Rail transport in Honduras
Encyclopedia
Railroads in Honduras were built in late 19th and early 20th centuries by two competing U.S. corporations - United Fruit (Tela Railroad Company) and Standard Fruit (later nationalized). All were in the Caribbean coastal area and never reached the capital. In 1993, the combined network had 785 km. At present (2006), only three separate segments remain in operation under the management of FNH - Ferrocarril Nacional de Honduras:
- San Pedro SulaSan Pedro SulaSan Pedro Sula is a city in Honduras. It is located in the northwest corner of the country, in the Valle de Sula , about 60 km south of Puerto Cortés on the Caribbean. With an estimated population of 638,259 people in the main municipality, and 802,598 in its metro area , it is the second...
- Puerto CortesPuerto Cortés-Geography:It is on the Caribbean Sea coast, north of San Pedro Sula and east of Omoa, at 15.85° N, 87.94° W. It has a natural bay.It is Honduras's main sea port and it is considered the most important seaport in Central America...
(50 km, freight trains carrying mainly lumber) - City rail in La CeibaLa CeibaLa Ceiba is a port city on the northern coast of Honduras in Central America. It is located on the southern edge of the Caribbean, forming part of the south eastern boundary of the Gulf of Honduras...
(3 km, passenger transport between downtown and a western suburb, Col. Sitramacsa) - Line between La Unión, HondurasLa Unión, HondurasLa Unión is a municipality in the Honduran department of Copán....
and Parque Nacional Cuero y Salado (9 km, transport of coconuts to a processing plant and of tourists to national park) - In late 2010 a commuter / Tourist train was established in San Pedro SulaSan Pedro SulaSan Pedro Sula is a city in Honduras. It is located in the northwest corner of the country, in the Valle de Sula , about 60 km south of Puerto Cortés on the Caribbean. With an estimated population of 638,259 people in the main municipality, and 802,598 in its metro area , it is the second...
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History
The railroads in Honduras were originally built by banana companies and consisted of two separate systems with differing gauges. The larger system, with almost 600 kilometres (372.8 mi) of track, was built by Standard Fruit Company in the early 1900s. Half of this system was cape gaugeCape gauge
Cape gauge is a track gauge of between the inside of the rail heads and is classified as narrow gauge. It has installations of around .The gauge was first used by Norwegian engineer Carl Abraham Pihl and the first line was opened in 1862.- Nomenclature :...
; the other half consisted of , narrow gauge lines. The government nationalized the Standard Fruit line in 1983, renaming it the Honduras National Railroad (Ferrocarril Nacional de Honduras--FNH). The other system, owned by the Tela Railroad Company, a subsidiary of Chiquita Brands International, encompassed 190 kilometres (118.1 mi) of narrow-gauge lines. Both systems were located in the north central and northwestern coastal areas of Honduras and provided freight and passenger service. .
FERISTSA
The FERISTSAFERISTSA
FERISTSA was the name of a proposed USD $3 billion privately owned commercial railroad going from the Panama Canal Railway Company through the entire length of Central America, linking with Mexico's rail system at the Guatemala border, and thus to the United States of America.- Description :The...
Railway was proposed to connect Mexico with Panama and therefore pass through Honduras.