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Rail transport in Guatemala

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Roundhouse at Guatemala City Station with diesel and steam locomotives on February 14, 2007

Guatemala had a network of 914 mm (3 ft) narrow gauge railroads.

History

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Main article: Northern Railroad of Guatemala
Freight transport was the main business of Ferrovías Guatemala.
Guatemala rail map of 1925

Construction of the first railway in Guatemala commenced in 1878[1] and the first section began operation in 1880, connecting Puerto San José and Escuintla,[1][2] being extended to Guatemala City in 1884.[1]

The line to Puerto Barrios, known originally as Northern Railroad of Guatemala was completed in 1908.[3] The network was soon acquired by United Fruit, and in 1912 renamed the International Railways of Central America which was also known as IRCA.[1]

The railroad prospered until 1957. In 1954, United Fruit had to divest following an antitrust suit[4] and in 1959, a parallel highway caused a serious competitive pressure. In 1968, the company defaulted, was taken over by the government and renamed Ferrocarriles de Guatemala which was also known as FEGUA.[4] The condition of tracks continued to deteriorate and regular traffic was shut down in 1996.[4]

Revival

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In October 1997, a 50-year concession was given to Railroad Development Corporation (RDC) which started to rehabilitate the network.[5] They were delayed by the need to evict squatters who built their cottages on the right-of-way during the previous years and to repair damage caused by thieves and nature. A serious blow was Hurricane Mitch in 1998, which destroyed parts of the line. The first train under RDC management went from Guatemala City to El Chile cement plant on April 15, 1999, and the rest of the line to Puerto Barrios was put into operation in December of that year.[6]

From 1999 until September 2007, Ferrovías Guatemala (FVG), as a subsidiary of RDC, operated 15 engines and 200 railcars on freight trains between Guatemala City and Puerto Barrios. It transported containers, steel, cement, paper and bananas between the Caribbean coast and the capital over a network of 320 kilometres (200 mi) as of 2006, but quit in September 2007.[7] It connected Guatemala City to Puerto Barrios with short branches in Guatemala City container terminal and Puerto Santo Tomás.[8]

Steam charter trains ran on parts of the network in the period 1997 to 2007.[9][10]

Other lines previously existing in Guatemala (such as to Ciudad Tecún Umán on the border with Mexico, to Anguiatú in El Salvador and to Puerto San José) have not been repaired since 1996.

A short cross-border link from Ciudad Hidalgo, Chiapas in Mexico to Ciudad Tecún Umán was rebuilt with 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge in 2019.[11]

Suspension of operations in 2007

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In August 2006, the government of Guatemala declared a 2003 contract for the usufruct of rolling stock and other equipment as contrary to public interest (es:Declaración de lesividad), invalidating it. FVG believed that this was a response to its earlier request for arbitration regarding the usage of US$2 million from National Railroad Trust, designated for the development of railroads in Guatemala but used to support an overstaffed governmental oversight agency.[12]

The result of the governmental action was a decline of shipments and operational difficulties, such as inability to obtain credit or take additional revenues from the leasing of station buildings or right of way. In March 2007, RDC declared its intent to seek protection of investment through arbitration against the government of Guatemala according to Chapter 10 of CAFTA.[13][14] The case was registered with ICSID on August 20, 2007, with number ARB/07/23. Due to the continuing uncertainty leading to losses, FVG decided to suspend all operations as of October 1, 2007,[7] while continuing with legal actions against the Guatemalan government.[15] The arbitration case was finally decided in favor of RDC and US$14.6m paid as compensation.[16] As of 2011, most of the bridges have been dismantled and sold for scrap by thieves, making a potential revival of railways in Guatemala difficult, as it would cost millions of dollars to rebuild.

