Jamaica Public Service Company says it is continuing repairs to its power delivery network, which was “extensively damaged” by a Windalco train that derailed in the Bog Walk Gorge in St Catherine on Saturday.

The company said more than 4,300 of its customers in Kingston and St Catherine lost electricity supply after the derailed train brought down several poles and damaged multiple spans of power lines.

JPS said its teams responded immediately and worked into the early hours of Sunday morning to restore power supply to most customers. However, approximately 80 customers in Kent Village and communities near Bog Walk Gorge remain without electricity, the company said in a release on Sunday morning.

It said it is making every effort to restore supply to these customers as quickly as possible. However, the company has indicated that it will be necessary to close the Gorge to vehicular traffic, to facilitate the heavy equipment needed to do the repair work.

“We are at the most challenging part of the restoration process, which involves the repair and replacement of damaged infrastructure that is precariously located near the river. The process will take several hours, so we expect the Gorge to remain closed until about 7 o’clock this evening. We encourage commuters to use alternate routes and avoid the Gorge for the rest of today,” said Blaine Jarret, JPS’ senior vice-president of energy delivery.

He further explained that even after the road is reopened, several more hours of work will be required before full restoration of supply to the remaining customers.

As part of its ongoing partnerships with key stakeholders, JPS has been in dialogue with the police and the National Works Agency, which will be providing the necessary support to facilitate restoration of normalcy as soon as possible.

JPS expressed gratitude to its customers and members of the public for their patience and understanding.