Havana Central railway station
|
Havana Central
La Habana Central |
|
|---|---|
|
Ferrocarriles de Cuba (Inter-city & Commuter) |
|
Exterior facade of the station building
|
|
| Location | 401 Avenida de Bélgica Havana, Cuba |
| Coordinates | 23°07′47″N 82°21′19″W / 23.129673°N 82.355286°WCoordinates: 23°07′47″N 82°21′19″W / 23.129673°N 82.355286°W |
| Owned by | National Government |
| Platforms | Below-grade |
| Tracks | 10 (covered) |
| Connections | Metrobus, Omnibús Metropolitanos (OM), ASTRO (Inter-city) |
| Construction | |
| Structure type | At-grade |
| Platform levels | 4 |
| Parking | yes |
| Bicycle facilities | yes |
| Disabled access | Yes |
| History | |
| Opened | 1912 |
| Traffic | |
| Passengers (2009) |
 7.5 million |
| Location | |
 |
|
Havana Central (Spanish: La Habana Central; the "Central Railway Station", Estación Central de Ferrocarriles), is the main railway terminal in Havana and the largest railway station in Cuba, is the hub of the rail system in the country. Today, the Central Station serves for the arrival and departure of national and divisional commuter trains, and is home to the national railway company, Ferrocarriles Nacionales de Cuba (FFCC), the only intercity passenger rail transport operating in the Caribbean.
It is considered a National monument for its architectural and historical values and is, along with the stations of Santiago, Camagüey and Santa Clara, a network's divisional headquarter.
The eclectic architecture building has four floors and a mezzanine. On the main facade, there are two high towers on Belgica Avenue representing the Coat of arms of Cuba and Havana, respectively.
The main architect was the American Kenneth MacKenzie Murchison, who was inspired by a decorative style Spanish planteresque, which are clearly visible in the elements of the shields and shells of the facade. The station's platforms are nearly one kilometer long and a total area of 14,000 square meters.
By 1910, the 71-year-old Villanueva Railway Station (currently the Capitolio grounds), the first of Havana, had exceeded its capacity due to increasing urban development and population of the city. On July 20, 1910, the Congress of Cuba authorized to build the new railway station on the Arsenal public grounds instead of the Villanueva Station private grounds. The value of the old arsenal grounds and buildings was about US$3.7 million at the time, while the Villanueva grounds were about $2.3 million. This transaction caused heated debates within the political community and in general throughout the population of the city, because the value of Arsenal land was more than a million dollars to Villanueva, so it was unknown where that amount would go. This resulted in heated debates in the Congress. The Chamber representative Silverio Sánchez Figueras, commander of the liberation army, denounced the trade as a "dirty business", and the action was contradicted by congressman Colonel Severo Moleón Guerra. The confrontation culminated in a duel to death on December 9, 1910, where Congressman Moleón died. Two years later, on November 30, 1912, the new Central Railway Station was opened on the former arsenal grounds.
...
Wikipedia