Rail transport in Puerto Rico

Rail transport in Puerto Rico

:"This article is part of the history of rail transport by country series."

Rail transport in Puerto Rico currently consists of a 10.7 mile (17.2 km) passenger metro system in the island’s metropolitan area of San Juan and a small cargo system in the southern city of Ponce. Its history can be traced back to the mid-19th century with the construction of a limited passenger line in Mayagüez. Between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Puerto Rico's rail transport system expanded significantly, becoming one of the largest rail systems in the Caribbean at the time thanks to an economic boom in agriculture industries, especially the sugar cane industry. The rail system was expanded to include passenger travel with a direct line from the island's northern capital of San Juan to the western and southern cities and towns, greatly improving travel and communication within the island. However, the entire system was soon overshadowed by the arrival of the automobile, and by the 1950s was completely abandoned. Small remnants of this system still exist in some parts of Puerto Rico, some conserved for tourism purposes.

History

Early Mayagüez passenger system

system consisted of small wagons on rails pulled by horses,, and it connected the center part of the town with the "Playa" sector (now Port sector). It faced numerous difficulties, including inclined routes and poor street conditions, which were troublesome for the animals. The system stopped in 1887 after the company was unable to obtain certain permits, but was revived in 1893 after a proposal by the company "Sociedad Anónima Tranvia de Mayagüez" (the Mayagüez Tramways Anonymous Society) and renewed operations in 1895.

The new system operated more efficiently, offering more comfortable cars and more stops, including one in the town Market Place ("Plaza del Mercado") and another in the Guanajibo neighborhood. The routes were altered to pass through McKinley Street, which was less inclined and with better road conditions than previous routes benefiting both the ride and the horses. It lasted until 1912, when the Mayagüez Tramways Anonymous Society ceased operations and was replaced by the Mayagüez Tramway Company in 1913. The third operator of the system introduced new larger electric-powered cars, although the service was now limited from the "Playa" sector directly to the Balboa neighborhood. It remained active for 13 years, but after a major earthquake hit Mayagüez in 1918 coupled with the recent arrival of the automobile, it was shut down permanently in 1926.

National railroad system

Puerto Rico in 1898, the system already had approximately 168 miles (270 km) of railroad tracks.

Passenger travel began to flourish in 1902 when the American Railroad Company from New York acquired the system.Violeta Landron, [http://www.rootsweb.com/~prsanjua/tren.htm "The Train: Memories and Nostalgia on Rails"] (El Tren: Recuerdos y Nostalgia sobre Rieles), "Fiestas Patronales 2000", Vega Baja, PR, Pg. 44 es icon] In 1904, a southern line was constructed between Hormigueros and Yauco, and the northern line was expanded towards the west to include the town of Aguadilla after two tunnels were constructed in Guajataca, Quebradillas. In 1907, the line between San Juan and Ponce was completed, finally connecting the northern and southern portions of the island. By then, independent systems were also constructed along the southern and eastern coasts used exclusively for sugar cane transport. Before its demise, the Puerto Rico railroad system had some 500 kilometers of track and served almost all coastal towns, carrying freight into the Island and transporting agricultural products to the ports for shipping overseas. [An Island Grows, 70 Years of Economic Development in Puerto Rico, 1877 - 1947 (1947) Biblioteca UPR]

Transport by rail greatly improved the everyday life of Puerto Ricans, since passengers could now travel between the largest cities, San Juan and Ponce, in record time. Previous trips used to take several days by horse and wagons, but the regular train greatly reduced traveling time to around 10 hours. There were four main trains operating all day and night during the system’s peak years, with Train No. 1 departing at 7:00am from San Juan and arriving in Ponce at 5:00pm. Tickets for this one-way trip cost $1.50 for first class and $0.95 for second class in 1950. The system was such an important part of island society, that famed composer Manuel “Canario” Jimenez composed a "Plena" song titled "La Máquina" (The Machine) about the daily trip between San Juan and Ponce.

an Juan Tramway

In 1878, engineer-entrepreneur Don Pablo Ubarri was granted the right to build and operate an 11 kilometer (7 mile) passenger steam tramway between San Juan and the town of Rio Piedras. This interurban system was the beginning of colonization of the hinterland of the walled city of San Juan.

