The railway sector in Ciego de Ávila resumed the route from the rural community Limones Palmero, in the municipality of Majagua, to the capital city, after six years of paralysis, which is a guarantee of safe transportation for those who use this service.
This other transportation alternative is a relief for those who live in the rural areas of Limones Palmero, Orlando González, Guayacanes and Caguazal, and work or study in the provincial capital or go there to carry out personal business.
Limones Palmero is at a distance of 25 kilometers from its municipal capital and about 50 from the province, and the railway is the main means of transportation that connects it with other urban centers, hence the importance of the recovery of the railways, carried out in recent date.
Tania González Sosa, director of Railways in the province, informed the Cuban News Agency (ACN) that the Limones Palmero-Ciego de Ávila itinerary, from Monday to Friday, has a round trip. It leaves at 5:50 am and arrives at 8:00 am to the city of Ciego de Ávila; the return time is at 4:30 pm in that platform and the arrival at the place of origin at 7:15 at night.
To take advantage of the crew, the locomotive and the four cars of that route, together with the Government in the province, it was decided to open the Ciego de Ávila-Majagua route, through the central railway line, the directive explained.
"At 1:00 pm, the machine leaves the provincial platform, makes stops in the Caguazal and Guayacanes communities, to arrive at the Majagua station after 45 minutes, and be able to return at 2:30 pm," González Sosa added.
Although it is a demand of the population to change that schedule, the current equipment conditions do not allow it; however, it is possible to strengthen transportation from that municipality, she said.Pedro and Elsa, residents of the town of Majagua, told ACN that this train is welcome, since road transport is becoming more difficult every day due to the insufficiency of buses due to lack of parts and fuel.
Other reestablished services were the one from Baraguá-Ciego de Ávila, also through the Central Railway of Cuba, with two daily trips; Ciego de Ávila-Júcaro, with three trips a day to that coastal community; and the Ciego de Ávila-Morón train, a route with great demand, not only among the residents of both towns, but also among those who live in rural areas that are on that route and in the municipality of Ciro Redondo.
The railway branch, which goes from Guayacanes to Limones Palmero, is 24.2 kilometers in total, which, to be fit, received improvements, and in four of them the repair was in cash.
The investment in this section cost about 15 million pesos, and among the actions carried out are the new construction of several kilometers of stone-way. It allows a higher quality of ride and, therefore, an improvement in the safety of the movement of the train, Orelvis Ramírez Rojas, director of the Roads y Bridges Base Business Unit, which carried out the work, held.
They also cleared marabou on both sides of the line, aligned the road, veneered the strip, weeded with pickaxes, placed sleepers, and used stone as fill at various points between Orlando González and Limones Palmero.
The economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed on Cuba by the United States government causes, in the Transportation sector, the paralysis of equipment, difficulties in acquiring parts and limitations in the supply of fuel, among others.