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NEWS
Cuba
Struggles to Maintain Railway
Thu Nov 21, 3:43 AM ET
By ANDREA RODRIGUEZ, Associated Press Writer
HAVANA (AP) - Cuba is struggling to restore its railway system, Latin
America's oldest, amid an ongoing economic crunch and complaints about
delays and the aging engines.
The railway was born 165 years ago this week, and it has long been
central to the economy, hauling tobacco for its famous cigars in the
east and sugar cane to feed its mills in the west.
Born on Nov. 19, 1837, Cuba's railway system initially connected Havana
with the nearby community of Bejucal. Spain didn't get a railway until
11 years later, according to city historian Eusebio Leal.
Today, Cuba's 2,700 miles of tracks still move about 60 percent of all
ground cargo across the island, as well as hundreds of thousands of
passengers annually.
While there are new efforts to restore the old American-made steam
engines to attract tourists, average citizens complain about low-quality
service — especially chronic delays — of this cheap form of travel.
"It's a challenge," said Rolando Jiques, who has spent 41 of his 74
years working in Cuba's railway system.
Transportation Minister Alvaro Perez Morales said his staff has been
working since last year to cut down on the delays.
"The complaints are justified," Perez said.
One program reimburses railway passengers the price of their tickets if
their train arrives late. The government-subsidized cost of passage from
Havana to Santiago in the island's extreme east is about $2.60.
Still, the major problem facing the railway is a lack of investment to
repair and maintain its infrastructure.
Cuba recently purchased some engines and other hardware from Mexico and
Germany, but the nation's railway system "doesn't get all the money it
needs," said Ricardo Aguiar, director of Railroads of Cuba.
Cuba is still recovering from an economic crisis brought on by the
collapse of the former Soviet Union more than a decade ago and
"investments are made within our reach," Aguiar said.
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