Cuba - Lines with Obscure or Sparse passenger services

Introduction

Most if not all railway services are infrequent and unreliable with frequent short notice cancellations due to fuel and traction shortages. The latest known sources of online information are:

• The Man in Seat Sixty-One for main line services, and
• the Fahrplancenter website - timetables from various dates

Potential travellers may find it useful to subscribe to the Cuban Railways io.Group The following entries are intended only to highlight services that do not run all year, or which take a different route from the norm, and are from informed sources - details of any additional entries and timetable information would be welcomed by the Compilers.

Obscure or Sparse services

See Introduction.

Enlace Gas [FCC Linea Central] – Enlace Ramal Cuadra [Hershey] CU1

Daily (except Mondays) from mid July to end of August/early September
75 09:00 Habana Patio de Carga (Goods depot) - Playas del Este 10:32
76 18:05 Playas del Este - Habana Patio de Carga 20:05
A post on the Cuban Rail Groups.io advised this is running again in 2025 but without quoting dates nor timings. In December 2024 a poster was noted adjacent to the level crossing [off Avenue de Bélgica] giving access to the sidings in the middle of the loop around La Coubre goods yard, which is the nearest point to Havana City Centre. There is a "platform" there, but it is unknown if it departs/arrives from there and not La Coubre, but definitely NOT from Havana Estacion Central. See this press report from 2023 - the above timings applied in 2023 - check locally. Report updated: July 2025

Guanabo – Playas del Este CU2

This 1.9km branch off the Hershey Railway is served only by trains shown in entry CU1. The Hershey Railway service to/from Casablanca remains suspended on account of 2017 hurricane damage, so there is no rail alternative to reach Guanabo. Report updated: July 2024

Habana La Coubre CU3

Havana's Central station and its ca. 1km High Line approach is used only by the much reduced long distance arrivals, now as little as once a day. The Elevados (viaduct) line is reduced to a single track approach to one available platform at Central as a consequence of the station refurbishment work being stopped when partly complete. No end date is known. Departing long distance services use a station built in the nearby ground level yard at La Coubre (which is restricted to one train at a time), and then via a ground level route directly underneath a large part of the metal High Line viaduct. Report updated: July 2025

Guantanamo CU4

The main station is a dead end with a north south flat crossing immediately before the platforms. Services to Caimanera travel west to east over the flat crossing, reverse via an east to north curve and reverse again to run north south over the flat crossing or vv on arrival. Other route departure/arrivals can travel via two routes, without any reversals looping around the east side of the town, or with a reversal via the same east to north curve used by the Caimanera services to/from a triangular junction at the town north extremity. Nacionals run with no reversals, what local services do is unknown.

Sparse services

See Introduction.

Deletions

None.