LINSTEAD, St Catherine — Spanish Town High School student Rihanna Blake missed the morning train to school on Monday, but she’s determined that lateness will not prevent her from getting on board in the future.

She’s among students who are sold on the idea of the ‘Back on Track School Train Service’ launched earlier this year to transport 400 St Catherine students to school by rail.

Though the ride is “slow and rocky, rocky” the teenager said, taking the train is, overall, a great experience as it is safer and less packed than the buses that normally take her to school.

Like Blake, St Catherine High School student Jordan Osbourne said he now prefers the train to taxis and buses. He will likely take it every day if his schedule allows. For Spanish Town High’s Devonte Edwards, he will alternate between the bus and the train as school ends two and a half hours before the train departs.

“My school dismisses from 2:00 pm and my train won’t be ready until 4:30 pm,” he explained.

The train service was initially scheduled to begin on the first Monday in 2022. However, with most schools shuttered because of the novel coronavirus pandemic, it was pushed back to January 10. The numbers that day were far from impressive, with less than 10 students on board, prompting questions about the economic feasibility of providing an underutilised service. But then Transport Minister Robert Montague assured that the number of students would increase as more schools opened for face-to-face classes. On Monday morning 177 students got on board at the Spanish Town terminal. In the afternoon the numbers increased, with 138 students headed to Linstead and 45 to Old Harbour.

The train service is an initiative between the Ministry of Transportation, the Ministry of Education, the Jamaica Railway Corporation (JRC) and the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC). The participating educational institutions are Jose Marti, Jonathan Grant, St Catherine, St Jago, Innswood, and Spanish Town high schools.

— Xavier Allen