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Saturday, April 16, 2011
Excitement flowed from onlooking along the sidewalks along the route from May Pen in Clarendon to Linstead, St
Catherine, waving and shouting as the bright yellow, green and black coaches swept past them for the official test
run of the Jamaica Railway Corporation's (JRC's) new train service.
Cellphones, still and video cameras flashed, clicked and rolled as average citizens jostled each other for the best
vantage point to record the moment for posterity.
The train made its first stop at Bog Walk, then Linstead for a Commemoration ceremony at the Bread of Life
Ministry's church hall. But, along the journey aboard this 'party train', passengers sipped wine and other beverages,
stared out the windows at the scenery flashing by and reminisced about times past when the train service was in its
heyday.
Entertainer, Jimy Graham, consumed by nostalgia, pulled out his guitar and began entertaining passengers in one of
the crowded coaches. This excitement was seemingly shared by the young and the old alike.
According to a representative from the Jamaica Railway Corporation the service is set to begin in earnest within a
month, with the rail service running from Linstead to Spanish Town and another route from May Pen to Spanish
Town.
Morris Buchanan, JLP councillor for the York Town division in Clarendon said the moment was an historic one as
he never dreamed the rail service would be up and running again, and he too was impressed with the joy exhibited
by both passengers and onlookers.
However, one man expressed concern for taxi operators whose livelihood he felt might be threatened. But the
Transport Minister, when asked about this, said taxi drivers can make more money dropping off people at the
stations and going back and picking up more. |
