Transport on Saint Helena
Encyclopedia
Saint Helena
Saint Helena , named after St Helena of Constantinople, is an island of volcanic origin in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha which also includes Ascension Island and the islands of Tristan da Cunha...
has 138 kilometres (85.7 mi) — 118 kilometres (73.3 mi) paved and 20 kilometres (12.4 mi) unpaved — of roads. The only major harbour is James Bay at Jamestown, Saint Helena
Jamestown, Saint Helena
Jamestown is the capital and historic chief settlement of the island of Saint Helena, in the South Atlantic Ocean. Located on the island's north-western coast, it is the island's port, with facilities for unloading goods delivered to the island, and the centre of the island's road and...
, which has customs
Customs
Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting and safeguarding customs duties and for controlling the flow of goods including animals, transports, personal effects and hazardous items in and out of a country...
and immigration buildings. There is no merchant marine.
Road
Saint Helena has its own vehicle registration plate system. Traffic drives on the left as is the case in the United Kingdom itself. Indeed, two of the nearest countries to the islands — South Africa and Namibia — also drive on the left. The speed limitSpeed limit
Road speed limits are used in most countries to regulate the speed of road vehicles. Speed limits may define maximum , minimum or no speed limit and are normally indicated using a traffic sign...
is 30 mile per hour across the island, and with many of the roads single lane and on steep slopes the local etiquette is that drivers heading downhill give way to those coming up.
A minibus offers a basic service to carry people around Saint Helena, with most services designed to take people into Jamestown for a few hours on weekdays to conduct their business.
Air
Saint Helena does not have an airport but after many years of negotiation an airport building projectSaint Helena airport
Saint Helena Airport is a proposed airport that will be constructed in the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, an island in the South Atlantic Ocean. From the 1960s there was an idea to build an airport on the St Helena Island. In 1999 this was taken up by the island government...
is now underway, due for completion in 2015. In November 2011 a deal between the British government and South African company Basil Read was signed and the airport is proposed to open in 2015, with flights to and from South Africa.
An airport was built on Ascension during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
to be used as a staging point for aircraft being ferried from factories in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to the war in North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
. At the end of the war the airport was abandoned, subsequently re-opening when Ascension started to be used as base for monitoring space launches and ICBM tests. Ascension airport is now known as RAF Wideawake. The only way to fly to Ascension is to fly with the RAF via RAF Brize Norton
RAF Brize Norton
RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, about west north-west of London, is the largest station of the Royal Air Force. It is close to the settlements of Brize Norton, Carterton and Witney....
, Oxfordshire, England on an overnight charter, operated (as of September 2010) by an Air Seychelles
Air Seychelles
Air Seychelles is the national airline of the Seychelles, with its head office on the property of Seychelles International Airport on the island of Mahé. It operates inter-island services and international flights...
Boeing 767-300ER. A limited number of civilians are allowed on this flight but fares are high. Transferring from Ascension to Saint Helena takes two days on the RMS Saint Helena.
Rail
The Saint Helena Railway CompanySaint Helena Railway Company
In 1829, the Saint Helena Railway Company built an inclined-plane cableway on Saint Helena. It was intended to lift supplies from the port and capital of Jamestown up to Ladder Hill Fort. It was rebuilt as a long, steep staircase, by the Royal Engineers in 1871 now known as Jacob’s Ladder...
built an inclined-plane railway on the island in 1829. It became a steep staircase, Jacob's Ladder, and the island no longer has any railways.
See also
- Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha#Communications
- Communications in Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha