The locomotive number 50913, a green and yellow diesel unit that operated on the route between Júcaro and Ciego de Ávila, caught fire near the town of La Carolina, according to reported by the Ciego de Avila Online page on Facebook.
The fire was extinguished thanks to the joint efforts of the railway authorities, firefighters, the MININT, and residents of La Carolina. There were no injuries reported, and the causes of the incident are under investigation.
The images shared show the locomotive with smoke billowing from at least two points of its body, as a fire truck remained on the scene with hoses deployed.
The incident occurs at the worst time for the Cuban railway system in decades. According to data from 2026, Cuba operates between 12 and 14 heavy locomotives when it needs at least 34, and about 67% of the tracks require urgent maintenance.
The situation reached such a point that the Ministry of Transport declared a railway emergency in February 2026, reducing services to the east to one departure every eight days.
The Júcaro-Ciego de Ávila route, which spans approximately 26 kilometers and connects the provincial capital with the coastal settlement of Venezuela municipality, showcases the accumulated deterioration on its own: reinstated in March 2022 with three round trips daily, by August 2025 it had been reduced to just two weekly frequencies, on Mondays and Fridays.
This new fire adds to a series of recent railway incidents. In January 2026, an explosion on a train in Cabaiguán, Sancti Spíritus, caused a fire and left two railway workers injured. In July 2025, the Baraguá-Ciego de Ávila train collided with a car in Baraguá without any casualties, and days later a second train-car collision was reported in the same province.
In August 2026, a train accident in Camagüey resulted in 14 derailed cars, another incident that highlighted the critical state of the infrastructure.
The shortage of sleepers worsens the situation: Cuba needs between 60,000 and 80,000 concrete units per year to maintain its tracks, but in 2026, there was funding for only about 15,000.
According to an analysis by Infobae on the collapse of Cuba's railway transportation, the inland provinces are becoming increasingly isolated due to the lack of fuel and the absence of investment in the sector, a direct consequence of the structural crisis that the dictatorship has dragged on for decades due to neglect.
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