How comes the trains not rolling yet?

[Don1]

And the PNP ran with it and what they lacked in quality, they made up with quantity. 12 to 2 is the score, nuh?

Poor Jamaica, so far from God, so close to the United States.

No doubt.

[MdmeX]

Willi, to get back on track (pun intended) with your lead post, it truly is a blunder to have wound down the railway system; can it not be rehabilitated? was/is there a plan to do so? We mis out BIG TIME on the tourist $$ that train travel could bring, not to mention simply moving people back and forth in these times of global warming etc etc

As a youth I took the train from Kgn to Williamsfield (closest spot to Mandeville (my country)) and the last part of the trip up Melrose Hill always provided great scenery and i enjoyed that part of the ride very much. I never took it to MoBAy but I could just imagine what that part of the trip would be like.

I have to agree with you; we (PNP/JLP/ whoever), really dropped the ball.

I use to love the ride from Port Antonio to Kingston and return. The cool hills of Highgate; LLuidas Vale etc. Places that you would never traverse by road. Talk about NOSTALGIA!!

[Willi]

Big time fumble. I come from a railway family. That is part of my personal heritage.

Read this:
News

Railway still off track

Friday, June 12, 2009

Restoring Jamaica's once vibrant railway service was one of the issues prominently placed in the manifesto of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) going into the September 2007 general elections.
A rotting Jamaica Railway Corporation locomotive sits on the company's track downtown Kingston in this February 2007 photo. (Photo: Observer library)

After all, the then People's National Party Government had procrastinated on the project, so much so that in February that year, five years after investors - first the Indians, then the Chinese - submitted impressive plans to put the mothballed railway back on track, the country was still without a passenger rail service.

Interestingly, in February 2006 the Chinese ambassador to Jamaica, Zhoa Zhenyu, said that his government was awaiting the approval of a technical proposal submitted to the Jamaican Government before it could begin the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the railway, which was estimated to cost US$300 million.

Jamaica had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with China the previous year to facilitate the venture.
Under the agreement, signed between the Ministry of Transport and Works and the China National Machinery and Equipment Corp Group, China was to provide a number of passenger coaches, cargo, wagons and locomotives.

"My hope is that Minister (Robert) Pickersgill (the minister of transport and works) will get it approved by Cabinet. Work will start sometime this year if it is approved," Ambassador Zhoa told reporters at the time.

"I was told that very soon, Cabinet will discuss the approval of the project," added the ambassador. "It has been agreed that 15 per cent of the money will be paid by your Government, then 85 per cent will be contributed using Chinese preferential buyers' credit."

However, a Sunday Observer story published on February 25, 2007 reported that both the Indians and the Chinese had 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.

As was expected, the then Opposition JLP took up the issue and, in its manifesto, promised to:

. pursue negotiations with potential investors to establish a modern rail service on the existing rail network for passengers and freight;

. develop railway stations as commercial centres as part of the revenue stream to lower passenger fares;

. renegotiate the terms of the contract with the operators of Highway 2000 to allow an extension of rail service into Portmore; and

. use tariff measures and appropriate incentives to encourage investors to establish major warehouse and redistribution centres at strategic locations to facilitate the haulage of goods to these centres by rail and sea in order to relieve congestion on major thoroughfares.

Four months after taking office, current Transport Minister Mike Henry told the Observer that he would be meeting with the Chinese on January 24, 2008 to continue talks on privatising and revitalising the island's railway system, with hopes of having passenger trains rolling again by the end of 2008.

Henry also said that he had held talks the week before with a group of Belgian investors, who had also expressed an interest in the assets of the Jamaica Railway Corporation (JRC).

"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 at the time.

He 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 could be structured and how it could 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 would initially focus on the route from Kingston to Spanish Town, and then Old Harbour to May Pen.

Since then, the country has not heard a word on this project from the Government and the
JRC's coaches still lie rotting at its downtown Kingston station.

[MdmeX]

Willi - just know that a whole heap of the lands that the railway tracks used to be on, have eroded. I would love to see the system in place again, it was of great help to the farmers, & mi love the scenery - harmony with nature!!

[Muadib]

At least clean your draws Don1.. or have you totally given up any pretense ?

How did Tivarli prevent the rather voluminous Nation Building efforts of Seaga that he is being heralded for.. much AFTER the decimation by Joshua ????

Talk about dead paradigm...

LOL !!

[Muadib]

another myth destroyed...

PNP.. the real Garrison party....

Poor yuh..

[Don1]

At least clean your draws Don1.. or have you totally given up any pretense ?

How did Tivarli prevent the rather voluminous Nation Building efforts of Seaga that he is being heralded for.. much AFTER the decimation by Joshua ????

Talk about dead paradigm...

LOL !!

Sycophancy begets destruction.

Seaga was the main culprit in starting the madness... and the PNP reciprocated in fuller measure. Which is why I disdain both sides until I see some change.

On your very minor level you represent the same partisan nonsense.... which will only lead to further destruction.

Your partisan philosophies are part of the problem and should be exposed accordingly.... I'm happy to oblige.


why dem likkle bredda yah love talk bout underwear suh? di likkle man name comment ave di said problem. a wha dis faada? hmmmmm

[Don1]

another myth destroyed...

PNP.. the real Garrison party....

Poor yuh..

Your maximum leader has a very nice constituency.... symptomatic of his party... and the country.

Showa!

[Willi]

Actaully, Wills O Isaac started it and Seaga took it up sveral notches and graduated to Garrison, and then the PNP took it to the ultimate...many garrisons with almost no internal controls, so now chaos.

We have the highly organized (and perversely disciplined) JLP garrisons and the plethora of PNP Garrisons that kill mainly fellow PNPs garrison inmates. Totally weird situation and nuff blame to spread about.

[Willi]

Yeah,

How stupid we are to just let that go....

[Don1]

Actaully, Wills O Isaac started it and Seaga took it up sveral notches and graduated to Garrison, and then the PNP took it to the ultimate...many garrisons with almost no internal controls, so now chaos.

We have the highly organized (and perversely disciplined) JLP garrisons and the plethora of PNP Garrisons that kill mainly fellow PNPs garrison inmates. Totally weird situation and nuff blame to spread about.

History is fuzzy on that... but Seaga is generally recognized as the main and most influential protagonist (followed by Tony Spaulding) in developing the garrison culture... not Wills Isaacs.

Tivoli is Seaga's lasting monument and calling card.... Jungle is Spaulding's. That's our Ground Zero.

But regardless of history... the imperative in this 21st century must be to move beyond partisanship (despite the efforts of the crazies) to a new paradigm of cooperation and... reject contention.

Otherwise we have no chance to progress.

[Peter R]

Well, the horse already bolt so it's all moot as you've indicated... maybe what we need is a dictatorship (benevolent of course) for the next 20 years...democracy as practised in JA has failed.

[Don1]

Well, the horse already bolt so it's all moot as you've indicated... maybe what we need is a dictatorship (benevolent of course) for the next 20 years...democracy as practised in JA has failed.

agreed.

[Willi]

Wills was the father of organized political violence. That is why Eddy talked about fire fi fire, blood fi blood. That is when it got stepped up from knife and stone to guns.

Eddy and Tony are the fathers of garrisons.

[Historian]

Agreed

Well, the horse already bolt so it's all moot as you've indicated... maybe what we need is a dictatorship (benevolent of course) for the next 20 years...democracy as practised in JA has failed.

This has been my opinion for the past many years. I'm also happy you stressed the type of dictatorship (benevolent). The sad reality is that western-style democracy in today's Jamaica is just not working.