Ferrocarriles de Cuba (FCC) or Ferrocarriles Nacionales de Cuba (English: National Railway Company of Cuba), provides passenger and freight services for Cuba.

Route network

Ferrocarriles de Cuba uses that extends from Guane (province Pinar del Río) in the westernmost part of the island up to the bay of Guantánamo in the eastern part. The Central railway runs from Havana to Santiago de Cuba in the eastern region. Most of the system is diesel-powered with electrified. The flagship Train Number 1 travels between Havana and Baracoa. Other long-distance passenger services link Havana to Pinar del Río (western railway), Cienfuegos (South branch), Sancti Spíritus, Bayamo-Manzanillo and Guantánamo. The network connects the six first-level ports in Cuba: Havana, Mariel, Matanzas, Cienfuegos, Nuevitas and Santiago de Cuba, as well as all provincial capital cities. The Hershey Electric Railway is an electrified railway from Havana to

Matanzas Matanzas (Cuban ) is the capital of the Cuban province of Matanzas. Known for its poets, culture, and Afro-Cuban folklore, it is located on the northern shore of the island of Cuba, on the Bay of Matanzas (Spanish ''Bahia de Matanzas''), east ...

that was built by the Hershey Company in order to transport workers and products after it had bought sugar plantations in 1916. It is a commuter service running in northern Havana and Matanzas provinces using some original equipment.

History

Colonial Cuba

In 1836 Gaspar Betancourt Cisneros established a horse-drawn railway service called ''Ferrocarril de Camagüey a Nuevitas'' in

Camagüey Camagüey () is a city and municipality in central Cuba and is the nation's third-largest city with more than 321,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Camagüey Province. It was founded as Santa María del Puerto del Príncipe in 1514, by S ...

(Puerto Príncipe). Cuba's railway history began on October 12, 1834, when the Queen Regent of Spain,

Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies ( it, Maria Cristina Ferdinanda di Borbone, Principessa delle Due Sicilie, es, link=no, María Cristina de Borbón, Princesa de las Dos Sicilias; 27 April 1806 – 22 August 1878) was Queen of Spain from 1829 ...

, approved the building of the first line. When the Compañía de Caminos de Hierro de la Habana opened the line from Havana to Bejucal on November 19, 1837, the first steam railway line in Latin America. At that date Spain itself did not possess any railway lines. The line from Havana was extended by to reach Güines on November 19, 1839. By December 1843 the cities San Felipe and Batabanó were added to the rail network. Further extensions were opened in 1847, adding another , followed by the next year and then in 1849. Havana had its first streetcar (Ferrocarril Urbano de la Habana) when its service commenced on February 3, 1859.

Pre-Revolutionary Cuba

American-born Canadian railway builder Sir William Cornelius Van Horne helped expand Cuba's railway network in the early 20th century. He was an investor in the Cuba Railroad Company (founded 1900). In 1924 Ferrocarriles Consolidados de Cuba was created from a dispute between Ferrocarriles Consolidados de Cuba and Ferrocarriles de Cuba. Other railway companies formed and merged in the 1920s: *Ferrocarriles del Norte de Cuba 1916 *Ferrocarril Espirituano Tunas de Zaza *Ferrocarril Guantánamo y Occidente From 1940 to 1959, Cuba's railway system was modernized by the acquisition of train stock from Budd and Fiat. These trains provided medium-speed self-propelled (diesel) four-car service on the main line between Havana and Santiago de Cuba. Also after World War II, a large network of diesel intercity buses was created with four or five major carriers competing in the east–west corridor between Havana and the provinces to the east. A few sugar factories switched over to diesel-electric locomotives to haul freight. In 1958, Cuba had more railway trackage per square mile than any other country.

Train ferry

*Prior to the revolution there was a train ferry between Miami and Havana. *The

West India Fruit and Steamship Company The West India Fruit and Steamship Company operated a railcar ferry service between the Port of Palm Beach, Florida, and Havana, Cuba, from shortly after World War II until deteriorating relations between the United States and Cuba culminated in ...

was one of a number of companies to provide such service.

Post-revolutionary Cuba

The destruction of President Fulgencio Batista's so-called armoured train (it seems to have been an ordinary train carrying soldiers and weapons) by the revolutionaries in the

Battle of Santa Clara The Battle of Santa Clara was a series of events in late December 1958 that led to the capture of the Cuban city of Santa Clara by revolutionaries under the command of Che Guevara. The battle was a decisive victory for the rebels fighting ag ...

in December 1958 was an important stepping stone in the Cuban Revolution. After the revolution in 1959, the Ferrocarriles Nacionales de Cuba was created by nationalizing the private and public railway systems. MINAZ continued to operate a separate railway system, mainly to transport sugar products. From 1963 to 1966,

British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...

helped the national railway obtain newer locomotives which were based on the Brush Type 4 locomotives (later Class 47) at the time being built at Brush Traction in Loughborough, but the final assembly of the Cuban locomotives was performed in the Clayton assembly shop at International Combustion Derby operated by Clayton Equipment Company Hatton, Derbyshire. After the

Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis (of 1962) ( es, Crisis de Octubre) in Cuba, the Caribbean Crisis () in Russia, or the Missile Scare, was a 35-day (16 October – 20 November 1962) confrontation between the United S ...

