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The passenger train covering the La Habana-Sancti Spíritus route, known as “El Espirituano”, derailed on Wednesday morning near the municipality of Placetas in the province of Villa Clara, an accident in which no one was injured, according to official sources.
Around 7:30 a.m., train No. 32 experienced the derailment of one of its four cars, reported the Directorate of Railways of Sancti Spíritus to the newspaper Escambray.
Mirtha García Jiménez, deputy director of the Cuban Railways Union in Sancti Spíritus, indicated to the newspaper that "we are working on resolving the derailment to restore the track to good condition" so that the train can continue its journey to the provincial capital.
The Ministry of Transport implemented measures to ensure the continuity of the journey for the 80 passengers on the train, who were transported by bus to the Sancti Spíritus territory, said Yaima Ángel Hernández, the president of the Municipal Defense Council of Placetas, to the official Cuban News Agency (ACN).
The incident occurred approximately 500 meters from the Cumbre station, it was reported.
Local authorities arrived at the scene of the accident to oversee the care of the passengers and the progress of the investigation, the report stated.
The causes of the derailment are under investigation by the relevant authorities in order to "determine responsibilities and prevent future incidents."
"El Espirituano" resumed its operations in July 2024, after years out of service. Last April, the Minister of Transport, Eduardo Rodríguez Dávila, acknowledged that the train's performance was below expectations, due to delays and cancellations caused by damage to the railway tracks, mechanical failures in the locomotives, and issues with the electrical supply in the stations, among other problems.
Train derailments, both passenger and freight, have become very frequent in Cuba, due to multiple causes that point to the serious deterioration of the railway infrastructure, lack of maintenance of the locomotives, technical problems such as mechanical and electrical failures, poor road signage, and human errors.
Moreover, the infrastructure has been the target of numerous acts of vandalism, which exacerbates the already critical situation of the railway system in the country.
These issues affect the lack of safety of this mode of transport and highlight the urgency to modernize and strengthen the national railway network.
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