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TravelSaint Kitts and Nevis

Caribbean Cruise on the Sugar Cane Train

July 8, 2024

St. Kitts has one of the few still-functioning sugar cane railway lines in the Caribbean, running along almost 30 kilometers of coastline.

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Caribbean Cruise on the Sugar Cane Train - The St. Kitts Scenic Railway
St. Kitts has one of the few sugar cane railway lines still in use in the Caribbean. It runs for almost 30 kilometres along the Atlantic and Caribbean coast.Image: SWR

A pair of islands in the Lesser Antilles, St. Kitts and Nevis is one of the smallest nations in the world.

Caribbean Cruise on the Sugar Cane Train - The St. Kitts Scenic Railway
The Federation of St Kitts and Nevis is a pair of islands in the Lesser Antilles in the eastern Caribbean. It is one of the smallest states in the world.Image: SWR

This makes it all the more astonishing that St. Kitts has a railway line at all. The narrow-gauge track was built by local plantation owners between 1912 and 1926 to transport sugar cane to the factory in Basseterre. But eventually, Caribbean sugar cane lost ground to European sugar beet. Freight transport was discontinued, then seamlessly replaced by the St. Kitts Scenic Railway. The American railway owners relied primarily on business from cruise ship passengers. They purchased and installed powerful locomotives that had once transported sugar beet in Poland. 

Caribbean Cruise on the Sugar Cane Train - The St. Kitts Scenic Railway
The locomotives from the sugar cane era have fallen into disrepair, just like the old factory. The high humidity accelerates the process. Only Hunslet locomotive no. 15 is still in running order.Image: SWR

Today, these locomotives pull double-decker carriages that provide an unobstructed view of the sea and mountains. The locomotives from the sugar cane era have fallen into disrepair, just like the old factory. A decline accelerated by the high humidity here. Today, only the No. 15 Hunslet locomotive is still in running order. The engine driver uses it for maintenance on the tracks and four long bridges. He loves to recall the time when, as the most powerful locomotive in the fleet, it could pull numerous wagons laden with sugar cane.

We retrace the tracks of the old sugar cane railway and experience an adventure or two with the railwaymen of the St. Kitts Scenic Railway.  

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SUN 28.07.2024 – 00:02 UTC
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