I have just enjoyed reading, ‘The Railways of Jamaica’, written by Jim Horsford. It is a Locomotives International publication, published by Paul Catchpole Ltd, St. Austel, Cornwall. [1]

This is an excellent study on the history of the main lines of the railways in Jamaica and also reflects briefly on some of the still open lines serving the Bauxite industry. The book results from a visit by Jim Horsford in 2006 to Jamaica and includes photographs from his own collection and those of other enthusiasts and past residents of Jamaica. In addition some aerial views taken from a helicopter show the condition of various sites on the old network in 2006.

In addition to a review of the network, Jim Horsford provides details of the majority of different locomotives and railcars used on the system together with passenger and good stock.

I managed to pick up the book on offer from Mainline and Maritime [2] for £5. It is at present on offer on their website for £10 and they offer to include a volume about the Sugar Cane lines of Cuba along with it. The RRP is £25.

Each of the main lines and branch lines on the public network are described in detail. The system used to link the capital Kingstown with Montego Bay, Port Antonio, Ewarton, Frankfield, Fort Simonds, Port Esquival and the Pleasant Valley. The featured image shows the network at its peak before Bauxite Mining operations began.

The book was a delightful read.

Wikipedia [3] provides provides a relatively strong study of the railways of the Caribbean island through until final closure of the network in 1992. [4] It does not seem necessary to reproduce significant parts of that article in this post. The full Wikipedia article can be found here. [3]

The first colonial railway for both freight and passengers opened in Jamaica in 1845, only twenty years after George Stephenson’s Stockton and Darlington Railway commenced operations in the United Kingdom.

By the 1890s expansion had reached its peak, with 216 miles of main and branch lines. Railway services contributed greatly to the development of the island “by providing efficient and inexpensive transport and by opening up the interior to the cultivation of old and new plantation crops, encouraging the intensification of peasant agriculture, promoting the establishment of agro-industries and creating new townships.” [5]

In the 1930s the failure of the banana industry and competition from motor transport drastically reduced revenue. By the 1970s the railways had become a liability. In 1975 two of the mainlines closed. This was the beginning of the end, although the railways struggles on until 1992.

Four private industrial lines continue to operate in the 21st Century, in part using Jamaica Railway Corporation (JRC) lines. [7] Of the total of 272 kilometres (169 miles) of standard-gauge lines operating in 1992, 207 kilometres (129 mi) of public lines belonging to JRC closed, leaving 65 kilometres (40 mi) in private hands. [8].

Wikipedia tells us that the JRC still exists in the early 21st century. It is responsible for management of the JRC interests and property, and maintaining its locomotives but not the rolling stock. [9] In November 1990, the JRC signed a 30-year Track User Agreement with Alcan Jamaica, which was renegotiated with the successor Windalco in December 2001. [3]

“The company makes J$40 million per year through track user fees for the hauling of alumina and bauxite, and the residual from the rental of real estate and its three operable locomotives. The company has a staff of 76, who fulfill contractual obligations to users of the company’s facilities” [3][10].

It seems that, “during the 1990s, a plan was considered which would see commuter services between Kingston and Spanish Town, later extended to Linstead. It was proposed to cost US$8 million and be running by January 2001, with the government holding 40% of a public-private venture.” [3] This proposal appears not to have come to fruition.

A further revival of rail services was considered in the very early years of the 21st century. Discussions were held with a series of different partners: the Canadian National Railway; the Rail India Technical and Economic Service (RITES); and then with the China Railway after a deal was signed by the Prime Minister P J Patterson with Chinese vice-president Zeng Qinghong in Jamaica in February 2005. [3]

On 16th April 2011 an inaugural train ran from May Pen to Linstead. [11] This service was short-lived, running until August 2012, [12] and it was December 2016 before “the government signed a memorandum of understanding with Herzog International to study the resumption of passenger and freight services. The Ministry of Transport & Mining envisaged a three-stage reopening process, with Phase 1 covering Montego Bay to Appleton, Phase 2 Spanish Town to Ewarton and Phase 3 Spanish Town to Clarendon.” [13]

