Jamaica - News

Tonymercury · Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2005 6:44 am

PrintSource: Government of Jamaica

Date: 12 Jul 2005
Print E-mail Save Jamaica: NWA to repair railway bridge in PortlandPORT ANTONIO (JIS), Tuesday, July 12, 2005 - The National Works Agency (NWA) will be carrying out repairs to the Railway Bridge in St. Margaret's Bay, Portland to facilitate the movement of vehicular traffic, following the damage done to the Rio Grande bridge by Hurricane Dennis on July 7.

Located in the same community on the main road between Port Antonio and other important commercial centres, including Kingston and Ocho Rios, the Rio Grande bridge was severely damaged when flood waters from the Rio Grande river did extensive damage to its centre pier, rendering it unable to accommodate vehicular traffic, thereby cutting off sections of Portland from other areas of the country.

The railway bridge, which is adjacent to the Rio Grande bridge, has been out of use since the early 1980s.

Winston Palmer, Parish Manager for the NWA told JIS News that the decision to put the railway bridge back in service came out of a visit to the parish on Sunday, July 10 by Prime Minister P.J. Patterson, during which Mr. Patterson instructed that work should begin immediately on the bridge.

Mr. Palmer said technical officers from the NWA were currently in the process of examining the railway bridge, with a view to presenting a report on what needed to be done. In the meantime, a technical assessment would be carried out on the Rio Grande bridge as a preliminary step to effecting the necessary repairs.

Turning to the general condition of roads in the parish, Mr. Palmer said most of the roads, which were blocked during the passage of the hurricane, have been cleared.

He noted, however, that there were still some problems in the Friday area of the Rio Grande valley where the road has been completely blocked as a result of a landslide, and the Cascade area of the Buff Bay valley where a section of the road broke away on Friday (July Cool

.

Mr. Palmer added that there are some roads, which could only accommodate single lane traffic because of blockages caused by landslides, fallen trees and other debris.

These include roads between Haining and Muirton, Williamsfield and Haining and Fellowship and Berrydale.

The Parish Manager said the NWA was working around the clock to correct the situation, and urged motorists to use the roads accommodating single lane traffic with great caution.

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Tonymercury · Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2005 6:45 am

NWA to reinstate old railway bridge in Portland

JIS
Wednesday, July 13, 2005

St Margaret's Bay, Portland - The National Works Agency (NWA) will be reinstating the old Railway Bridge at St Margaret's Bay, decommisisoned now for about two decades, to route traffic that would normally use the hurricane-damaged Rio Grande bridge.

Flood waters from the July 7 rains did extensive damage to Rio Grande's centre pier, rendering it inaccessible to vehicular traffic and cutting off sections of Portland from other areas of the country.

The railway bridge, which is adjacent to the Rio Grande bridge, has been out of use since the early 1980s.

The decision to recommission the railway bridge, said Winston Palmer, NWA parish manager, was taken following a visit to the parish Sunday by Prime Minister PJ Patterson.

Patterson, who is also chairman of the National Disaster Cmmittee, instructed that work begin immediately on the bridge.

Palmer said NWA engineers were now doing the necessary technical assessments.

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Tonymercury · Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2007 4:35 am

Trains may never roll again
Highways, greater number of cars cast doubt on future of rail service

Sunday, February 25, 2007

Five years after investors - first the Indians, then the Chinese - submitted impressive plans to put Jamaica's moth-balled railway back on track, the country remains without a passenger rail service.

And it was beginning to appear at the weekend that the familiar dark and light blue locomotives of the Jamaica Railway Corporation (JRC), which excited school children as it drew into Balaclava and Catadupa stations, will no longer dot the rural landscape.

Both the Indians and the Chinese have blamed the Jamaican Government for foot-dragging, and officials at all the relevant state agencies skilfully ducked Sunday Observer efforts to determine what, if any, was the future of the rail service.

Calls to the JRC general manager, Owen Crooks, were referred to the Ministry of Transport. Then the questions to Permanent Secretary Dr Alwin Hayles of the transport ministry were in turn referred to the director of policy, Valerie Simpson, from where the newspaper was pointed to the Development Bank of Jamaica, to no avail.

"They are the people doing the negotiations," was the dismissive response. In the midst of the uncertainty, knowledgeable Sunday Observer sources suggested two compelling reasons for the lack of interest the Government was showing in reviving the passenger rail service.

