Crossing A Continent In 57 Minutes On The Panama Railroad
Nice article on the Panama railroad with a bit of history thrown in. If you like trains you will love this ride! From Playfuls.com
Every day after 5 p.m. thousands of cars snake
from Colon, on the Atlantic side of the Panama Canal, to Panama City,
on the Pacific.
Many people who work in the Colon Free Trade Zone or at one of the
big container terminals prefer to live in the Panamian capital. So they
shuttle the 80 kilometres, on the country's only toll road, between the
Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
People have always used the Isthmus of Panama, the narrowest part
of North America, to get from one ocean to the other - first on foot,
then on horseback and with horse-drawn carriages. A railway line was
completed in 1855, allowing the transit of bulkier goods from ships on
one side to ships on the other.
Much of the line, the original Panama Railroad,
is now underwater. The big seafaring ships sail over it as they proceed
through the Panama Canal and Lake Gatun, which was created by damming
the Chagres River.
The 19th century headquarters of the Panama Railroad, which
directed interoceanic rail traffic across the Isthmus of Panama (then
governed by Bolivia), were in a building that today is the Hotel
Washington. The fastest and most convenient route linking San Francisco
and New York in those days was via Panama.
The Panama Railroad proved so successful that at one time it was
the highest-priced stock on the New York Stock Exchange. In 1913, a
year before the Panama Canal began operations, it transported nearly 3
million passengers and more than 2 million tons of freight. Without the
railway and its transport capacity the canal could never have been
built.
Passenger service on a modest scale resumed just six years ago. A
single train, luxuriously outfitted, travels from Panama City to Colon
in the morning and returns in the evening. Travel time is 57 minutes -
the quickest way to get from one ocean to the other.
Driving the distance can take two hours or more as the road is
perpetually congested. And ships using the Panama Canal need about
eight hours, after waiting for days to enter the waterway.
As soon as the train leaves the station, laptop computers are
flipped open. For traders from the Colon Free Trade Zone, the air-
conditioned coaches are an ideal place to work out final details with
buyers and partners, to compare prices, and to make offers.
Through large windows they can enjoy the picturesque tropical
rainforest, which continually opens up to reveal Lake Gatun and the big
ships gliding on it. In some places the train seems to glide through
the middle of the lake as it passes along an embankment just above the
water's surface.
INFO BOX: Interoceanic journey by rail
PRICE: The train has first-class coaches only, all of which have
bar and snack service. There is also a restaurant coach. Open-air
viewing decks allow passengers to get a feel for the tropical heat and
humidity. A one-way trip costs 22 dollars (about 17 euros).
Internet: www.ipat.gob.pa.
By Franz Smets
An interesting Blog. Thanks.
Posted by: Mr. Brande Tanner | May 21, 2007 at 12:02 AM