Transportation in Cuba is the system of railways, roads, airports, waterways, ports and harbours in
Cuba:
Railways
* ''total:'' 8,285 km
* ''
standard gauge:'' 8,125 km gauge (105 km electrified)
* ''
narrow gauge:'' 160 km of gauge.
Cuba built the first railway system in the Spanish empire, before
the 1848 start in the Iberian peninsula. While the
rail infrastructure dates from colonial and early republican times, passenger service along the principal Havana to Santiago corridor is increasingly reliable and popular with tourists who can purchase tickets in
Cuban convertible pesos. As with most public transport in Cuba, many of the vehicles used are second hand.
With the order of 12 new Chinese locomotives in 2006, built specifically for Cuban Railways at
China Northern Locomotives and Rolling Stock Works, services have been improving in reliability. Those benefiting the most are long-distance freight services with the French train Havana-Santiago being the only passenger train using one of the new Chinese locomotives regularly.
In 2019, the Cuban railways received the first delivery of new Chinese-built coaches, and new services with these began in July 2019.
Metro systems are not present in the island, although a
suburban rail network exists in
Havana. Urban tramways were in operation between 1858 and 1954, initially as horse-drawn systems. In the early 20th century electric trolley or storage battery powered tramways were introduced in seven cities. Of these overhead wire systems were adopted in Havana,
Guanabacoa
Guanabacoa is a colonial township in eastern Havana, Cuba, and one of the 15 municipalities (or boroughs) of the city. It is famous for its historical Santería and is home to the first African Cabildo in Havana. Guanabacoa was briefly the capital ...
,
Matanzas
Matanzas (Cuban ) is the capital of the Cuban province of Matanzas. Known for its poets, culture, and Afro-Cuban folklore, it is located on the northern shore of the island of Cuba, on the Bay of Matanzas (Spanish ''Bahia de Matanzas''), east ...
,
Cienfuegos
Cienfuegos (), capital of Cienfuegos Province, is a city on the southern coast of Cuba. It is located about from Havana and has a population of 150,000. Since the late 1960s, Cienfuegos has become one of Cuba's main industrial centers, especia ...
,
Camagüey
Camagüey () is a city and municipality in central Cuba and is the nation's third-largest city with more than 321,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Camagüey Province.
It was founded as Santa María del Puerto del Príncipe in 1514, by ...
and
Santiago de Cuba.
Roads
The total length of Cuba's highways is 60,858 km, including
*''paved:'' 29,820 km (including 915 km of expressways)
[Source: ''Mapa de Carreteras de Cuba'' (Road map of Cuba, including the roads officially classified as ''Autopistas''). Ediciones GEO, Havana 2011 - ]
*''unpaved:'' 31,038 km (1999 est.)
Expressways (
autopistas) include:
*the Autopista Nacional (A1) from Havana to
Santa Clara and
Sancti Spiritus, with additional short sections near
Santiago and
Guantanamo
*the Autopista Este-Oeste (A4) from Havana to
Pinar del Río
*the Autopista del Mediodia from Havana to
San Antonio de los Baños
San Antonio de los Baños is a municipality and town in the Artemisa Province of Cuba. It is located 26 km from the city of Havana, and the Ariguanabo River runs through it. It was founded in 1802.
History
There are 39 schools in the town, ...
*an autopista from Havana to
Melena del Sur
Melena del Sur is a town and a municipality located south of the Mayabeque Province, in Cuba. Bordered on the north and northwest by San José de las Lajas, on the east by the municipality of Güines, and west by Batabanó and by the south by t ...
*an autopista from Havana to
Mariel
*the Havana ring road ( es, 1er anillo de La Habana, links=no), which starts at a
tunnel
A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube const ...
under the entrance to
Havana Harbor
Havana Harbor is the port of Havana, the capital of Cuba, and it is the main port in Cuba (not including Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, a territory on lease by the United States). Other port cities in Cuba include Cienfuegos, Matanzas, Manzanillo ...
*the section of the
Via Blanca from
Matanzas
Matanzas (Cuban ) is the capital of the Cuban province of Matanzas. Known for its poets, culture, and Afro-Cuban folklore, it is located on the northern shore of the island of Cuba, on the Bay of Matanzas (Spanish ''Bahia de Matanzas''), east ...
to
Varadero
Varadero (), also referred to as ''Playa Azul'' (Blue Beach), is a resort town in the province of Matanzas, Cuba, and one of the largest resort areas in the Caribbean. Varadero Beach was rated one of the world's best beaches in TripAdvisor's Tra ...