First, commuter trains stopped running in Jamaica 15 years ago and coaches now lay rotting at the downtown Kingston station, yet the Jamaica Railway Corporation is still making a nice profit.
The JRC earns approximately J$40 million per year - the bulk of it from mining companies through track user fees for the hauling of alumina and bauxite.

"The balance of its earnings are derived primarily from the rental of real estate and its three operable locomotives," Leo McEwan, communication officer at the transport ministry confirmed. So profitable is the corporation that it has continued to pay a staff of 76, who were retained when the JRC ceased commuter operations in 1992.

The staff fulfills contractual obligations to users of the facilities - real estate tenants and bauxite companies - although the wage bill figure of $1.6 million given to the Sunday Observer appeared minuscule.

The staff members include artisans, train controllers, track staff, technicians, administrative workers, accountants, secretaries and auxiliary workers. Engineers are employed when the need arises.
"Right now, they are earning their own keep and are responsible for their own operations," McEwan insisted.

According to the ministry, expenditure of the JRC has to be kept within earning, as the Corporation does not receive a subvention from the Government of Jamaica budget. The JRC, as at December 2006, had a book value excluding land holdings, of $178.48 million, according to Ministry of Transport figures.

Wages made up 42 per cent of its expenditure; maintenance and rental accounted for 18 per cent and security cost was 15 per cent. The remaining 25 per cent is broken down for travel and subsistence at eight per cent; motor vehicles, three per cent; utilities at six per cent; professional fees, three per cent; staff welfare, one per cent; records management, one per cent; and a miscellaneous cost of two per cent.

Moreover, railway stations across the island have not been maintained and the JRC, with a total of 215 miles of railway, shares the maintenance of 59 miles of the operational lines with the bauxite companies. Lines not used for hauling bauxite ore are left unattended for the most part.

The ministry declined to reveal the exact amount that the JRC earned from the various bauxite companies for the use of its railway lines, saying that track user agreements between the JRC and individual bauxite companies were "confidential between the parties".

The Jamaica Bauxite Institute (JBI), the agency charged with overseeing activities in the bauxite industry, also refused to divulge any amount paid by bauxite companies to the JRC for the use of railway lines.

"These questions should be addressed to the Railway Corporation," the JBI said in an e-mail response. The second reason for the Government's laissez faire attitude, one economist suggested, was uncertainty surrounding the viability of a commuter railway system, given the radical change in the transportation landscape since the closure of the JRC passenger service 15 years ago.

"The Highway 2000 project has made road travel more convenient and quicker, at least from Kingston to May Pen," the source aid. "Additionally, with the advent of a new motor vehicle policy in 1997, the motor-car population has grown tremendously, reducing reliance on the public transportation system." Cargo transport, it is argued, is where the JRC could play a more significant role, both along the existing route, and with additional lines along the north coast.

The JRC, established under the Jamaica Railway Corporation Act, remains a corporate body and can transact rail-related business other than transporting passengers and cargo. It has the power to purchase, hold and dispose of land and other property of whatever kind for the purposes of this Act.

With complaints mounting about the poor public passenger transport system, the Government, in 1999, began talks with overseas investors regarding the privatisation of the JRC, starting with an India-based rail company.

The National Investment Bank of Jamaica (NIBJ), in January 2002, announced that negotiations with Rail India and Economic Services (RITES) were completed and work would begin soon.
But one year later, in 2003, India's top diplomat in Kingston suggested that the Jamaican Government was dragging its feet on the proposed joint venture.

Transport Minister Robert Pickersgill fired back, pointing the finger at the Indian consortium for the long stalemate, indicating that they were demanding far more than Jamaica was prepared to give.
In 2005, the Government, having apparently given up on the Indians, again signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the operation of the railway, this time with the Chinese.

The Chinese are now echoing the cry of the Indians, saying that the Jamaican Government is delaying the project that could see rail movement of cargo and passengers resumed in the island.

"People should be given the choice of the highway and railway. Some people don't like to drive long distances and some people don't have cars," the Chinese ambassador was quoted as saying in an Observer report late last year.