The 2016 initiative foundered “in late 2017 because Herzog Jamaica Limited failed to meet the deliverables of a non-binding ­memorandum of understanding brokered with the Ministry of Transport and Mining.” [12]

At the beginning of 2020, the Jamaica Observer reported that the Government was “to try a new approach to restore passenger rail service to Jamaica, almost 28 years after the trains stopped rolling. Minister with portfolio responsibility for information Karl Samuda … announced a change in the approach to the privatisation of the Jamaica Railway Corporation (JRC). ” [14]

The Jamaica Gleaner reported in June 2020 that the Government was still committed to reviving a rail service. [15]

There is an educational video about the line. The film was made  in the mid-1960s: [16]

The next video was shot during the brief window of activity starting in 2011. it covers a length of the line between Bog Walk and Angels on a journey on 9th August 2011. [17]

One final link takes you to a .pdf produced by the Jamaican government. It tells the story of the railways. We need to forgive the incorrect captions under the first two pictures, (the captions have been transposed). The .pdf can be downloaded by clicking here. [18]

References

1. J. Horsford; The Railways of Jamaica; a Locomotives International publication, published by Paul Catchpole Ltd, St. Austel, Cornwall, 2010.
2. Mainline and Martime: https://www.mainlineandmaritime.co.uk, accessed on 8th October 2020.
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Jamaica, accessed on 8th October 2020.
4. For more details see: Veront M. Satchell & Cezley Sampson (University of the West Indies); The rise and fall of railways in Jamaica, 1845-1975′; in the Journal of Transport History; Volume No. 24, Issue No.1, March 2003;  p1-21.
5. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272812243_The_rise_and_fall_of_railways_in_Jamaica_1845-1975, accessed on 8th October 2020.
6. https://www.stamps-for-sale.com/jamaica-1970-jamaican-railways-sg-326-fine-used-23689-p.asp, accessed on 8th October 2020.
7.  Jamaica Transportation Encyclopædia Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/place/Jamaica, accessed on 8th October 2020.
8. Jamaica Transportation Archived 2007-12-30 at the Wayback Machine Jamaica National Heritage Trust.
9. The Privatisation of Jamaica Railway Corporation stalls and sputters Radio Jamaica – April 24, 2007; https://web.archive.org/web/20110720104242/http://www.rmtbristol.org.uk/2007/04/privatisation_of_jamaica_railw.html, accessed on 8th October 2020.
10. Jamaican trains may never roll again The Jamaica Observer – February 25, 2007: https://web.archive.org/web/20101009143040/http://www.rmtbristol.org.uk/2007/02/jamaican_trains_may_never_roll.html, accessed on 8th October 2020.
11. https://www.webcitation.org/5z1l6UP17?url=http://www.railwaygazette.com/index.php?id=44&no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5btt_n, accessed on 8th October 2020.
12. Railway Corporation to end passenger services. Jamaica Gleaner: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120814/lead/lead9.html, accessed on 8th October 2020.
13. https://www.railwaygazette.com/traction-and-rolling-stock/crrc-to-supply-locomotives-to-jamaica/45739.article, accessed on 8th October 2020.
14. http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Gov%26%238217;t_announces_another_plan_to_get_trains_rolling_again?profile=0, accessed on 8th October 2020.
15. http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20200602/govt-still-committed-reviving-rail-service-montague, accessed on 8th October 2020.
16. The film is made available by the National Library of Jamaica on YouTube: https://youtu.be/daJmHW2Bd9Y, accessed on 8th October 2020.
17. A short length of railway viewd from the train in 2011: https://youtu.be/hxauC9kBuHY, accessed on 8th October 2020.
18. http://www.nlj.gov.jm/history-notes/History%20of%20Railroads%20in%20Jamaica.pdf, accessed on 8th October 2020.
19. https://www.wiredja.com/index.php/news/local-news/jamaica-to-sign-mou-to-revive-railway-system, accessed on 8th October 2020.