There are no railways in Bermuda. The passenger trains in Bermuda operated between 1931 and 1948 and the railway was known as the Bermuda Railway.
There are no plans to rebuild railway line and reinstate passenger trains in Bermuda.
Railways in Bermuda – history
The first plans to build a railway line in Bermuda were annnounced in 1922 – after the end of World War I, the tourist industry revived, there was a need to improve transport around the islands, and at the same time, the ban on owning private cars from 1905 and 1908 was still in force – Bermuda advertised itself as a clean quiet and peaceful place, so residents and authorities were reluctant to cancel the car owning ban.
In 1924, a decision was made to build a railway line connecting the north-eastern and south-western parts of the archipelago. Due to the terrain, the construction of the approximately 30-kilometer-long line took seven years.
The Bermuda Railway was officially opened on 31 October 1931.
On 19 December 1931, the Hamilton – St. George’s section was opened. Despite its popularity, the railway since the beginning has struggled with technical problems (poor track condition) and was unprofitability. The railway operated during World War II, but due to lack of money, the condition of the infrastructure deteriorated from year to year. The total length of the railway was 34.9 km.
In 1946, the expertise of American engineers showed that the costs of rehabilitation the infrastructure and resume railway operations would be huge. In the same year, a law was passed allowing the ownership of private cars and a new bus line was launched.
At the beginning of 1947, the decision was made to close the line and replace the railways in Bermuda with buses. The last section of the railway line was closed on May 1, 1948.
A walking path runs along the former track and embankments.
Railways in Bermuda – Ferry Reach Railway
In the past there was a private miniature railway in Bermuda. In 1930s the American tycoon Vincent Astor inherited his father’s house on Ferry Reach. In 1934 he build a miniature railway from his house, across his estate for 1400ft (427m) to his private railway stop on the standard gauge Bermuda Railway. The miniature railway was linked with Bermuda railway through tunnel.
Later Vincent Astor sold his property and the railway fell into disrepair. In 1967 Herbert Bierman purchased the property and restored the railway to full running order. New owner of the property died in 1971. The same year a miniature railway was closed and dismantled.
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