![Esquema ferrocarril cuba](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/Esquema_ferrocarril_cuba.png)
Ferrocarriles de Cuba (FCC) or Ferrocarriles Nacionales de Cuba (English: National Railway Company of Cuba), provides passenger and freight services for
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
.
Route network
Ferrocarriles de Cuba uses that extends from
Guane
Guane is a municipality and town in the Pinar del Río Province of Cuba. It was founded in 1602.
Geography
The municipality is divided into the barrios of Cabo de San Antonio y La Fe, Catalina, Cortés, Hato de Guane, Isabel Rubio (Paso Real d ...
(province Pinar del Río) in the westernmost part of the island up to the bay of
Guantánamo
Guantánamo (, , ) is a municipality and city in southeast Cuba and capital of Guantánamo Province.
Guantánamo is served by the Caimanera port near the site of a U.S. naval base. The area produces sugarcane and cotton wool. These are traditi ...
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
Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. and
Baracoa
Baracoa, whose full original name is: ''Nuestra Señora de la Asunción de Baracoa'' (“Our Lady of the Assumption of Baracoa”), is a municipality and city in Guantánamo Province near the eastern tip of Cuba. It was visited by Admiral Christop ...
. 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
The Hershey Electric Railway, also known as the Hershey Railway, is a standard-gauge electric interurban railway that runs from Casablanca, Havana, to the city of Matanzas, approximately to the east. There are a number of intermediate halts and ...
is an electrified railway from Havana to
Matanzas that was built by
the Hershey Company
The Hershey Company, commonly known as Hershey's, is an American multinational company and one of the largest chocolate manufacturers in the world. It also manufactures baked products, such as cookies and cakes, and sells beverages like milksh ...
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 182 ...
, 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
Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. was extended by to reach
Güines
Güines is a municipality and town in the Mayabeque Province of Cuba. It is located southeast of Havana, next to the Mayabeque River. It is the most populated town, but not the capital, of its province.
History
The city was founded in 1737 by t ...
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
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
(Ferrocarril Urbano de la Habana) when its service commenced on February 3, 1859.
Pre-Revolutionary Cuba
![FCCC_flatcar,_Cuban_railway](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/FCCC_flatcar%2C_Cuban_railway.jpg)
American-born Canadian railway builder Sir
William Cornelius Van Horne
Sir William Cornelius Van Horne, (February 3, 1843September 11, 1915) is most famous for overseeing the construction of the first Canadian transcontinental railway, a project that was completed in 1885, in under half the projected time. He succe ...
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
A train ferry is a ship (ferry) designed to carry railway vehicles. Typically, one level of the ship is fitted with railway tracks, and the vessel has a door at the front and/or rear to give access to the wharves. In the United States, train ...
between
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
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
![Cuba-railroad](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Cuba-railroad.png)
The destruction of President
Fulgencio Batista
Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar (; ; born Rubén Zaldívar, January 16, 1901 – August 6, 1973) was a Cuban military officer and politician who served as the elected president of Cuba from 1940 to 1944 and as its U.S.-backed military dictator ...
's so-called
armoured train
An armoured train is a railway train protected with armour. Armoured trains usually include railway wagons armed with artillery, machine guns and autocannons. Some also had slits used to fire small arms from the inside of the train, a facili ...
(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
The Cuban Revolution ( es, Revolución Cubana) was carried out after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état which placed Fulgencio Batista as head of state and the failed mass strike in opposition that followed. After failing to contest Batista in cou ...
.
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 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
Brush Traction is a manufacturer and maintainer of railway locomotives in Loughborough, England. It is a subsidiary of Wabtec.
History
Hughes's Locomotive & Tramway Engine Works
Henry Hughes had been operating at the Falcon Works since t ...
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
Clayton Equipment Company Ltd, now known simply as Clayton Equipment Ltd or CEC and CEL, is a locomotive construction company that specialises in rail equipment, design and build, tunnelling, mining, metro, mainline and shunter locomotives.
In ...
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
The United States embargo against Cuba prevents American businesses, and businesses organized under U.S. law or majority-owned by American citizens, from conducting trade with Cuban interests. It is the most enduring trade embargo in modern his ...
. Some trains were shipped from third countries,
British locomotives were shipped from
Hull using
Yugoslavian ships.
Cuba's purchase of new trains and parts from the
Western Bloc
The Western Bloc, also known as the Free Bloc, the Capitalist Bloc, the American Bloc, and the NATO Bloc, was a coalition of countries that were officially allied with the United States during the Cold War of 1947–1991. It was spearheaded by ...
, 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
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
n 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
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
ian manufacturer
Wagon Pars
Wagon Pars (in Persian: شرکت واگن پارس, ''Sherkat-e Vâgon Pars'') is an Iranian train and locomotive manufacturer established in 1974, in Arak. Products include locomotives, trains, metros, freight and fuel railroad cars, and equ ...
. 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
Sinara Transport Machines (russian: ОАО «Синара – Транспортные машины») is a Russian transportation vehicle manufacturing and engineering company based in Ekaterinburg. The company was established in 2007 as a d ...
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
Sinara Transport Machines (russian: ОАО «Синара – Транспортные машины») is a Russian transportation vehicle manufacturing and engineering company based in Ekaterinburg. The company was established in 2007 as a d ...
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
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 ...
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
The gondola (, ; vec, góndoła ) is a traditional, flat-bottomed Venetian rowing boat, well suited to the conditions of the Venetian lagoon. It is typically propelled by a gondolier, who uses a rowing oar, which is not fastened to the hul ...
and hopper car
A hopper car (US) or hopper wagon ( UIC) is a type of railroad freight car used to transport loose bulk commodities such as coal, ore, grain, and track ballast. Two main types of hopper car exist: covered hopper cars, which are equipped with ...
s of Ferrocarriles de Cuba, 2014
See also
*
Camagüey railway station
*
Ferrocarril Recreacional
Futbol Club Sonsonate is a Salvadoran professional football club based in Sonsonate, El Salvador.
The club plays its home games at Estadio Anna Mercedes Campos, a stadium located in the City suburb of Sonsonate, Sonsonate, since 2009. The team is ...
Steamlocomotive.info - Cuba
/ref> (located in Parque Lenin
Parque Lenin (English: Lenin Park) is a recreational park complex situated south of Havana, Cuba.
Overview
There is a monument to Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian ...
) (Closed)
*Havana Central railway station
Havana Central ( es, La Habana Central, links=no; the "Central Railway Station", ) is the main railway terminal in Havana and the largest railway station in Cuba, is the hub of the rail system in the country. It serves for the arrival and dep ...
* Havana Suburban Railway
* Santa Clara railway station
* Santiago de Cuba railway station
*Tren Francés
''Tren Francés'' (Spanish for "French Train") was the name of the flagship Cuban InterCity service between Havana and Santiago. Owned by Ferrocarriles de Cuba, it was operated by SNCF ex-Trans Europ Express (TEE) , originally used in Europe betw ...
*Transportation in Cuba
Transportation in Cuba is the system of railways, roads, airports, waterways, ports and harbours in Cuba:
Railways
* ''total:'' 8,285 km
* ''standard gauge:'' 8,125 km gauge (105 km electrified)
* ''narrow gauge:'' 160 km o ...
References
*
*
Further reading
*
External links
Full bus and train timetable
— ''with time tables''.
Hershey Electric Railroad in Cuba
Visit 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