“The impact of the reimplementation of railway service is a multi-sectoral multidimensional need that will not only solve the problem of vehicular congestion, but it will also provide an economic inflow, boosting the tourism product of the country,” he argued.

Minister of Transport and Mining, Audley Shaw, in his remarks, said to maximise productivity and economic activity, “people and goods must be able to move efficiently”. This alternative transportation modality is expected to reduce vehicular congestion, especially in urban areas, as well as ease the environmental effects of quarry material, such as dust nuisance and falling aggregates. Industrial minerals, such as limestone, sand and gravel are essential for the construction of homes, roads, bridges and other infrastructure projects. Under the agreement, MARL gets the right to lease land to be used for the loading and unloading of cargo, while having the trains transport aggregates from Old Harbour to Linstead and from Bog Walk to Port Esquivel, for shipment to other Caribbean islands. This is the first time the service will be reintroduced since 1992. The contract will last for 15 years and is estimated at a value of $33 million for the first year. This resumption follows an agreement formalised between the Jamaica Railway Corporation (JRC) and the Mineral Agency for Retail and Logistics (MARL), at a signing ceremony held at the Ministry of Transport and Mining in Kingston on March 28. The commercial movement of industrial minerals and aggregates using the railway infrastructure will resume in roughly three months as part of the Government’s effort to re-establish rail service across the island.

Commercial observer