In the early 20th century, the steam tram was replaced by a new electric trolley system [Document CF408, Tranvía de la Capital a Rio Piedras (Nov 16, 1898), Archivo General de Puerto Rico] with a new line going through Condado in Santurceconstructed by the Porto Rico Railway, Light and Power Company. [ [http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~wyatt/alltime/a2z-zz.html Canadian Transit Interests Outside Canada] ] Locally referred to as the "San Juan Trolley", it crossed the streets of San Juan from 1901 to 1 October 1946. During its heyday, it was the most modern electric streetcar system in Puerto Rico, rivaling New York and Toronto, the cars had such features as steel arch roof bodies, improved ventilation and air operated front and center doors, with more than 32 km (20 miles) of tracks and 36 passengers coaches, it transported nearly 10 million passengers a year. A stroll cost ten cents.

The event of World War II, the creation of the San Juan-Santurce Omnibus Line, the White Star Bus Line and the San Felipe (1928) and San Ciprián cyclones in 1932 caused serious damages to this beloved transit system. [Historia de la energía eléctrica en Puerto Rico - Eugenio Látimer Torres]

Tragedy on election day in 1944

On the early morning hours of November 7, 1944, the American Railroad Company of Puerto Rico suffered its most violent accident in its history. [http://www.rootsweb.com/~prsanjua/tren.htm "La Tragedia del 7 de noviembre de 1944"] (The Tragedy of November 7, 1944) by Haydee E. Reichard de Cancio, El Nuevo Dia, Por Dentro Section, Pg. 116, December 7, 1996, retrieved on July 31, 2006 es icon] Train No. 3 was traveling from San Juan to Ponce carrying passengers to their different hometowns for the island general elections to be held that same day. It stopped at the Jimenez Station in Aguadilla for a routine engineer and fireman exchange with Train No. 4 which was heading towards San Juan. The engineer assigned to Train No. 3’s ride from Jimenez Station to Ponce was Jose Antonio Roman, an experienced freight train engineer, but who had never worked in passenger travel. When the train left the station at 2:00am, it was hauling 6 passenger cars with hundreds of commuters and two freight cars.

At 2:20am the train started to descend a hill section known as "Cuesta Vieja" (Old Hill) in Aguadilla at what some witnesses described as an exaggerated speed. When the train reached the leveling-off point at the bottom of the hill it derailed. The steam locomotive crashed into a ditch and one of the freight cars crashed into one of the passenger cars, killing many inside. Witnesses described the scene as horrendous, with some accounts stating that parents were throwing their children out the windows to save them from the wreckage. Chief of Police Guillermo Arroyo stated that the locomotive (No. 72), the express car, and three second class passenger cars were completely destroyed. Oscar Valle, an Aguadilla correspondent to the local El Mundo newspaper, summarized the scene in a more dramatic way: “The locomotive suffered a terrible explosion as it derailed, and the impact was so strong that 3 passenger cars were converted into a fantastic mound of wreckage." In the end, 16 passengers lost their lives, including the engineer and the fireman, and 50 were injured in the crash.

Downfall

When Puerto Rico changed its mostly agricultural economy to a manufacturing one, and the U.S. and Puerto Rican governments started investing heavily in interstate highways and freeways, the railroad business in the island soon collapsed. The system was almost lost when the American Railroad Company filed for bankruptcy in 1947. In an effort to save the system, former employees reorganized the company and formed the Puerto Rico Railroad and Transport Company serving as stockholders, but by then the system could no longer compete with the increasing number of automobiles, trucks, and buses on the island. Passenger travel ceased in 1953, while the commercial service (mostly for the sugar cane industry) continued operating until 1957.

