For a month now , Havana residents have had a slightly easier time dipping in the beach and relieving themselves of the summer heat. A train, which leaves from the platform at Egido and Arsenal, in Old Havana, goes to the beaches east of the city, on a journey that usually takes between an hour and a half and 2 hours, with intermediate stops. Arenal, Guanabacoa, Bacuranao, Tarará, and Guanabo are part of its route.
It is not, logically, a luxury train. Its cars have been rescued, with “stiff” seats, damaged roofs and walls and with the breeze from the road as a pinch hitter for the air conditioning. It does not have a bathroom or screens; although it does have a private loudspeaker with the latest music.
It also does not have the ideal capacity for the days of greatest attendance, mainly the weekends. But it “solves,” according to what one of its passengers told our correspondent Otmaro Rodríguez , who ventured to make the trip this week. For 35 pesos, a surreal price in times of economic crisis and high inflation like those in Cuba, you can get to the final stop in Guanabo, and even for less money if the trip is to an intermediate point.
In a private car the fare would cost no less than 500 pesos. With a capacity of approximately 200 passengers, the train has only one departure to the beaches, from Tuesday to Thursday, at 9:00 in the morning, returning at about 6:00 in the afternoon. From Friday to Sunday, it leaves twice (9:00 am and 1:30 pm) and returns to Hava.