Transport in

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

consists of roadways,

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

ship A ship is a large watercraft that travels the world's oceans and other sufficiently deep waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research, and fishing. Ships are generally distinguished ...

and

air transport Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot air ...

, with roadways forming the backbone of the island's internal

transport Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, an ...

system.

Roadways

The Jamaican road network consists of almost 21,000 kilometres of roads, of which over 15,000 kilometres are

paved Pavement may refer to: * Pavement (architecture), an outdoor floor or superficial surface covering * Road surface, the durable surfacing of roads and walkways ** Asphalt concrete, a common form of road surface * Sidewalk or pavement, a walkway alo ...

.The CIA World Factbook - Jamaica
Retrieved June 27, 2007 The Jamaican Government has, since the late 1990s and in cooperation with private investors, embarked on a campaign of infrastructural improvement projects, one of which includes the creation of a system of

freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...

s, the first such access-controlled roadways of their kind on the island, connecting the main population centres of the island. This project has so far seen the completion of 33 kilometres of

. The Highway 2000 project, which seeks ultimately to link Kingston with Montego Bay and the north coast, is currently undergoing a series of phases/legs. Phase 1 is the highway network between

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the five most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

and Mandeville, which itself has been divided into sub-phases: Phase 1a (Kingston-Bushy Park (in actuality, Kingston-Sandy Bay) highway and the upgrade of the Portmore Causeway), which was completed June 2006, and Phase 1b (Sandy Bay-Williamsfield). Phase 2a is the highway between Old Harbour and Ocho Rios, and Phase 2b is the highway between Mandeville and

Montego Bay Montego Bay is the capital of the Parishes of Jamaica, parish of Saint James Parish, Jamaica, St. James in Jamaica. The city is the fourth-largest urban area in the country by population, after Kingston, Jamaica, Kingston, Spanish Town, and Por ...

.Highway 2000: Project Schedule
Retrieved March 25, 2007
''total:'' .
''paved:'' .
''unpaved:'' (1997 est.).

Buses

The Jamaica Omnibus Service (JOS) was a municipal bus system that served the Kingston metropolitan area that ran from 1953 to 1983. After being run by British Electric Traction, the JOS was nationalised by the Jamaican government in 1974. It was replaced by a hodgepodge of privately operated buses, and a national bus system called the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) was established in 1998 after complaints. The JUTC presently oversees more than 70 routes in areas including Kingston and Spanish Town. Coaches are a notable means of travel in Jamaica; a popular privately operated coach service is the Knutsford Express. The JUTC also provides charter buses. As for

minibuses A minibus, microbus, minicoach, or commuter (in Zimbabwe) is a passenger-carrying motor vehicle that is designed to carry more people than a multi-purpose vehicle or minivan, but fewer people than a full-size bus. In the United Kingdom, th ...

and route taxis, PPV number plates indicate licensed public transport, whereas JUTA plates indicate tourist routes. Having been proposed in 2019, the JUTC began testing floating solar electric buses in 2022, hoping to gradually introduce electric buses into the fleet and eventually phase out diesel buses. Jamaica Urban Transit Company Golden Dragon XML 6897J13 - Flickr - JLaw45.jpg, JUTC bus, 2016 Knutsford Express Kinglong (50818902882).jpg, Knutford Express, 2018 Jamaica-Toyota Coaster (6373832871).jpg, Minibus in Ocho Rios, 2009

Railways

Jamaican railroad with railcar and station 1960

Railways in Jamaica, as in many other countries, no longer enjoy the prominent position they once did, having been largely replaced by roadways as the primary means of transport. Of the 272 kilometres of railway found in Jamaica, only 57 kilometres remain in operation, currently used to transport

bauxite Bauxite is a sedimentary rock with a relatively high aluminium content. It is the world's main source of aluminium and gallium. Bauxite consists mostly of the aluminium minerals gibbsite (Al(OH)3), boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)) and diaspore (α-AlO(O ...

. In 2008, with increasing traffic congestion, moves are being made to reconstruct old railway lines.
''total:'' 370 km
''standard gauge:'' 370 km gauge. Of these, 207 km belong to the Jamaica Railway Corporation in common carrier service but are no longer operational. The other 163 km is privately owned and used to transport bauxite.

Air Transport

There are two international airports in Jamaica with modern terminals, long

runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt concrete, as ...

s, and the navigational equipment required to accommodate the large

jet aircraft A jet aircraft (or simply jet) is an aircraft (nearly always a fixed-wing aircraft) propelled by jet engines. Whereas the engines in propeller-powered aircraft generally achieve their maximum efficiency at much lower speeds and altitudes, je ...

used in modern air travel:

Norman Manley International Airport Norman Manley International Airport , formerly Palisadoes Airport, is an international airport serving Kingston, Jamaica and is located south of the island away from the centre of New Kingston. It is the second busiest airport in the country ...

in the capital,

and Sangster International Airport in the resort city of

. Both airports were once home to the country's (now defunct) national airline, Air Jamaica. In addition there are local commuter airports at Tinson Pen (Kingston), Port Antonio, Ocho Rios, Mandeville, and Negril that cater to internal flights only. The

Ian Fleming International Airport Ian Fleming International Airport (IFIA) (previously Boscobel Aerodrome) is an international airport located in Boscobel, Saint Mary Parish, Jamaica, east of Ocho Rios, in northern Jamaica. The airport historically provided service to the Un ...

opened in February 2011 to serve the Ocho Rios - Port Antonio area. Many other small, rural centres are served by private fields on sugar estates or bauxite mines.

Ports and Shipping

Owing to its location in the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...

in the

shipping lane A sea lane, sea road or shipping lane is a regularly used navigable route for large water vessels (ships) on wide waterways such as oceans and large lakes, and is preferably safe, direct and economic. During the Age of Sail, they were determined b ...

to the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit ...

and relative proximity to large markets in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

and emerging markets in

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

, Jamaica receives high container traffic. The

container terminal A container port or container terminal is a facility where cargo containers are transshipped between different transport vehicles, for onward transportation. The transshipment may be between container ships and land vehicles, for example train ...

at the Port of Kingston has undergone large expansion in capacity in recent years to handle growth both already realised as well as what is projected in coming years. The Jamaica Observer
Retrieved June 27, 2007 There are several other ports positioned around the island, including the alumina ports, Port Esquivel in St. Catherine ( WINDALCO), Rocky Point in Clarendon and Port Kaiser in St. Elizabeth. Port Rhoades in Discovery Bay is responsible for transporting bauxite dried at the adjacent Kaiser plant. Reynolds Pier in Ocho Rios is responsible for exporting sugar. Montego Freeport in

also handles a variety of cargo like (though more limited than) the Port of Kingston, mainly agricultural products. Boundbrook Port in Port Antonio exports bananas. There are also three cruise ship piers along the island, in Ocho Rios,

and Port Antonio. The Kingston port is situated in the Kingston Harbour, which is the 7th largest natural (i.e. not man made) harbour in the world.

Merchant marine

*''Total:'' 1 ship of over 1,000 GT: /. *''Ships by type:''

petroleum tanker An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk transport of oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined cru ...

1 (1999 est.).

Lighthouses

As the island is a large exporter of

, there is considerable freighter traffic. To aid navigation, Jamaica operates nine lighthouses *''Onshore:'' 7. *''Offshore:'' 2.

Pipelines

Petroleum products: .

References

Annual Transport Statistics Report: Jamaica in Figures 2003-2004
Ministry of Transport and Works, July 2005. {{DEFAULTSORT:Transport In Jamaica