• Submitted by: manso
• Business and Economy
• 08 / 01 / 2011

---

By: Tomas Armenteros Crespo.31 de julio de 2011, 11:11Havana, Jul 31 (Prensa Latina) Cuba is concentrating efforts in restoring the national railroad system, and aims for recuperating the sector with effectiveness.

The statement was made by Cesar Ignacio Arocha, Cuban Transport Minister, when he submitted a report before the plenary of the National Assembly on the work of Cuban transport during the first six months of 2011.

Arocha told the legislators that the Cuban railroad system deteriorated in the past years, due to deficient management, the poor state of the railroad tracks, engines and wagons, and neglect in workshops.

The recovery process was concentrated in 2010 on minor and medium repairs on the lines to guarantee safety.

The work projection for the 2011-2015 period includes the repair of the central line and other main branch lines, the technological upgrade of the workshops, wagon repairs, purchase of wagons, repair of train stations and a new organizing structure. The plan for repairs, said Arocha, is being fulfilled at 97.1 percent by means of the reopening of lines and branch lines, bridges, and guaranteeing sugar harvest transportation.

Recuperating the railroad system is the ministry's main working task in the next years, but it will require strict discipline, the enforcement of high standards and a great deal of managerial control, he concluded.