I found this map and it says it is in the works. The first line is Santo Domingo to Dibjon(?) via Santiago but they need to add Puerto Plata which I don't understand.
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- Thread starter MiamiDRGuy
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Future DR Rail System
Private investments already working for SD to Punta Cana so we will see
I'm sitting a Metro Tours bus as we speak stuck in traffic coming into Santiago. Trust me, I'm all for it.
I recently went on the Bavaro Express bus from SD to Punta Cana airport and it was horrible getting out of SD. Luckily I went the day before my flight. So I am also for it.
The only mass transit I use, well have used, is an airplane. I'd rather remove my own gall bladder than ride a bus, teleférico, subway, guagua or public car. Europe makes these transport media a much more tolerable experience, for example the Swiss Bahn or tram. The passengers are also quiet, keep to themselves and don't smell.
By the time you arrive on the outskirts of the capital to the 27 de Febrero Caribe Tours Station, you've spent an hour on the bus just in the capital itself
I am absolutely sure that if they build it, the stations will be in weird places that you will need to get a taxi to. They wouldn't put a station at Punta Cana Airport or Santo Domingo Airport for example. Kind of like the circumvalacion de Santo Domingo which won't go quite all the way around and the last bit you have to drive a few miles to pick up another road. Dominicans love to complicate things.
I must admit that if they do put lines that connect the capital with the north coast this will be a game-changer for places like Cabarete and Sosua because they will become in reach of the Santo Domingo weekend crowd which already form a big part of the economy of the east coast and Las Terrenas.
I must admit that if they do put lines that connect the capital with the north coast this will be a game-changer for places like Cabarete and Sosua because they will become in reach of the Santo Domingo weekend crowd which already form a big part of the economy of the east coast and Las Terrenas.
That map looks more of a random creation than an actual project one.
In terms of passengers, the line in red should be from SD to ST, not to the Línea. If anything, more people go from ST to POP than to MC or Dajabón.
In terms of cargo, the only thing that would justify (and this is a big maybe) is extending the line from ST to Manzanillo Port, as Santiago is a major manufacturing center and has the second largest Free Zones concentration in the country.
The purple line from Boca Chica to Miches is not feasible. There is not much passenger demand east of SD to justify building a line, so it will have to depend on tourists and that doesn’t produces enough demand either as most tourists still stay in Punta Cana/Bávaro. The part from Punta Cana to Miches is even less feasible, but with tht said a monorail line from Puntacana Village/Punta Cana Airport to Uvero Alto with several stops along the way could be an alternative due to the increasing traffic in the area. That area also needs a few new OMSA routes too.
The green line to the south may be feasible only to San Cristóbal and maybe Baní as a stretch. Beyond that it remains a dream. The part fonnecting San Juan de la Maguana and Barahona is ridiculous. There is a mountain range in a direct line between the two which would be more expensive to built since it will require a tunnel. Much cheaper if it went from Azua to Barahona, but the whole southern part of the DR west of Baní has less people than even the east. To get an idea, the entire east has a population of about 1.5 million, but that includes everyone including kids. The actual population that would use this train line on a regular basis will be considerably less. Now imagine the south beyond Baní!
Except for the line between SD and ST, I highly doubt there is enough demand to justify building any other lines except if it’s either built by the government and then subsidized by the government or built by the private sector and then subsidized by the government. All the train lines the map shows will nit be profitable, so the only way to keep them running is if the government commits to paying the difference between what it collects and what is needed to break even.
Not including the two airports would be a mistake.
Maybe if they took the Santiago to Puerto Plata Autopista off of the back burner and add tracks to the construction
I don't know how a north coast stop would not be in the plans. It's a key segment of the country. That said, unless China pays for this it will never happen
A line to Puerto Plata is more justifiable due to an expected greater ridership. In that case it matters less to build a tunnel on that line vs the ridiculous San Juan-Barahona.
That wouldn’t be the first time Puerto Plata is serviced by a passenger train. The train station is still standing near the train monument. It was a very short train, but it was a passenger train that used to go from Santiago. Almost all Dominican towns that once were serviced by a passenger train station have a train monument to remember that (Moca, La Vega, etc.)
Very interesting. I didn't know that. Was this railway built in the Trujillo era?
It would be nice regardless of who pays for it. China knows how to build railways but they tend to lend, not pay.