(toll road)
*an autopista from
Nueva Gerona
Nueva Gerona is a Cuban city, capital of the Isla de la Juventud special municipality and province. As of 2012, its population was 59,049.
History
The city was founded in 1830 by Francisco Dionisio Vives, who was the Spanish governor of Cuba a ...
to
Santa Fe, in the
Isla de la Juventud
Older roads include the
Carretera Central, and the Via Blanca from Havana to Matanzas.
Long-distance and inter-municipality buses in Cuba
There are several national bus companies in Cuba. Viazul operates a fleet of modern and comfortable coaches on longer distance routes designed principally for tourists. Schedules, prices, and ticket booking can be done online, at any of the major international airports or National Terminals across Cuba. There are also other bus lines operated by tourism companies.
AstroBus, a bus service in Cuban National Pesos, designed to bring comfortable air-conditioned coaches to Cuban locals at an affordable price. The AstroBus lines operate with modern Chinese
Yutong
Yutong (officially Zhengzhou Yutong Group Co., Ltd.) is a Chinese manufacturer of commercial vehicles, especially electric buses, headquartered in Zhengzhou, Henan. Yutong also covers areas of construction machinery, real estate, and other inv ...
buses, and are accessible to Cuban Residents of Cuba with their ID Card, and is payable in Cuba Pesos. Routes that have benefited most so far are those from Havana to each of the 13 provincial capitals of the country.
Urban buses
In Havana, urban transportation used to be provided by a colorful selection of buses imported from the Soviet Union or Canada. Many of these vehicles were second hand, such as the 1,500 decommissioned Dutch buses that the Netherlands donated to Cuba in the mid-1990s as well as
GM fishbowl buses from Montreal. Despite the United States trade embargo, American-style
yellow school buses (imported second-hand from Canada) are also increasingly common sights. Since 2008, service on seven key lines in and out of the city is provided by Chinese
Zhengzhou Yutong Buses. These replaced the famous ''camellos'' ("camels" or "dromedaries", after their "humps")
trailer buses that hauled as many as two hundred passengers in a passenger-carrying trailer.
After the upgrading of
Seville's public bus fleet to
CNG-powered vehicles, many of the
decommissioned ones were donated to the city of Havana. These bright orange buses still display the name of ''Transportes Urbanos de Sevilla, S.A.M.'', their former owner, and Seville's coat of arms as a sign of gratitude.
In recent years (2016), urban transport in Havana consists entirely of modern Yutong diesel buses. Seville and Ikarus buses are gone.
Automobiles
Since 2009, Cuba has imported sedans from Chinese automaker
Geely
Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., Ltd (ZGH), commonly known as Geely (吉利 "auspicious"), is a Chinese multinational automotive company headquartered in Hangzhou, Zhejiang. The company is privately held by Chinese billionaire entrepreneur ...
to serve as police cars, taxis and rental vehicles. Previously, the Soviet Union supplied
Volgas,
Moskvichs, and
Ladas, as well as heavy trucks like the
ZIL
OJSC AMO ZiL, known fully as the Public Joint-Stock Company – Likhachov Plant () and more commonly called ZiL (, was a major Russian automobile, truck, military vehicle, and heavy equipment manufacturer that was based in Moscow, Russia.
The la ...
and the
KrAZ; and Cuba also bought cars from European and Asian companies. In 2004, it was estimated that there were some 173,000 cars in Cuba.
Old American cars in Cuba
Most new vehicles came to Cuba from the United States until the 1960
United States embargo against Cuba
The United States embargo against Cuba prevents American businesses, and businesses organized under U.S. law or majority-owned by American citizens, from conducting trade with Cuban interests. It is the most enduring trade embargo in modern his ...
ended importation of both cars and their parts. As many as 60,000 American vehicles are in use, nearly all in private hands. Of Cuba's vintage American cars, many have been modified with newer engines, disc brakes and other parts, often scavenged from Soviet cars, and most bear the marks of decades of use. Pre-1960 vehicles remain the property of their original owners and descendants, and can be sold to other Cubans providing the proper ''traspaso'' certificate is in place.
However, the old American cars on the road today have "relatively high inefficiencies" due in large part to the lack of modern technology. This resulted in increased fuel consumption as well as adding to the economic plight of their owners. With these inefficiencies, noticeable drop in travel occurred from an "average of nearly 3000 km/year in the mid-1980s to less than 800 km/year in 2000–2001". As the Cuban people try to save as much money as possible, when traveling is done, the cars are usually loaded past the maximum allowable weight and travel on the decaying roads, resulting in even more abuse to the already under-maintained vehicles.
Hitchhiking and carpooling
As a result of the "
Special Period
The Special Period ( es, Período especial, link=no), officially the Special Period in the Time of Peace (), was an extended period of economic crisis in Cuba that began in 1991 primarily due to the dissolution of the Soviet Union and, by ext ...
" in 1991 (a period of food and energy shortages caused by the loss of the Soviet Union as a trading partner), hitchhiking and carpooling became important parts of Cuba's transportation system and society in general. In 1999, an article in ''
Time'' magazine claimed "In Cuba
..hitchhiking is custom. Hitchhiking is essential. Hitchhiking is what makes Cuba move."
Changes in the 2000s
For many years, Cubans could only acquire new cars with special permission.
In 2011, the Cuban government legalized the purchase and sale of used post-1959 autos. In December 2013, Cubans were allowed to buy new cars from state-run dealerships - previously this had not been permitted.
In 2020, this was further extended with cars being sold in convertible currencies.
Waterways
*
Cauto River
The Cauto River or Río Cauto is the longest river in Cuba, as well as the longest river in the Caribbean. Located in the southeast of the island, it is one of two navigable rivers in Cuba, the other being the Sagua la Grande River.
Overview
The ...
*
Sagua la Grande River Sagua la Grande River is a river of northern Cuba that flows in Villa Clara Province. It is the second longest river in Cuba, and is one of two navigable rivers along with Cauto River. The mouth is located at Isabela de Sagua, in the municipality ...
Ports and harbors
*
Cienfuegos
Cienfuegos (), capital of Cienfuegos Province, is a city on the southern coast of Cuba. It is located about from Havana and has a population of 150,000. Since the late 1960s, Cienfuegos has become one of Cuba's main industrial centers, especia ...
*
Havana
*
Manzanillo
*
Mariel
*
Matanzas
Matanzas (Cuban ) is the capital of the Cuban province of Matanzas. Known for its poets, culture, and Afro-Cuban folklore, it is located on the northern shore of the island of Cuba, on the Bay of Matanzas (Spanish ''Bahia de Matanzas''), east ...
*
Nuevitas
Nuevitas is a municipality and port town in the Camagüey Province of Cuba. The large bay was sighted by Christopher Columbus in 1492.
History
Founded in 1775, the city was moved to its present site in 1828. Before the 1977 national municipal refo ...
*
Santiago de Cuba
Merchant marine
:''Total:'' 3 ships
Ships by type
*
Cargo ship
A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. Cargo ships are usu ...
s (1)
*
Passenger ship (1)
*
Refrigerated cargo ships (1)
:''Registered in other countries:'' 5
Airlines
Besides the state owned airline Cubana (
Cubana de Aviación
Cubana de Aviación S.A., commonly known as Cubana, is Cuba's flag carrier, as well as the country's largest airline. It was founded in , becoming one of the earliest airlines to emerge in Latin America. It has its corporate headquarters in Ha ...
), the two other major Cuban airlines are Aero Caribbean and Aerogaviota, both of whom operate modern European and Russian aircraft. One other airline is Aerotaxi.
Airports
* Total: 133
Airports with paved runways
*''total:'' 64
*''over 3,047 m:'' 7
*''2,438 to 3,047 m:'' 10
*''1,524 to 2,437 m:'' 16
*''914 to 1,523 m:'' 4
*''under 914 m:'' 27
Airports with unpaved runways
*''total:'' 69
*''914 to 1,523 m:'' 11
*''under 914 m:'' 58
See also
*
Infrastructure of Cuba
*
Trailer bus
*
Transit bus
Gallery
Image:DirkvdM yank tank yellow.jpg, 1952 Chevrolet in Havana
Image:DirkvdM yank tank blue-red.jpg, 1958 Plymouth Belvedere
Plymouth Belvedere is a series of American automobile models made by Plymouth from 1954 until 1970.
The Belvedere name was first used for a new hardtop body style in the Plymouth Cranbrook line for the 1951 model year. In 1954 the Belvedere r ...
in Havana
File:Antique Ford Truck, Havana Jan 2014, image by Marjorie Kaufman.jpg, Antique Ford Truck, Jan 2014
File:Antique car, Havana, Jan 2014, image by Marjorie Kaufman.jpg, Edsel Pacer in Havana, Jan 2014
File:Pink Chevvy, Havana Jan 2014, image by Marjorie Kaufman.jpg, Pink Chevy, Jan 2014
File:Cuba yank tank.jpg, 1956 Ford in Trinidad, Cuba
Trinidad () is a town in the province of Sancti Spíritus, central Cuba. Together with the nearby Valle de los Ingenios, it has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1988, because of its historical importance as a center of the sugar trade i ...