Tony Bailey
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Tonymercury · Posted: Thu Sep 20, 2007 6:17 am

Jamaican military railway
published: Friday | September 14, 2007

THE EDITOR, Sir:

In the piece on the Kendal railway disaster commemoration on Page C1 in The Gleaner of Tuesday, September 4, you mentioned my incidental remark regarding the very little known, purely military railway which existed in Jamaica for about a quarter of a century. However, your writer misquoted me in saying that it ran between Port Royal and Rocky Point in Clarendon, despite my indicating that the railway was only two miles long. However, for those of your readers who are interested in lesser known aspects of Jamaican history, I thought that you might wish to publish the following comprehensive piece which I prepared some time ago for publication elsewhere:

Jamaica, probably uniquely among the former British West Indies territories, once had a purely military railway - and, of all the most unlikely places, on the Palisadoes peninsula to the eastern side of Kingston Harbour. This small railway system, approximately two miles long, ran from the most south westerly point of the peninsula, just beyond the seaward boundary of HMJS Cagway, headquarters of the present Jamaica Defence Force Coast Guard, past the then four coastal defence guns (two 9.2-inch and two six-inch weapons) of the 1888 Victoria Battery. It then passed to the east of the old Port Royal naval dockyard and its facilities. Finally it went over the old railway bridge, still visible beside the driving road into the town, and for the last half of its length out to Fort Rocky at Rocky Point. Here there was also a very short spur line to a small pier on the harbour side of the Palisadoes.

At Fort Rocky the relatively contemporary fortifications, with their underground bunkers and ammunition stores still exist, little known even to most Kingstonians but virtually intact. Until the end of the second world war Fort Rocky housed five six-inch coastal guns and was built just before the first world war, largely to replace the Victoria Battery which had been abandoned following the damage to its gunpits and mountings in the great 1907 earthquake. Just after the beginning of the 20th century this little-known Kingston Harbour fortification had barracks accommodation for all of 82 officers and other ranks.

OPERATED FROM 1887

To judge by a post-earthquake photo postcard showing damage to the railway lines at Port Royal, it appears that the system may have been as wide as standard gauge the permanent way is clearly that of a light railway. Traction was by steam locomotive. The railway appears to have operated from about 1887 until probably the middle of the first world war.

One may well ask why a railway at all. There was only a 'sandy track' along the Palisadoes with no driving road until 1936, and even then the stretch between Plumb Point Lighthouse and Port Royal was still only of unpaved, parochial road standard until well into the 1950s. At first, cement and other construction material, the massive coastal guns themselves, and later their heavy ammunition had to be transported throughout the two-mile span served by the railway.

As Mr. S.F. Panning of the Jamaican Historical Society explained, "The (railway) sleepers spread the weight out over a large area of ground, which allows a trolley or railroad to carry heavy loads. The rails themselves offer low friction and a smooth ride, especially when compared with a gravel road through dirt or mud." After the first world war the wider tyres and generally improved traction of the newer military trucks, and possibly even the fully tracked Bren gun carriers introduced to Jamaica because of the second world war could have made lighter work of the loose, sandy terrain and carried the heavy supplies to Fort Rocky until its guns were finally removed following the end of World War II.

I am, etc.,

MERRICK NEEDHAM

Tony Bailey
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Tonymercury · Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2007 5:55 am

Time to rethink transport policy
published: Sunday | December 9, 2007

Errol Hewitt, Contributor

So often decisions taken in this country seem inexplicable. Proffered explanations usually seem incomplete, taking us no nearer to an understanding of just what was taken into account when the decision was made.

The previous administration, not having the requisite funds for the new highway, but seemingly eager for an accomplishment, retained the contractor to finance, build and operate, using the collected toll to recoup investment and profit. To ensure this, the agreement would have the Jamaican government either increase the toll or compensate the contractor if there is any reduction in traffic levels over the toll road caused by "the carrying out of works by or on behalf of the Government of Jamaica which:

(a) Provides a new rail public transport passenger link between Spanish Town and Kingston; or

(b) Enhances the speed or capacity of competing roads within the transport corridor served by the toll road."

NEGOTIATING PROCESS

The contractor was a very able negotiator; was anyone negotiating for us? The highway parallels the old railway lines for some distance and, therefore, based on the agreement, cannot be developed for passenger service. Nor can the roadways be upgraded substantially.

Much time has passed and even deaths on its surface but, surprisingly, we have not yet seen any major projects linked to the toll road, only hazy whispers about a (ironically) millennium programme. Given the long-term suffocating restrictions what, apart from social/domestic use of the highway, did we get?

