The province of Granma is restoring a fundamental transportation connection: the local train service between Bayamo and Manzanillo is back in operation after months of interruption, with a fare of 400 pesos for the full journey, according to the official announcement from Granma.
The director of the Granma Base Business Unit of Railways, Yuritza Licea Ampudia, specified that the service will initially resume three days a week in each direction. Departures from Bayamo will be on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 5:15 PM; from Manzanillo, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays at 5:00 AM.
The train will consist of four cars with a capacity of approximately 800 passengers and an express car for cargo. The journey, lasting about two hours and 40 minutes, includes 16 intermediate stops: Acopio, Infantil, Malvango, La Redonda, Mabay, Julia, Becerro, Veguita 11, Veguita 7, Veguita 14, Yara, Coboa, Jiménez, Las Novillas, Faxas, and Palmares.
The fares were calculated based on a cost sheet that includes fuel, salaries, repairs, maintenance, and lubricants. Students, children under 12 years old, and individuals with disabilities—provided they present the appropriate identification—will pay half the fare.
The express service for excess weight will have variable rates: transporting a bicycle between both cities will cost 480 pesos. In stations that have a ticket counter, those who do not purchase the ticket in advance will have to pay double as a surcharge.
Licea Ampudia emphasized that this is a state service, without the involvement of non-state economic actors, and its fuel is provided by the Union of Railways of Cuba. However, she warned that the continuity of the service will depend on the availability of that resource.
The resumption comes after Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Cuba on October 29, 2025, causing severe damage to the railway network in Granma, particularly along the 11 kilometers between Las Torres and the intersection of the Bayamo-Combinado line. The passage of the cyclone forced the cancellation of more than 322 train services and kept the national route Havana–Bayamo–Manzanillo suspended at least until October 11, 2026.
The context for this reopening is the widespread collapse of Cuban rail transportation. The national system reduced its operations by 74% in July 2026, decreasing from 62 monthly services to just 16, with only 12 to 14 operational heavy locomotives out of the 34 needed. In that gap, informal transportation between Bayamo and Manzanillo cost up to 2,000 pesos in September 2026, five times more than the state fare recently announced.
This route has a history of intermittent reactivations: it was previously announced for reinstatement in July 2022 and again in June 2024, raising reasonable doubts about its long-term sustainability.
The perspective, according to Commercial Olaida Estrada Silvera, is to increase the frequency until it operates from Sunday to Friday, reserving Saturday for cleaning and maintenance tasks. Licea Ampudia closed the announcement with a warning directed at travelers: "What little we have, which has taken so much effort to regain, we must take care of."
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