Trinidad Government Railway
Encyclopedia
Port of Spain
Port of Spain, also written as Port-of-Spain, is the capital of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and the country's third-largest municipality, after San Fernando and Chaguanas. The city has a municipal population of 49,031 , a metropolitan population of 128,026 and a transient daily population...
with Arima
Arima
The Royal Borough of Arima is the fourth largest town in Trinidad and Tobago. Located east of the capital, Port of Spain, Arima supports the only organised indigenous community in the country, the Santa Rosa Carib Community and is the seat of the Carib Queen...
, the railway was extended to Couva
Couva
Couva is a town in west-central Trinidad, south of Chaguanas and north of Claxton Bay and San Fernando. The Greater Couva area includes the Point Lisas Industrial Estate and the Port of Point Lisas. Couva's southern boundary is at the town of California, and to the north Couva stretches to McBean...
in 1880, San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago
San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago
The City of San Fernando with a population of 55,419 according to the 2000 census, is the larger of Trinidad and Tobago's two cities and the second largest municipality after Chaguanas. It occupies 18 km² and is located in the southwestern part of the island of Trinidad...
in 1882, Cunapo (now Sangre Grande
Sangre Grande
Sangre Grande is the largest town in northeastern Trinidad, in Trinidad and Tobago. It is east of Arima and southwest of Toco. Sangre Grande is sometimes abbreviated to just "Grande". It is the seat of the Sangre Grande Regional Corporation. The town falls into the Toco/Sangre constituency of the...
) in 1897, Tabaquite
Tabaquite
Tabaquite is a town in central Trinidad, north of Rio Claro and west of Navet.- Overview :Tabaquite is a primarily rural area and suffers from infrastructural neglect...
in 1898, Siparia
Siparia
Siparia is a town in southern Trinidad, in Trinidad and Tobago, south of Penal and south-east of Fyzabad. Also called "The Sand City," it was originally a non-Mission Amerindian settlement. Siparia grew to be the administrative centre for County Saint Patrick, and later the Siparia Regional...
in 1913 and Rio Claro
Rio Claro, Trinidad and Tobago
Rio Claro is the largest town in southeastern Trinidad, in Trinidad and Tobago. Rio Claro lies east of Princes Town, west of Mayaro and northwest of Guayaguayare. It serves as the major commercial centre for southeastern Trinidad. It lies in a primarily agricultural area...
in 1914.
Background
The first attempt to establish a railway was a private affair in 1846 by the Trinidad Railway Company.Overview
At this, its greatest extent, the railway covered 173 km (107.5 mi).After the end of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, the appearance of the automobile led to changes that culminated with the phased closure of the railway April 1953 and 28 December 1968 saw the complete closure of the Trinidad Government Railways.
Statistics
The TGR appeared to have 640 route-km and was standard gaugeStandard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
.
New railway
On 11 April 2008 the Trinitrain consortium was chosen to plan and build two new Trinidad Rapid RailwayTrinidad Rapid Railway
The Trinidad Rapid Railway was a proposed passenger railway system in Trinidad and Tobago.-Project:On April 11 2008 the TriniTrain consortium of Alstom Transport SA, Alstom T&T Ltd, Bouygues Construction and RATP Développement announced it had been selected by the government to plan and build two...
passenger lines.