There is an extensive island-wide network of roads in the counties of Cornwall and Middlesex terminating in Spanish Town/Kingston. Of particular relevance, however, is the network for southern Jamaica and especially that corridor between Mandeville and Spanish Town/Kingston which accommodates linkages from Christiana/Spaldings, May Pen and Old Harbour, etc.

This corridor serves heavy daily travel to work, school and normal commercial activities between the parishes of Manchester, Clarendon, St. Catherine, Kingston and St. Andrew. The traffic becomes increasingly dense as one progress towards Kingston - the business, political and employment centre of the island. This corridor through these parishes potentially serves a population of about 1.7 million people, i.e., about 60 per cent of the national population.

The mothballing of a potential rapid rail transit system comes at a time when increasingly worldwide, this is becoming the essential means of public transport between rural and urban centres, with light rail supported by buses and taxicabs within the city. The benefits are its superior energy efficiency, passenger capacity, reliable scheduling and cost effectiveness - these underscored by the reality of oil now passing the US$90 per barrel barrier.

While there is known oil in the ground, major discoveries 30 years ago, such as those in the North Sea and on the North Slope of Alaska, are drying up. This, in addition to the emergence of the new super economies - Brazil, China, India etc. - has created intense pressure to secure supplies. The current and projected demand is so frenetic that developers are going to 'the ends of the earth' for new sources, spending over US$200 billion last year to develop new energy projects.

PRACTISING ENERGY EFFICIENCY

The search includes four-mile deep wells in the Gulf of Mexico, Norway's Snohvit, 340 miles within the Arctic Circle, horizontal wells on the Russian island of Sakhalin, etc. Additionally, since 1999 the discovery and development costs have tripled. This is an ever increasingly expensive product and practical wisdom would insist on intensely practising energy efficiency.

To underscore that point, J. Robinson West, chairman of PFC Energy, has stated that there are no "easy barrels left. The only barrels are going to be the tough barrels". The realisation of these facts are being acted on in North America, Europe, Asia and Southern Africa with serious efforts for greater energy efficiency and embracing cost- effective rapid rail mass transit.

OUR SITUATION

Our addiction to individual use of motor vehicles is evidenced both in our inelastic demand for oil, irrespective of its cost, and government's acceptance of the referred-to toll road clauses, which are contradictory to global conventional wisdom.

The major users of oil in Jamaica are bauxite/alumina processing (36.1 per cent); electricity generation (24.3 per cent); and amazingly, road transportation (22.2 per cent).

Our very inelastic demand for oil is further evidenced by the fact that our import bill for oil last year grew in volume by 9 per cent and in cost by about 30 per cent to US$1.7 billion. This is about 70 per cent of the earnings of our merchandise exports and is likely to reach US$2 billion for 2007. At this rate, in a few years the entire proceeds of our merchandise exports may be needed to purchase oil.

How can we finance social and economic development if so much of our national earnings are spent burning tyres on the asphalt? Reality is that positive economic growth over the last 20-plus years has rarely been achieved, and with imported oil satisfying over 90 per cent of our energy needs, we need to squeeze every dollar's value out of every barrel of oil. Such a pledge was made in the midst of the oil crisis triggered by the 1973 Yom Kippur war along with a commitment to introduce speedily, renewable energy programmes. Since then we have had sporadic oil crises, including the Gulf war, 9/11 and the invasion of Iraq.

Each time there has been a surge of good intentions which speedily dissipate thereafter. We are like the drug addict who swears to get off the wagon but grabs the very next fix offered. Our euphoric fixes over time have been the offerings of two Venezuelan presidents, Perez and now Chávez and as soon as we receive our fix, all else is forgotten as we soar in ecstasy instead of folding these benefits into our rehabilitation programme. Our lack of persistency has cost us dearly over the years and even today, our transport policy is incomplete and unrelated to our energy policy as is clearly shown in the toll road agreement.

THE REALITY

Our reality is that jobs are a powerful magnet and the fact that most jobs are in urban areas and especially so in Kingston has been the core factor behind the rural to urban migration. Over time the city has become suffocatingly congested, housing prices have soared resulting in the increase of squatting, inner cities and an ongoing search for affordable housing on the city's periphery and beyond. This has resulted in a string of dormitory communities extending mostly westwards from Portmore to May Pen and beyond. Decades of poor public bus service has concretised an original orientation of one man, one car to a fixation which some insist is an aping of North American practice. But if it is, it is a mimicking of a weekend practice and not the weekday reliance on mass rail transit into the city with light rail supported by the bus and taxicabs within the city.

