THE opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) intends to restore the railway service to Jamaica if it wins the upcoming general election, the party’s spokesman on transport Mike Henry told the Observer.

To this end, he is asking the government to provide details of its shelved plans discussed with the Chinese government to restore the service.

“I will be tabling a series of questions for the minister to provide the opposition with information about the plans with the Chinese, so we can [find] out what is holding it up,” Henry said on Tuesday.

The opposition spokesman said the JLP intended to revive the railway both as a passenger and cargo service. “We think it will go a long way towards relieving the congestion on our roads,” said Henry.

He said he was aware of the view that there was some resistance to the railway being operated alongside the Highway 2000 toll road, which was why the opposition needs all the information on the plans from the government.

At present, the railway is used only by the bauxite companies to transport the ore used in mining. According to Observer sources, the Jamaica Railway Corporation, which owns the infrastructure, earns a profit by this venture although government sources have refused to divulge figures.

There have been several attempts to revive Jamaica’s railway service, with the Chinese spearheading the most recent efforts. In February 2005, the government signed a Memorandum of Understanding with China National Machinery and Equipment Corp Group (CNMEC) to restart the service.

But no trains have rolled to date as a result of that agreement. Last September, former Chinese Ambassador Zhao Zhenyu, at the end of his tenure in Jamaica, expressed disappointment that the trains had not commenced operation, and said they could be up and running in 20 months.

A previous effort to get the trains rolling by an Indian group, RITES, failed in 2002.

The Jamaican rails have been inoperable since 1989, shut down by Government after years of losses and deterioration of the rail infrastructure.