, it became harder for Cuba to buy new railway equipment because of the United States embargo against Cuba. Some trains were shipped from third countries, British locomotives were shipped from

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

using Yugoslavian ships. Cuba's purchase of new trains and parts from the Western Bloc, stopped from the late 1960s, was replaced through trade with the

Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...

. The Soviet Union delivered 107 TE-114K locomotives between 1978 and 1984 but this trade link collapsed with the fall of the Soviet Union. Cuba was able to obtain used trains and new locomotives, from friendly nations not affected by the embargo: * 5 RSC18 locomotives were shipped from Canada * 9 electrical motor coaches were shipped from Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC) (Catalan Government Railways) of Spain Many of Cuba's trains are diesel and only a handful of steam locomotives remain for the sugar industry and tourism.

Recent developments

Starting in 2000, the Cuban railway network was improved by more second-hand equipment. Used vehicles came from Canada, China, Mexico, and Europe. In 2002 used light rail-cars ( BR771) were acquired from Germany. In 2006 China became Cuba's major supplier of railway equipment. China Northern's February 7 Locomotive Works in Beijing began delivering 12 DF7G-C diesel locomotives. Follow-up orders for 40 and 60 more meant 112 locomotives were delivered between 2006 and 2010.

China Railway China State Railway Group Company, Ltd., doing business as China Railway (CR), is the national passenger and freight railroad corporation of the People's Republic of China. China Railway operates passenger and freight transport throughout Ch ...

also sold some of its retired cars. On September 25, 2007, investors from the Venezuelan Bank for Socio-Economic Development (BANDES) reached an agreement with transportation officials in Cuba to invest US$100 million for infrastructure improvements and repairs to Cuba's rail network. The work was expected to help increase the average speed of trains on Cuba's railways from . As part of the agreement, Cuban engineers will also work on similar projects on Venezuela's rail network. In October 2007, the Cuban railways ordered 200 passenger and 550 freight cars from Iranian manufacturer Wagon Pars. They were never delivered because of UN sanctions against Iran, Cuba purchased coaches from China instead. In May 2010 the Cuban government announced wide-ranging plans to repair the railway network, buy new rolling stock, and open four centers to train railway workers. Improved Relations between Cuba and the United States has increased interest in Cuban rail travel. However, in 2017 a new US administration imposed more sanctions. In 2016 Russian manufacturer Sinara Transport Machines signed a contract for 60 TGM8 km (ТГМ8КМ) and fifteen TGM4 km (ТГМ4КМ) diesel locomotives to be delivered in small lots by the end of 2021. The TGM8 km has been designed especially to work in the humid tropical climate conditions of Cuba. New spare parts for older Russian locomotives will be part of the order. Sinara will also begin rebuilding older locomotives. In March 2017 Russian manufacturer RM Rail, who had just delivered 363 freight cars, signed a contract to deliver an additional 225. They also contracted for twenty-eight four-car passenger train-sets. In September Russian Railways subsidiary RZD International signed a contract for modernizing the system. In March 2018 France's

SNCF The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (; abbreviated as SNCF ; French for "National society of French railroads") is France's national state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the country's national rail traffi ...

entered into an agreement to supply equipment, upgrade two shops to modern standards, and train people in both Cuba and France. Training will include repairing and renovating older equipment. In August 2018 a decree-law updated and organized the railroad laws and regulation. From September 2018 foreign corporations can operate rail lines. A Safety Commission and other administration changes were made. Part of long-term infrastructure improvements include every track having a right-of-way of at least 15 meters for railroad use only. Any land that borders it must keep a fence in good condition. As of January 2019, Sinara Transport Machines had delivered 43 diesel locomotives to Cuba as part of a contract to supply 75 locomotives by the end of 2021. A new contract for 23 LDE-2500 diesel locomotives was signed in January 2019. Prototype four-unit DMU rail-cars are being received. In 2019, the Cuban railways received the first delivery of new Chinese-built coaches, and new services with these began in July 2019.

Rolling Stock

Freight cars were mainly acquired from

countries and the USSR, whereas passenger cars are from other countries that have diplomatic relations with Cuba (Mexico, Norway, Canada and France). File:2014-12-09_12-40-03_ILCE-6000_4568_DxO.jpg, Gondolas and hopper cars of Ferrocarriles de Cuba, 2014

References

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External links

Full bus and train timetable
— ''with time tables''.
Hershey Electric Railroad in CubaVisit of the delegation from the Republic of Cuba to LTZ. Starting of the production of ТГМ8КМ locomotives, 9-10 Novembre 2016
��Photogallery
Le Fogonero blog (in Spanish)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferrocarriles De Cuba Standard gauge railways in Cuba 1924 establishments in Cuba Railway companies established in 1924 Government-owned companies of Cuba