Public transportation in Kingston though improved still tests the sanity of many of its users. The reliance on the motor vehicle is not necessarily matched by a high income and many for example, find the daily use of the toll road too expensive and therefore use the routes as often as time allows. But the congestion in the city streets and the approaches to the city are of such that it's an increasing habit for motorists to have breakfast in the midst of the traffic. The present described gridlock for our travelling public shows no sign of any solution and the significant emission of carbon monoxide continues apace.

The ready answer to these circumstances as shown internationally is the mass rapid rail transit which has not only proven its superior cost effectiveness, energy efficiency and reliability but doubles during off peak hours to enhance the socio-economic potential of small communities by linking them to the wider nation. These latter communities are usually by-passed by highway systems and gradually fade away. Internationally the evidence shows that where there is quick affordable rail transit into the city, the local community benefits substantially from the expertise, experience and added financing brought by dormitory residents and many who in fact return to the family home or its environs. Our railway was established in 1845 just a few years after the Liverpool and Manchester Railway in England and the United State's Baltimore and Ohio Railway began operations in 1830. Its full return to Jamaica will not only resolve an increasingly pressing problem but could well lead to the revival of small townships such as Richmond, Maggoty and Balaclava which expired when the railway was withdrawn.

Our new Prime Minister has promised to re-open discussions on this agreement. It is hoped that this time our side will 'bring home the bacon' .

Tony Bailey
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Tonymercury · Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 5:41 am

More railway service talks
Tuesday, 15 January 2008
Another attempt will be made on Tuesday to kick start negotiations for the privatisation of the country's railway service.

Transport and Works Minister, Mike Henry is to hold talks with a group of Belgian investors which has expressed an interest in the assets of the defunct Jamaica Railway Corporation, (JRC).

The meeting is scheduled to begin at 11 o'clock.

Mr. Henry told the RJR News Centre that although he is meeting the Belgians, he will continue to hold talks with Chinese investors who are also eyeing the railway.

The former government had announced several plans to restore the rail service but this failed to get off the ground.

Four years ago, a deal signed with an Indian consortium for the sale of the railway fell through.

Since then, there has been talk of the Chinese Government giving assistance for the privatisation of the JRC.

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Tonymercury · Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2008 5:27 am

Henry to discuss revival of railway service with Chinese investors today
Ingrid Brown
Thursday, January 24, 2008

TRANSPORT Minister Mike Henry is to meet today with a team of Chinese investors to continue talks on privatising and revitalising the island's railway system, with hopes of having passenger trains rolling again by the end of the year.

Henry, last Tuesday, held talks with a group of Belgian investors, who have also expressed an interest in the assets of the Jamaica Railway Corporation (JRC).

This, he said, would not, however, prevent him from meeting with the Chinese investors.

"I met with the Belgians to show them the plans and we are waiting on them to come back with an offer," Henry told the Observer on Tuesday.

The minister said he had also met with the new board of the JRC so he could begin analysing the economic plan to show how the railway system can be structured and how it can be done on a phased development.

"The first phase will be to analyse cargo and personnel to May Pen from Kingston because half of that line is right now operational and carrying bauxite," he explained, adding that the next stage would be the development of the attractions.

"I am developing in segments because the railway is a capital ownership that can be leased over time," he said.

The passenger train, he said, would precede all the other rail functions, and will initially focus on the route from Kingston to Spanish Town, and then Old Harbour to May Pen.

Several plans by the former People's National Party administration to revive the rail service had failed to get off the ground. A deal signed with an Indian consortium for the sale of the railway four years ago fell through.

Since then, there have been talks of the Chinese Government assisting with the process to privatise the JRC.
On Tuesday, Henry said he would review the offer the Indians had put forward.

"I will review the plans in the event we have to open up any discussions there but the development has gone the furthest with the Chinese," he told the Observer.

Meanwhile, the transport and works minister also disclosed that he had already identified some funding which remained from the Development Bank of Jamaica which would help to move the process forward.

In the case of the Vernam Field development, he said the final feasibility study will be completed in two months, following which they will be moving forward.

