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Rail transport in the Dominican Republic

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Rail transport in the Dominican Republic

Rail transport in the Dominican Republic is provided by one state-owned operator and several private ones, mainly for sugar mills. There are no connections with the neighbouring Haiti.

Contents

History

The first line, connecting Santo Domingo to Puerto Plata through Santiago de los Caballeros, was opened in 1877.

National railways

The network consists of several lines, for freight and passenger transport, using several gauges. Due to the closure of some of them, during the 20th Century, the network has been partly reduced to a series of scattered branches, mainly concentrated around the cities of San Pedro de Macorís and La Romana.

The list below shows an overview about the original network:

  • Central Romana Railroad was established in 1911 in the sugarcane fields. The total length of the line is 757 km (470 mi), 375 km (233 mi) being the 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge.
  • The Dominican Republic Government Railway is a 142 km (88 mi) 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) narrow gauge railway.
  • There are 240 km (149 mi) operated by other sugarcane companies in various gauges: 557 mm (21 15⁄16 in), 762 mm (2 ft 6 in), 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) gauges (1995).

    • Urban railways

    The first rapid transit system opened in the state, inaugurated at the end of 2008, is a metro network serving the capital Santo Domingo. It consists of two lines for a total length of 27.4 km, with planned expansion. A light rail system has been planned for Santiago de los Caballeros, the second Dominican city.

    References

    Rail transport in the Dominican Republic Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA