Page 12 - ARUBA TODAY

A12 WORLD NEWS
Friday 24 May 2019
Cuba tries to revive its once-great railway network

By CHRISTOPHER GILLETTE at the ceremony on the
HAVANA (AP) — Cuba's outskirts of Havana where
railway system is undergo- the Chinese rail stock was
ing a major overhaul, with offloaded from a cargo
the government pushing ship, adding the "effort is
a program to revamp the aimed at providing reliable
decrepit and aging net- transportation across the is-
work with new cars and land."
locomotives in the hope of According to the Cuban
restoring a rail service that Transportation Ministry,
was once the envy of Latin trains carried 6.7 million
America. passengers in 2018, a sharp
Cuba's Ministry of Transpor- drop from almost 11 mil-
tation took possession on lion passengers in 2004.
Monday of 80 new Chinese- The government hopes
made passenger cars, part to increase ridership by 1
of a promised consignment million in 2019 on long dis-
of 250 rail cars and locomo- tance routes. Train service
tives the island will receive to the far-eastern cities of
by year's end. Santiago, Holguin, Cama-
At the same time, the guey and Guantanamo
government is busy restor- are heavily used by locals.
ing and repairing rail lines The Havana-Santiago trip
throughout the island, In this March 23, 2015 file photo, a woman who just got off the train uses the tracks to cross a costs as little as 32 Cuban
some with rusting rails over- bridge after arriving to her destination in the province of Holguin, Cuba. pesos each way, about
grown with weeds or bur- Associated Press $1.50, making train travel
ied under drifting dirt. an affordable means of
But the overhaul will be tric trains that provide local minal, an eclectic structure and at times frustrating, transport for many Cubans.
challenging, govern- links are completely out of built in 1912, with four floors process, government offi- Cuba Railways General Di-
ment officials acknowl- service because of aging and a mezzanine, for over cials say. rector Eduardo Hernández
edge, even with the new equipment. 10 years. Ricardo Cabrisas, vice says the new program is
Chinese-made rail stock. And restoring 2,600 miles The station's platforms, president of the Council aimed at providing trans-
The remaining equipment, (4,200 kilometers) of track, which are nearly 1 kilome- of Ministers, says the resto- portation to locals, but also
much of it dating from communications lines and ter (more than half a mile) ration is part of a broader hopes to lure tourists with
1975, lies in disrepair on the dozens of crumbling rail long, recall a bygone age effort to restore the island's the new Chinese rail cars
sides of railyards as the sys- stations around the island when train travel was a rail system. and locomotives, which
tem has seen the number will be a monumental task. principle mode of transpor- "It's an ambitious plan that have two classes of ser-
of passengers plunge in re- Workers have been restor- tation, and the restoration matches our long-range vice, including an air-con-
cent decades. Some elec- ing Havana's main rail ter- has been a painstaking, goals," Cabrisas remarked ditioned first-class.q

Brazil sues tobacco companies to recover public health costs

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — To- ers are not liable for smok- due to medical expenses
bacco giant Philip Morris ing-related damages given and lost productivity from
said Thursday that Brazil's that the sale of cigarettes is nicotine addiction.
courts have consistently a legal, heavily regulated "Since the profit of this busi-
ruled that tobacco com- activity and that the health ness is sent abroad, it's
panies are not liable for risks of smoking have been more than fair that these
smoking-related health well-known for decades." multinationals pay the bur-
damages after the coun- It said it had not yet been den they are leaving with
try's attorney general filed notified of the lawsuit so Brazilian society," said Da-
a lawsuit seeking to recov- could not comment on vid Bressler, a coordinator
er costs to the public health specific allegations. from a regional prosecu-
system in treating such ill- A spokesperson from Brit- tor's office.
nesses. ish American Tobacco said The U.S.-based Campaign
The suit filed Tuesday the company was aware for Tobacco-Free Kids
against Philip Morris Inter- of the lawsuit but had not called the case "historic"
national and British Ameri- yet been served legal pro- and said that the attorney
can Tobacco seeks to re- ceedings so couldn't com- general's office is "coura-
cuperate losses over the ment. geously standing up to mul- In this July 17, 2012 file photo, Marlboro cigarettes are displayed
last five years for the treat- In the suit, the attorney tinational tobacco com- in Montpelier, Vt. Philip Morris International issued a response
ment of 26 diseases with general's office said Philip panies and seeking just on Thursday, May 23, 2019, after Brazil's attorney general filed a
lawsuit seeking to recover costs by the public health care sys-
scientifically proven links to Morris International and compensation the Brazilian tem in treating smoking-related illnesses.
tobacco usage. It is the first British American Tobacco people deserve." Associated Press
of its kind in Latin America. and their subsidiaries are re- About 428 people die per
In a statement, Philip Mor- sponsible for 90% of Brazil's day in Brazil because of Brazil is considered a re- promotions for tobacco
ris responded by saying: "It cigarette sales and manu- nicotine dependency, and gional leader in tobacco products are banned,
is worth noting that for the facturing. Brazil's Health 90% of lung cancer cases in control. and cigarette packs carry
past 20 years, courts in Bra- Ministry estimates that the the country are related to Smoking is illegal in nearly graphic health warnings of
zil have consistently found country loses the equiva- smoking tobacco, accord- all enclosed public plac- cancer-infected lungs and
that tobacco manufactur- lent of $3.5 billion per year ing to the Health Ministry. es, advertisements and mouths.q