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Tonymercury · Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2008 5:46 am

Bring back the trains

Diane Abbott
Sunday, January 27, 2008

Transport Minister Mike Henry is reported to be meeting with the Chinese to discuss privatising and renewing Jamaica's railways. If he is successful in this project, he will deserve the thanks of a grateful nation.

Jamaica has long been heavily influenced culturally by America. Perhaps this is why ordinary Jamaicans rather look down on railway travel. Their dream is the American dream. Each man in his massive air-conditioned 4 x 4 speeding down a six-lane highway.

But railway travel is the travel of the 21st century.
It minimises carbon emissions and so contributes to the fight against global warming. But it is also the nicest way to see Jamaica.

I remember, as an intrepid teenager visiting Jamaica from Britain, taking the train from Kingston to Montego Bay. Because I had no money for expensive hotels, when I got to Montego Bay, I simply wandered around the town for a few hours and then took the train all the way back to Kingston. It was years ago, but it remains my favourite ever Jamaican journey.

As the train chugged through little towns like Wait-A-Bit, you got a superb view of the Jamaican countryside. You went through one pretty village after another which you would never have seen taking the same journey by road. And the catering was delicious. Of course, the train itself did not serve food, but at many stops, ladies would step on board carrying baskets regally on their heads, which were full of fried fish and bammies for sale.

Despite criminal neglect in recent years, Jamaica's railways have a proud history. Jamaica was the first British colony to build a railway in 1845, as befits what was then Britain 's wealthiest colony.

The railway went on to play a crucial role in Jamaica's economy. By providing a safe and speedy way to transport agricultural produce around the country, the railway contributed to the growth of sugar, banana, and citrus. Small farmers in deep rural Jamaica could also use the railway to get their produce to market. And as the century wore on, by 1896 the railway stretched all the way from Kingston to Montego Bay, with a branch going northeast to Port Antonio.

In the 20th century, railway transportation was vital for the bauxite industry. And the railway was the scene of Jamaica's greatest tragedy - the 1957 Kendal rail crash in which 254 died. (The subject of a brilliant book by Beverley East, Reaper of Souls. But by the 1990s passenger transportation by railway in Jamaica ceased.

Some people argue that the railways in Jamaica could only be reopened at the cost of massive public subsidy, and this is a luxury Jamaica cannot afford. But I believe a properly managed and imaginatively marketed railway could be an important addition to Jamaica's transport mix.

It could help to regenerate the countryside (and contribute to the fight against global warming). And it would be a big tourist attraction for the type of tourist who wants to do something other than sit in all-inclusive all day.

I wish Mr Henry every success in his attempt to reopen the Jamaican railway. Maybe one day soon, I will be able to eat fried fish and bammy on the train from Kingston to Montego Bay once more.

Tony Bailey
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Tonymercury · Posted: Sat May 31, 2008 7:30 am

China pledges to fund reviving railway service
Thursday, 29 May 2008
The Chinese Government has agreed to cover 85% of the cost of reviving the local railway service.

Transport Minister Mike Henry on Wednesday outlined the financing arrangement for the deal reached between China and Jamaica for the future operations of the railway.

"The details are the Chinese government is prepared to cover 85% of the required funding through a loan to the JRC which would be guaranteed by the government of Jamaica."

Mr. Henry said this agreement will hinge on the success of the project so the loan can be repaid.

"We will retain ownership of this asset in respect of the JRC while all the operating cost are to be met by the operators who will be expected to provide the remaining 15% of the overall funding and equity," said Mr. Henry during the Sectoral Debate on Wednesday.

He said the agreement with the Chinese Government will involve the construction of 18 new railway stations and includes the acquisition of 68 freight coaches, training for personnel and the reopening of the Kingston to Montego Bay service.

Rail service is also to be established between Spanish and Ewarton in St. Catherine.

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Tonymercury · Posted: Sat May 31, 2008 7:31 am

Railway plans back on track - State to fund $7b renovation
published: Friday | May 30, 2008

Athaliah Reynolds, Staff Reporter

Transport Minister Mike Henry has said the Government would be seeking to revitalise the country's railway system, with work expected to begin before year end.

Speaking during his contribution to the 2008-2009 Sectoral Debate at Gordon House on Wednesday, Henry said the move involves plans to reopen the Kingston to Montego Bay and Spanish Town to Ewarton services.