In August 2012, there were proposals to start some new passenger services, including a link from La Aurora airport to Guatemala City.[17]

Historic Network

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The following table shows the main rail network and linked plantation railways (mostly United Fruit Company) at its historic extent and is based on the source work[1][18] with additional original research. Details of the plantation railways are vague. An incomplete series of 1:50,000 maps are held by / published online by The University of Texas under the Perry-Castañeda Library (PCL) Map Collection website [1]

Table of historic railway network[18]
Location Section Distance (km) Cumulative Distance (km) Note
Puerto Barrios 0 0
(junction) 4 4
Entre Rios 19 23
Bananera 36 59
Quirigua 36 95
Zacapa 70 165
Guatemala City 151 316
Santa Maria 88 404
Rio Bravo 68 472
Palo Gordo 17 489
Mulua 26 515
Las Cruces 21 536
Tecun Uman 64 600 Link to Mexico
(junction) 0 0
Santo Tomás de Castilla 6 6 estimated by Google measure
Entre Rios 0 0
La Inca 26 26
El Quetzalito 10 36 estimated by Google measure, plus additional plantation lines. Source: Open Street Map "antigua linea ferrea" (ancient iron line)
Bananera 0 0
Oneida Empalme 4 4
Quirigua 36 40 plus additional plantation lines
Oneida Empalme 0 0
Playitas area 60 60 estimated by Google measure, approximately 60 km network of lines serving fruit plantations
Zacapa 0 0
Anguiatu 113 113 link to El Salvador
Guatemala City 0 0
Guarda Viejo 4 4
Santa Maria 0 0
El Empalme
San Jose 33 33
Puerto Quetzal 7 7 branch from El Empalme, Google measure based on historic map (ref 2057iv)
Rio Bravo 0 0
Empalme Sur 42 42 Tiquisate plantation
Palo Gordo 0 0
San Antonio 5 5
Mulua 0 0
San Felipe 15 15
Las Cruces 0 0
Champerico 29 29
Tecun Uman 0 0
Ocos 21 21
Ferrocarril de Los Altos
San Felipe
Quetzaltenango 45 45
Ferrocarril Verapaz
Panzós 0 0
Pancajche 45 45

Ferrocarril de Los Altos

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The site of a former train station in Quetzaltenango

Outside of the IRCA network, an electric railroad Ferrocarril de Los Altos used to connect Quetzaltenango and Retalhuleu between 1930 and 1933. It was destroyed by a hurricane in 1933 and never rebuilt. The remains are on display in a dedicated museum in Quetzaltenango (Ferrocarril de Los Altos [es]).[19]

Ferrocarril Verapaz

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Another isolated railroad, Ferrocarril Verapaz de Guatemala [es] (also known as Ferropazco), used to connect Panzós and Tucurú in Alta Verapaz Department. Its construction was authorized in 1884 and completed in 1895.[20] Its main purpose was to transport coffee from farms (fincas) controlled mainly by Germans to the port of Panzós on Polochic River, which merged to Lago de Izabal and the Caribbean Sea. The company was nationalized in 1943.[21] In 1956, the government created a national company Ferrocarril Verapaz y Servicios Anexos.[22] Operations along Ferrocarril Verapaz y Servicios Anexos stopped in 1963.[23]

Tourist trains

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Tourist train on February 16, 2007
Old steam engine in the Guatemala City Railway Museum

Charter passenger trains with steam engines, mainly for European and U.S. tourists, were organized usually once a year by UK based Ffestiniog Travel or other operators.[8] Traffic control used a modified Track warrant Control method. The main station in Guatemala city also serves as railroad museum.

Railway museum

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Main article: Guatemala City Railway Museum

The Museo del Ferrocarril FEGUA is located in the railway station at Guatemala City and displays steam engines, a diesel engine, passenger and freight cars, and other memorabilia of the Ferrocarriles de Guatemala.

Proposed light rail

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Main article: Metro Riel

A light rail system called Metro Riel is planned for Guatemala City.

