. Shaw said.

He pointed out that the Government is currently in pursuit of the rehabilitation of the rail infrastructure and the operation of a tourist train service from Montego Bay to Appleton Estate by a private investor, which will facilitate the growth and development of the Jamaican economy and enhance the quality of Jamaica’s tourism product.

“Further to this, reconstruction of the rail infrastructure from Kingston to Spanish Town is a critical next step for development. In order for this to be achieved, the Sandy Gully Railway Bridge will have to be rehabilitated. This will indeed require partnership with the National Works Agency, among others,” Mr. Shaw said.

“We are actively pursuing queries about moving freight on the active line in the WINDALCO corridor, Ewarton to Port Esquivel, as the railway’s ability to transport large volumes of goods over long distances, typically unimpeded by traffic congestion, makes it the cheapest form of land transport, which contributes significant economic value in reducing transport cost,” he added.

The Minister emphasised that now is the time to capitalise in order to have vibrant economic growth.

“Movement of people and cargo across the island is essential to achieving this. We are actively looking for investors to possibly partner with the Government to revive the railway service islandwide. I have formal proposals of interest from at least two overseas entities to assist in revitalising the rail service. We must not forget that our railway is one of the oldest in the western hemisphere,” Mr. Shaw told the House.