AREQUIPA, Peru – This September 29, passage on the Central Railway Line was restored, after the interruption caused last Friday afternoon by the accident that occurred between a local train and three cars at kilometer 149.2 between the Jovellanos stations. and Quintana, in Matanzas.
According to the minister reported of transportation, Eduardo Rodríguez Dávila, since that moment “the railway system has been in maximum tension”, with several trains in circulation stopped for prolonged periods in different parts of the country.
“Meanwhile, hard work was being done to restore the line, with the premise that due to the urgency of the works, no new damage would be inflicted on the locomotive and the three cars affected in the accident,” the owner indicated.
Likewise, Rodríguez Dávila pointed out that measures were taken to serve the passengers of the different trains in the face of this contingency. It is “something that always generates inconvenience and great dissatisfaction,” he acknowledged without offering details of the waiting time of people on board the trains.
“The main heads of the Cuban Railway Union and several of its companies, as well as the recently appointed vice minister, Luis Roberto Rosés, have been on stage all the time facing the main problems, which have not been few,” projection.
Although he did not specify the number of passengers affected, the minister said that “approximately 1,000 people are transported on a national train and in circumstances like this, it is a challenge to be able to care for them and avoid damage to their health.”
With relation to the accidentRodríguez Dávila assured that the causes of the same would be analyzed and the methods to “avoid them and reduce the impact they generate.”
“The railway infrastructure has suffered the impacts of not having the necessary resources for its maintenance for years. Even in today’s difficult circumstances, we will find ways to improve a transportation system that is a core part of the nation, and on which we count to recover and develop the Cuban economy and, above all, provide better mobility services to our population,” he justified.
Freight train derailments are not uncommon in Cubapresumably due to the poor condition and lack of maintenance of the railway tracks. This is the fifth major one that transcends this year.
On September 12, Extra Train 69, locomotive 312055, derailed at 05:35 AM and overturned three container plates at kilometer 151, between the Quintana and Jovellanos Central Line stations, in the Matanzas province.
According to data provided by the General Directorate of Railways, cited by the state media Cubadebatethe vehicle was headed to the Villa Clara province and had a formation of 16 pieces of equipment, of which 14 loaded container plates belonging to the Company FerroMar SA
The three overturned container plates were numbers seven, eight and nine in the formation. The rest of the equipment, including the locomotive, was not damaged, the report indicates.