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Further reading

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  1. The Railroads of Guatemala and El Salvador[1]
  2. La gran aventura del Ferrocarril de Guatemala / The great adventure of the Guatemala Railway[24]
  3. Development of Railroads in Guatemala and El Salvador[25]
  4. History of the Guatemala Railway[26]
  5. Adventure traveler Richard Halliburton described Guatemala's former main railroad line in New Worlds to Conquer (1929).
  6. Travel writer Paul Theroux described his journey by train through Guatemala in his book The Old Patagonian Express, as he traveled from Boston to Patagonia.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Best, Gerald M (April 1961). "The Railroads of Guatemala and El Salvador". The Railway and Locomotive Historical Society Bulletin (104): 31–53. JSTOR 43517987 – via JSTOR.
  2. ^ Ross, Delmer G. (1977). "The construction of the Interoceanic Railroad of Guatemala". The Americas. 33 (3): 430–56. doi:10.2307/980947. JSTOR 980947. S2CID 147590795.
  3. ^ Williams, Glyn (July 2006). "Railways in Guatemala". Retrieved 2010-01-12.
  4. ^ a b c West, John B (December 1993). "A short history of the IRCA". smugmug. Retrieved 14 May 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  5. ^ Posner III, Henry (1998): Guatemala – Last stand for rail in Central America Archived 2011-09-27 at the Wayback Machine, Rail Business Report 1998
  6. ^ "Zimmermann, K.(2002): In Guatemala, a railway Phoenix rises. TRAINS Magazine" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-03-14. Retrieved 2006-05-28.
  7. ^ a b Central America going nowhere. Railway Gazette International August 2007.
  8. ^ a b "Former RDC Operating Entity – FVG (Dec 1999 – Dec 2013)". rrdc.com.
  9. ^ Dickinson, Rob (2024). "Steam in Guatemala 1998 - 2001". International Steam. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  10. ^ Dickinson, Rob (2024). "The Railway Touring Company in Central America 2007". International Steam. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  11. ^ a b "Railway between Guatemala and Mexico, connectivity across Puerto Chiapas". www.puertochiapas.com.mx.
  12. ^ "RDC press release, 28.08.2006" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-07-13.
  13. ^ "RDC press release, 13.03.2007" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-07-13.
  14. ^ "RDC plantea una demanda contra el estado de Guatemala con base en normas del cafta". www.deguate.com.
  15. ^ "RDC press release, 06.07.2007" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-02-02. Retrieved 2007-07-13.
  16. ^ http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/news/cs-america/single-view/view/full-settlement-for-railroad-development-corp-in-guatemala-dispute.html?sword_listlist[]=guatemala&no_cache=1
  17. ^ "Guatemala passenger revival plan – Railway Gazette". Railway Gazette International. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
  18. ^ a b Fergusson, Jim (June 2013). "Guatemala and El Salvador Railways - Passenger Stations and stops" (PDF). Branch Line Society: Jim Fergusson's Railway and Tramway Station Lists. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  19. ^ "munixela.com". www.godaddy.com.
  20. ^ Historia y Geografia Verapaciana, Infopressca 2004, page 47
  21. ^ Decreto Gubernativo No 3078 – Forced expropriation of Ferrocarril Verapaz y Agencias del Norte Limitada in 1943
  22. ^ Decreto Gubernativo No 1122 – establishment of Ferrocarril Verapaz y Servicios Anexos in 1958
  23. ^ "Perez Riera, R.: Infraestructura, Comercio y Servicios Públicos, page 4" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 19, 2006.
  24. ^ InfantiaN (3 November 2020). "La gran aventura del Ferrocarril de Guatemala". Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  25. ^ Ross, Delmer G (1 August 2001). Development of Railroads in Guatemala and El Salvador. Edwin Mellen Press Ltd. ISBN 978-0773475014.
  26. ^ "History of the Guatemala Railway". Latin American Railway Association (ALAF). 2020.
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