The last remaining part of the system used in operations was a small rail line located in the town of Arroyo, which was used exclusively for tourism purposes until recently.TravelandSports.com, [http://travelandsports.com/espanol/arrot714.htm Tren del Sur de Arroyo] ] PRFROGUI.com [http://www.prfrogui.com/home/arroyopueblo.htm El Tren del Sur (Arroyo)] ] The rest of the system was either torn down to make room for new development, recycled (rails were melted and recycled and certain rail bridges were converted into road bridges), or simply abandoned. Remnants of the main system and lines can still be seen in some parts of Puerto Rico, such as:

* Tracks, in the streets of the Playa de Ponce neighborhood of Ponce;
* Tracks, along the old port section of Mayagüez;
* Abandoned diesel locomotives and sugar cane wagons, in the Serralles Distillery (home of the Don Q liquor), next to Mercedita Airport, in Ponce;
* Tracks and bridges, along PR-1 state road in the southern region of the island;
* Tracks, bridges and abandoned sugar cane wagons, in the Aguirre neighborhood between the Salinas, Arroyo and Guayama towns;
* Steam locomotive, on display in a public plaza in Peñuelas and Levittown;
* Tunnel, between the Guajataca and Pastillo beaches, near the Guajataca Forest Reserve in Quebradillas;
* Tunnel, hidden in the Guajataca Canyon;
* Tunnel, in Guaniquilla section of Cabo Rojo;
* Bridge, in the Santurce neighborhood of San Juan, close to San Juan Central Park.
* Rail bridge, over the Añasco river, in Añasco.
* Exposed tracks (of the otherwise asphalt covered tracks) in front of the Cruise Ship Docks in Old San Juan.
* Three bridges inside Fort Buchanan, exposed rail.
* Puente Blanco bridge in Quebradillas.
* Former railroad stations in Aguada, Añasco, Hormigueros, Cabo Rojo and San Germán.

Tren Urbano

by third rail at 750 V, d.c.. The line's construction started in July 1996 with the purpose of relieving traffic congestion in the San Juan metropolitan area, and was inaugurated January 2005 to mixed reactions. With a final estimated cost of $2.25 billion, nearly $1 billion more than original estimates, [http://tollroadsnews.info/artman/publish/article_1161.shtml/ "Tren Urbano PR another way low transit ridership forecast"] , TOLLROADSNews, November 20, 2005, accessed April 13, 2007.] the project has been criticized by government watchdogs, especially for its low passenger use of approximately 24,000 passengers daily (2005 est.), compared with original projections of 80,000 daily.

There are current plans to extend the Tren Urbano rail system to outlying suburbs of the San Juan metro area, including a light interurban rail system from San Juan to Caguas scheduled to be completed in 2010. [cite web| url=http://www.puertorico-herald.org/issues/2004/vol8n15/CBCaguasSanJuan.html| title=Caguas To San Juan In 15 Minutes| accessdate=2007-05-08]

Other systems

* Port of Ponce Railroad – This is a small cargo system which services the current Port of Ponce. It has two diesel locomotives with dozens of liquid container cars, and is mainly used to transport oil and other liquid chemicals from incoming ships to storage areas.

* Tren del Sur – A historic narrow gauge plantation line dedicated exclusively for tourism in Arroyo. Two diesel locomotives and several passenger wagons transport visitors on a 50 minute tour along old sugar cane fields. This line has recently been closed, but there are plans to revive and extend the system. [Government of Puerto Rico [http://www.gobierno.pr/OECH/index.htm State Historic Conservation Plan 2006-2010] (Spanish)]

* El Parque del Tren – Another limited rail line, the last remaining system dedicated exclusively for tourism and the last remaining line open to the general public until the inauguration of the "Tren Urbano". It consisted of a locomotive with various passenger cars which would carry visitors around a large recreational park in Bayamón. The park was demolished to make way for the "Tren Urbano". [http://www.radiosabor.es/viajar/puertorico/4bayamon.html Baymon Tourism] , RadioSabor.es]

References

Further reading

* Jack Delano (June 1990), "De San Juan a Ponce En El Tren" ("From San Juan to Ponce in Train"), University of Puerto Rico, ISBN 0-8477-2117-5

See also

* Rail transport in the United States
* List of United States railroads
* Transportation in Puerto Rico

External links

* [http://iprac.aspira.org/iprac_transportation.htm "The Train: Memories and Nostalgia…"] , a site dedicated to the history of trains in Puerto Rico. es icon
* [http://www.ati.gobierno.pr/ Tren Urbano Home Page] es icon
* [http://www.artepublico.puertorico.pr/english/ambitos/tren_urbano/index.htm Puerto Rico Public Art Project – Tren Urbano] – Photos and information related to the artwork located on each of the train route's stations. es icon


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