The Trinidad Government Railway existed between 1876 and 28 December 1968. Originally built to connect

Port of Spain Port of Spain (Spanish: ''Puerto España''), officially the City of Port of Spain (also stylized Port-of-Spain), is the capital of Trinidad and Tobago and the third largest municipality, after Chaguanas and San Fernando. The city has a municip ...

with

Arima Arima, officially The Royal Chartered Borough of Arima is the easternmost and second largest in area of the three boroughs of Trinidad and Tobago. It is geographically adjacent to Sangre Grande and Arouca at the south central foothills of th ...

, the railway was extended to

Couva Couva is an urban town (48,858 in 2011 census) in west-central Trinidad, south of Port of Spain and Chaguanas and north of San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago, San Fernando and Point Fortin. It is the capital and main urban centre of Couva–Tab ...

in 1880,

San Fernando San Fernando may refer to: People *Ferdinand III of Castile (c. 1200–1252), called ''San Fernando'' (Spanish) or ''Saint Ferdinand'', King of Castile, León, and Galicia Places Argentina *San Fernando de la Buena Vista, city of Greater Buenos ...

in 1882, Cunapo (now

Sangre Grande Sangre Grande is the largest town in northeastern Trinidad and Tobago. It is located east of Arima and southwest of the village of Toco. It is the seat of the Sangre Grande Regional Corporation and capital of the region. Overview and history ...

) in 1897,

Tabaquite Tabaquite is a town in central Trinidad, north of Rio Claro and west of the Navet Dam. Overview Miss Trinidad and Tobago 2015 Kimberly Singh hails from Tabaquite. Tabaquite is a primarily rural area and suffers from infrastructural neglect. ...

in 1898,

Siparia Siparia is a town in southern Trinidad, in Trinidad and Tobago, south of San Fernando, southwest of Penal and Debe and southeast of Fyzabad. Also called "The Sand City", it was originally a non-Mission Amerindian settlement. Siparia grew to be th ...

in 1913 and

Rio Claro Rio Claro (Portuguese and Spanish for "clear river" or "clean river") may refer to: Cities *Rio Claro, Trinidad and Tobago, the largest town in southeastern Trinidad and Tobago *Rio Claro, Rio de Janeiro, a Brazilian municipality in the state of R ...

in 1914.

Background

The first attempt to establish a railway was a private affair in 1846 by the Trinidad Railway Company. Trinidad Railway Company's very first steam locomotive was the "Forerunner" which was built by Hunslet of Leeds and arrived in 1864. Railways construction began in the 1870s. The Arima line was completed in 1876, followed by the San Fernando line in 1882. The railway to Princes Town was completed in 1884. These were followed by railway lines to Sangre Grande in 1897 and Cunupia-Tabaquite in 1898.

Overview

At this, its greatest extent, the railway covered . After the end of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the appearance of the automobile led to changes that culminated with the phased closure of the railway April 1953 and 28 December 1968 saw the complete closure of the Trinidad Government Railways.

Statistics

Trinidad Government Railway Locomotive 21

The TGR appeared to have 640 route-km and was . By the end of 1921 the company owned 37 steam locomotives, 105 coaches and 738 goods wagons. In 1931, a Sentinel-Cammell twin articulated steam railcar was acquired. By 1936, there were 29 locomotives, 1 railcar, 82 coaches and 925 freight wagons.

Stations

The principal stations, termini and junctions were: *

– terminus, capital and port **

Tunapuna Tunapuna is a town in the East–West Corridor of the island of Trinidad, in Trinidad and Tobago. Town Tunapuna is located between St. Augustine, Tacarigua and Trincity. Tunapuna is the largest town between San Juan and Arima. It is an importa ...

– junction in east **

– terminus in east *

– junction in east **

Chaguanas The Borough of Chaguanas is the largest municipality (83,489 at the 2011 census) and fastest-growing
– Afra ...

– junction in north central **

– terminus in south east *

Chaguanas The Borough of Chaguanas is the largest municipality (83,489 at the 2011 census) and fastest-growing
– Afra ...

– junction in north central **

– station in west central **

Gasparillo Gasparillo is a settlement in southern Trinidad. It lies east of Pointe-à-Pierre and northeast of San Fernando. The population is 16,426. The name Gasparillo is applied not only to Gasparillo area, but also the surrounding communities including ...

– station **

Princes Town Princes Town is a town within the Princes Town Regional Corporation, located on southern Trinidad island in Trinidad and Tobago. The population of the town is 28,335. History Founded as the Amerindian '' Mission of Savana Grande'', the town ...

– terminus **

Claxton Bay Claxton Bay is a community in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located in Central Trinidad, south of Couva and Chaguanas and north of San Fernando and is administered by the Couva–Tabaquite–Talparo Regional Corporation. Olympic cycli ...

– station in south central **

Marabella Marabella is a former town in southern Trinidad, between San Fernando (to the south) and Pointe-à-Pierre (to the north). Early 19th-century maps highlighted it as Marabella Junction because of the railway intersection to Williamsville and othe ...

– junction in south west **

– station in south west *

Penal Penal is a town in south Trinidad, Trinidad and Tobago. It lies south of San Fernando, Princes Town, and Debe, and north of Moruga, Morne Diablo and Siparia. It was originally a rice- and cocoa-producing area but is now a rapidly expanding and de ...

– station in south *

– terminus in south

New railway

On 11 April 2008 the Trinitrain consortium was chosen to plan and build two new

Trinidad Rapid Railway The Trinidad Rapid Railway is a proposed passenger railway system in Trinidad and Tobago. Project On 11 April 2008, the TriniTrain consortium of Alstom Transport SA, Alstom T&T Ltd, Bouygues Construction and RATP Développement announced it had b ...

passenger lines. This plan was cancelled in 2010.

References

{{coord missing, Trinidad and Tobago Rail transport in Trinidad and Tobago Standard gauge railways in Trinidad