Resuscitation of the railway put on hold

[Lazie]

The Government appears to be having second thoughts about the resuscitation of the railway system in light of the economic challenges facing the country.

Prime Minister Golding says the Ministry of Transport will have to return to the drawing board with its plans as it might not be feasible at this time to operate the railway.

"Because what I do not want to do is saddle the tax payers of Jamaica with any more burden than they are bearing already. I cannot ask the taxpayers to subsidize the operations of the railway and so we continue to work to see how we can configure it in such a way that it could at least breakeven without it being a burden on the taxpayers," Mr. Golding said.

[Jangle]

"subsidize"? Weren't the Indians then the Chinese interested in taking over the operations? Whatever became of these talks? Is there a long-term benefit to Jamaica if rail transportation were to be revamped? (Mosiah your thoughts here) If there are long-term benefits, then this is where bold leadership is required.

[Muadib]

Yuh mean like the Toll Road ?

[MdmeX]

Yuh can trust the Chinese

[Don1]

"subsidize"? Weren't the Indians then the Chinese interested in taking over the operations? Whatever became of these talks? Is there a long-term benefit to Jamaica if rail transportation were to be revamped? (Mosiah your thoughts here) If there are long-term benefits, then this is where bold leadership is required.

BIG TALK....little action.

[Muadib]

Big Global Crash...

interesting how you gloss over this slight issue...

Do you believe it has an impact on plans announced prior ??

[Don1]

Big Global Crash...

interesting how you gloss over this slight issue...

Do you believe it has an impact on plans announced prior ??

Who knows? Not me. You are Mr Insider.

[Muadib]

Yuh tun dumb all of ah sudden....

Ask anybody in Iceland wheh dem tink..

Check on tings in Dubai, si if any plans get slightly modified..

Yuh ah watch Railway progress ??

LOL !! Yuh lucky..

[Don1]

Yuh tun dumb all of ah sudden....

Ask anybody in Iceland wheh dem tink..

Check on tings in Dubai, si if any plans get slightly modified..

Yuh ah watch Railway progress ??

LOL !! Yuh lucky..

ok boss.... i'll cut your peeps some slack.

[Muadib]

Don't despair.. here is a bandwagon your peeps are now on you can jump on !

"Less than two years since leaving office, the Opposition People's National Party (PNP) has called for the immediate liberalisation of Jamaica's electricity transmission and distribution network."

LOL !! Poor JLP.. dem haffi come in a clean up all di mess AND get cussing while at it..

Wheh donkey seh again ?

LOL !! WHOEEE !!

[Hortical]

The world economy is in dire straits, and it seems prudent to reevaluate their strategy.

[Mosiah]

All I know is unless some fariners bankroll the entire thing, Jamaican taxpayers can expect to dig deep to maintain a railroad system right now. Was that what the Chinese or Indians were going to do? Doubt that! Building it is one thing, but what about the operation of it over time?

Is there a railroad that is profitable anywhere in the world?

The govt is doing the right thing by putting that on hold, in my view.

And yes, I do believe there are long-term benefits to a properly planned and managed railroad system.

[Time]

Bullshit - Metro Trans helps ecomnomy and requires subsidy

The Government appears to be having second thoughts about the resuscitation of the railway system in light of the economic challenges facing the country.

Prime Minister Golding says the Ministry of Transport will have to return to the drawing board with its plans as it might not be feasible at this time to operate the railway.

"Because what I do not want to do is saddle the tax payers of Jamaica with any more burden than they are bearing already. I cannot ask the taxpayers to subsidize the operations of the railway and so we continue to work to see how we can configure it in such a way that it could at least breakeven without it being a burden on the taxpayers," Mr. Golding said.

I don't know of one major city in the world that runs a profitable metro transport system that does not require subsidy. The bottom line is that metro transport is an unprofitable busisness outsde of peak hours and the peak hours profit will not be enough to cover the losses during the non peak hours. Here in this city, the MTA takes the money in the form of taxes.

The bottom line is that the railway is the fastest and most cost effective service to haul people and goods into Kingston but it would put some of the road operators out of business.

[Hortical]

Transit systems require significant subsidy and some of the big ones are knee deep in debt due to gov't authorities unwillingness to adequate fund & maintain their train/subway systems. Boston's MBTA has raised fares about 50% over the last 5 years, however they are in debt to the tune of $1.5 billion, and run an annual budget deficit of $160 million.

If Jamaica is serious about commuter rail service, I would suggest raising the GCT and personal income tax by 50% to fund mass transit.

[Don1]

Don't despair.. here is a bandwagon your peeps are now on you can jump on !

"Less than two years since leaving office, the Opposition People's National Party (PNP) has called for the immediate liberalisation of Jamaica's electricity transmission and distribution network."

LOL !! Poor JLP.. dem haffi come in a clean up all di mess AND get cussing while at it..

Wheh donkey seh again ?

LOL !! WHOEEE !!

ok boss. Poor JLP indeed.