.
File:Varadero_-_Cuba_(40276279854).jpg, 1959 Cadillac
The Cadillac Motor Car Division () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) that designs and builds luxury vehicles. Its major markets are the United States, Canada, and China. Cadillac models are distributed i ...
in Varadero
Varadero (), also referred to as ''Playa Azul'' (Blue Beach), is a resort town in the province of Matanzas, Cuba, and one of the largest resort areas in the Caribbean. Varadero Beach was rated one of the world's best beaches in TripAdvisor's Tra ...
File:Wołga,_Kuba.jpg, Purple Volga station wagon, May 2018
File:Skoda Fabia Cuba 4575.JPG, Škoda Fabia
The Škoda Fabia is a supermini car produced by Czech manufacturer Škoda Auto since 1999. It is the successor of the Škoda Felicia, which was discontinued in 2001. The Fabia was available in hatchback, estate (named Fabia Combi) and saloon ...
I (left) and Moskvitch
Moskvitch (russian: Москвич) (also written as ''Moskvich'', ''Moskvič'', or ''Moskwitsch'') is a Soviet/Russian automobile brand produced by AZLK from 1946 to 1991 and by OAO Moskvitch from 1991 to 2001 and later returned to production i ...
-2141 "Aleko" (right), Feb 2009
File:Classic_cars_in_Cuba,_Varadero_-_Laslovarga003.JPG, A Buick
Buick () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American marques of automobiles, and was the company that established General M ...
car in Varadero
File:Hotel_Parque_Central,_Havana.jpg, Audi
Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. As a subsidiary of its parent company, the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide.
The o ...
car in Havana, May 2018
File:Automobile à La Havane (14).jpg, Mercedes-Benz W120 in Havana, Jan 2015
File:Alter Opel Rekord P1 auf Cuba - Flickr - 02ide.jpg, Opel Rekord
The Opel Rekord is a large family car which was built in eight generations by the German car manufacturer Opel. Between 1953 and 1986, approximately ten million were sold.
In 1986, the Rekord nameplate was replaced by the Opel Omega.
Naming
...
in Pinar de Río, Nov 2008
File:AutoLaHabanaCuba-04678.jpg, Suzuki Grand Vitara in Havana, Jan 2017
File:Fiat 125 - Havana.jpg, Fiat 125 in Havana, May 2018
File:Lada,_Trinidad.jpg, Lada-2103 in Trinidad
File:KrAZ_255,_Cuba.jpg, KrAZ-255 truck, Dec 2016
File:ZiŁ,_Cienfuegos.jpg, ZiL-130 water tank truck in Cienfuegos
Cienfuegos (), capital of Cienfuegos Province, is a city on the southern coast of Cuba. It is located about from Havana and has a population of 150,000. Since the late 1960s, Cienfuegos has become one of Cuba's main industrial centers, especia ...
File:B176286.jpg, Ex-NHZ Holland Den Oudsten
Den Oudsten Bussen B.V. was a Dutch coachbuilder and components manufacturer. The company was founded in 1926 by a local carriage-builder, Marinus den Oudsten. Its headquarters were just outside the city of Woerden. It eventually ceased all ac ...
bodied DAF
Daf ( fa, دف) also known as Dâyere and Riq is a Middle Eastern (mainly Iranian) frame drum musical instrument, used in popular and classical music in South and Central Asia. It is also used in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Iran, Uzbe ...
MB230 bus in Havana
File:Transport_(3055159679).jpg, GMC school bus, Oct 2008
File:B107835.jpg, Viazul Yutong ZK6120A coach, Feb 2020
File:MAZ105.jpg, MAZ-105 bus in Havana
File:Havana,_Cuba_city_bus.jpg, Yutong ZK6180HGC articulated bus in Havana
File:Cienfuegos train station2.jpg, Cienfuegos
Cienfuegos (), capital of Cienfuegos Province, is a city on the southern coast of Cuba. It is located about from Havana and has a population of 150,000. Since the late 1960s, Cienfuegos has become one of Cuba's main industrial centers, especia ...
railroad station, Feb 2019
File:Siguaney Ferkeltaxi.jpg, Ex- DB VT 2.09 railcar at Sigüaney
References
External links
Cubana AirlinesAero-CaribbeanAero-GaviotaViazul long distance coachesBus and train timetableHershey Electric Railroad
{{DEFAULTSORT:Transport In Cuba