He said Government would be spending close to US$300 million (J$7 billion) on the initiative, which will be done within a three-year refurbishing schedule.

Arrangements made

According to Henry, arrangements have already been made with the Chinese government to facilitate the construction of 18 new railway stations across the country. These will accommodate new tracks of 105-pound standard to enable greater speed and load-carrying capacity.

He said the reintroduction of the passenger and freight railway service is intended to significantly impact on rising fuel costs. The Government is focused on getting much of the island's freight transportation done by rail and increasing mass transit to ease traffic gridlocks in urban centres.

The transport minister said the present wooden sleepers would be replaced with concrete over time, as concrete sleepers require less maintenance. The system will also accommodate five new engines, 45 coaches for passengers and 68 freight coaches.

To create jobs

Henry further said the initiative is expected to create thousands of jobs for Jamaicans during and after the construction of the railway lines and supporting networks.

Meanwhile, Henry reiterated that unlike other categories of service providers in the public transport sector, the state-owned Jamaica Urban Transit Company would not be granted a fare hike.

He, however, said he would be announcing a rate increase in July for the Portmore toll road.

Henry also said there has been a change in the toll policy under the concession agreement, which will now see an annual review of tariffs by the developer, instead of the twice-yearly review. Commuters, therefore, can expect a possible further increase in July 2009.

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Tonymercury · Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2008 5:56 am

Transport Minister Michael Henry has announced a three-year project to revive the moribund rail network in Jamaica, starting with the main lines linking Kingston, Spanish Town and Montego Bay. A loan from the Chinese government is expected to cover 85% of the US$354m cost, with Chinese manufacturers to supply five locos, 45 coaches and 68 wagons.

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Tonymercury · Posted: Fri Aug 29, 2008 6:09 am

KINGSTON, Jamaica, August 27, 2008 - Prime Minister Bruce Golding's Cabinet is expected to receive a submission soon on efforts to revive rail service across the island.

Transport and Works Minister Michael Henry said the document has been completed and the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service was awaiting feedback before taking it to Cabinet.

Unsuccessful attempts have been made at resuscitating the local rail service in Jamaica over the past 16 years. Within recent years, efforts have been made at incorporating the input of overseas interests, primarily from India, which did not materialise, and China, with whom the government is currently in discussions.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs must now begin to take up that discussion with the Chinese, with whom I have had my own discussions and arrived at the funding," Mr Henry said.

"That relates to the process of the railway's implementation, and as soon as I have the response of the Ministry of Finance, it will be going to Cabinet for them to accept my position, hopefully," he added.

Local rail service, which up to 1992 was being provided by the Jamaica Railway Corporation, has been dormant for the past 16 years.

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Tonymercury · Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 6:48 am

Jamaica rail revival plan completed
28 Aug 2008

JAMAICA: A report detailing plans for reviving the disused national rail network has been finalised, Transport & Works Minister Michael Henry announced last week. 'As soon as I have the response of the Ministry of Finance, it will be going to cabinet for them to accept my position', he said.

Attempts to restart passenger and freight services in 2002 in conjunction with RITES proved unsuccessful, but in May this year Henry announced a 'done deal' for the Chinese government to provide 85% of the estimated US$354m required; the future operator would be expected to raise the remaining 15%.

The three-year project covers the Kingston - Montego Bay and Spanish Town - Ewarton lines. China would upgrade the infrastructure with heavier rail and concrete sleepers, and provide five locos, 45 coaches and 68 wagons.

Jamaica Railway Corp ceased public services in October 1992, though the organisation remains responsible for managing railway property. Privately-operated bauxite trains use their own infrastructure as well as parts of the national network

Tony Bailey
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Tonymercury · Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2008 5:08 am

Plans for the resuscitation of the local railway system are now before Cabinet.

Prime Minister Bruce Golding says the proposals are being carefully considered.

During his contribution to the Sectoral Debate in May, Transport Minister Mike Henry said an agreement is in place with the Chinese Government for the construction of 18 new railway stations, and the provision of five new engines.

The agreement includes the acquisition of 68 freight coaches, training
for personnel and the reopening of the Kingston to Montego Bay, St. James service.

Rail service is also to be established between Spanish Town and Ewarton in St. Catherine.

Mr. Henry said the Government is hoping to ease the pressure on the country's road network as emphasis will be placed on moving goods by freight.

Tony Bailey
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