They announce the resumption of several train routes in the eastern provinces of Cuba.

The Eastern Railroad Company (EFO) will strengthen passenger transportation starting in the summer with the introduction of new itineraries.

The Santiago-Manzanillo, Bayamo-Manzanillo, and Holguín-Antilla routes are foreseen, and the reinstatement of the Guantánamo-Holguín route is also being evaluated, as reported to Granma newspaper by Yasnay Sánchez Robert, Operations Director of that regional entity.

"We are repairing the train cars, mainly those from the Santiago-Manzanillo route, as well as the large and medium-sized locomotives, and ensuring fuel supply for the fulfillment of the schedules," Sánchez Robert pointed out.

The directive added that the state subsidy regarding fares will be maintained, meaning that there will be no price increase for tickets compared to the previous service on similar routes.

It is also expected that these itineraries will remain beyond the months of July and August.

Currently, services are provided in eastern Cuba on Mondays and Fridays by the Guantánamo-Santiago train (known as the "university" train); from Monday to Saturday the Holguín-Las Tunas train; the urban Bayamo-Mabay; the Santiago-Contramaestre; as well as the railcars that cover four daily routes between the city of Guaso and several localities in the most eastern part of the country.

Regarding national trains, they maintain their departures every four days from the provincial capitals to Havana and vice versa, being operated by the National Routes Company.

Marcia Sierra Gómez, director of that department of the Railway Equipment Repair Company, reported that the general repair of the first of 16 large locomotives is underway at the San Luis Railway Workshops, with the collaboration of French personnel.

It is estimated that these repair works will gradually improve the situation of cargo and passenger transportation, which has been marked by breakdowns and delays due to the machines' operating time.

In mid-May, it was already news that the railway route between Pinar del Río and Havana, a vital link for thousands of travelers, was back in operation after being out of service for almost four years.

The railway service is not exempt from the serious problems facing transportation in Cuba.

From time to time, images go viral in which travelers are forced to push an old train. This happened a few weeks ago with a train that was traveling between the municipality of Sagua la Grande and Santa Clara, in Villa Clara, in a scene that is not uncommon in Cuba.