The economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed on Cuba by the United States government makes it difficult to repair equipment and tracks to guarantee safety and quality in rail services, Tania Estrella González Sosa, deputy director of the Cuban Central-East Company of Railways, denounced.

In the national repair center for GM-900 locomotives (manufactured in the United States), located in the municipality of Morón, in the province of Ciego de Ávila, there is a deficit of resources for maintenance due to the impossibility of acquiring them in the nation of origin, difficulties in accessing them in third countries and higher costs.

By not receiving parts from abroad for several years, they lack main generators, traction motors and kits for the repair of Diesel engines, electric batteries, cooling radiators, wheels, cardboard and special rubber materials for the manufacture of pulleys; filters, lubricants, supplies and tools, and other essential components.

The blockade represents the main obstacle to speed up the replacement of locomotives and passenger cars with more than 60 years of operation, the rehabilitation of the last one also limited by the lack of wood, pressed cardboard, glass, laminate and materials for welding, which implies difficulties in the quality of the service.

The worsening of the wagons and the impossibility of repairing them, together with difficulties in the supply of fuels, have caused cancellations of local and national services, which means that hundreds of passengers and thousands of tons of resources necessary for the population were not transported.

 The search for solutions in the railway workshops avoids the stoppage of equipment and contributes to save foreign currency to the country by way of purchases abroad.

The leader also referred that the blockade constitutes a barrier to acquire machinery and materials that ensure the repair of roads and bridges, including fixings for the rails, fuels, oils and lubricants, spare parts for the motorways, means of transportation and heavy equipment.

In this complex scenario, the repair of locomotives and wagons is maintained, and preventive maintenance actions are guaranteed on the trails for the safe movement of freight and passenger trains with prohibited circulation for the moment, because of the restrictions of mobility caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The railway sector in the Central-East region of the country is also making progress in the use of the Global Positioning System (GPS) to control the movement of trains and the fuel used in the transportation of passengers and cargo.