Transport in Jamaica consists of roadways, railways, ship and air transport, with roadways forming the backbone of the island's internal transport system.
The Jamaican road network consists of almost 21,000 kilometres of roads, of which over 15,000 kilometres are paved. [1] The Jamaican Government has, since the late 1990s and in cooperation with private investors, embarked on a campaign of infrastructural improvement projects, one of which includes the creation of a system of freeways, the first such access-controlled roadways of their kind on the island, connecting the main population centres of the island. This project has so far seen the completion of 33 kilometres of freeway.
The Highway 2000 project, which seeks ultimately to link Kingston with Montego Bay and the north coast, is currently undergoing a series of phases/legs. Phase 1 is the highway network between Kingston and Mandeville, which itself has been divided into sub-phases: Phase 1a (Kingston-Bushy Park (in actuality, Kingston-Sandy Bay) highway and the upgrade of the Portmore Causeway), which was completed June 2006, and Phase 1b (Sandy Bay-Williamsfield). Phase 2a is the highway between Old Harbour and Ocho Rios, and Phase 2b is the highway between Mandeville and Montego Bay. [2]
total:18,700 km (11,620 mi).
paved:13,100 km (8,140 mi).
unpaved:5,600 km (3,480 mi) (1997 est.).
The Jamaica Omnibus Service (JOS) was a municipal bus system that served the Kingston metropolitan area that ran from 1953 to 1983. After being run by British Electric Traction, the JOS was nationalised by the Jamaican government in 1974. It was replaced by a hodgepodge of privately operated buses, and a national bus system called the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) was established in 1998 after complaints. The JUTC presently oversees more than 70 routes in areas including Kingston and Spanish Town. [3]
Coaches are a notable means of travel in Jamaica; a popular privately operated coach service is the Knutsford Express. The JUTC also provides charter buses. As for minibuses and route taxis, PPV number plates indicate licensed public transport, whereas JUTA plates indicate tourist routes. [4]
Having been proposed in 2019, the JUTC began testing floating solar electric buses in 2022, hoping to gradually introduce electric buses into the fleet and eventually phase out diesel buses. [5]
Railways in Jamaica, as in many other countries, no longer enjoy the prominent position they once did, having been largely replaced by roadways as the primary means of transport. Of the 272 kilometres of railway found in Jamaica, only 57 kilometres remain in operation, currently used to transport bauxite. [1]
In 2008, with increasing traffic congestion, moves are being made to reconstruct old railway lines.
total: 370 km
standard gauge: 370 km 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) gauge. Of these, 207 km belong to the Jamaica Railway Corporation in common carrier service but are no longer operational. The other 163 km is privately owned and used to transport bauxite.
There are two international airports in Jamaica with modern terminals, long runways, and the navigational equipment required to accommodate the large jet aircraft used in modern air travel: Norman Manley International Airport in the capital, Kingston and Sangster International Airport in the resort city of Montego Bay. Both airports were once home to the country's (now defunct) national airline, Air Jamaica. In addition there are local commuter airports at Tinson Pen (Kingston), Port Antonio, Ocho Rios, Mandeville, and Negril that cater to internal flights only. The Ian Fleming International Airport opened in February 2011 to serve the Ocho Rios - Port Antonio area. Many other small, rural centres are served by private fields on sugar estates or bauxite mines.
Owing to its location in the Caribbean Sea in the shipping lane to the Panama Canal and relative proximity to large markets in North America and emerging markets in Latin America, Jamaica receives high container traffic. The container terminal at the Port of Kingston has undergone large expansion in capacity in recent years to handle growth both already realised as well as what is projected in coming years. [6]
There are several other ports positioned around the island, including the alumina ports, Port Esquivel in St. Catherine (WINDALCO), Rocky Point in Clarendon and Port Kaiser in St. Elizabeth. Port Rhoades in Discovery Bay is responsible for transporting bauxite dried at the adjacent Kaiser plant. Reynolds Pier in Ocho Rios is responsible for exporting sugar. Montego Freeport in Montego Bay also handles a variety of cargo like (though more limited than) the Port of Kingston, mainly agricultural products. Boundbrook Port in Port Antonio exports bananas. There are also three cruise ship piers along the island, in Ocho Rios, Montego Bay and Port Antonio.
The Kingston port is situated in the Kingston Harbour, which is the 7th largest natural (i.e. not man made) harbour in the world.
As the island is a large exporter of bauxite, there is considerable freighter traffic. To aid navigation, Jamaica operates nine lighthouses
Petroleum products: 10 km (6 mi).
Hong Kong has a highly developed transport network, encompassing both public and private transport. Based on Hong Kong Government's Travel Characteristics Survey, over 90% of daily journeys are on public transport, the highest rate in the world. However, in 2014 the Transport Advisory Committee, which advises the Government on transportation issues, issued a report on the much-worsened congestion problem in Hong Kong and pointed at the excessive growth of private cars during the past 10–15 years.
Transport in Sri Lanka is based on its road network, which is centred on the country's commercial capital Colombo. A rail network handles a portion of Sri Lanka's transport needs. There are navigable waterways, harbours and three international airports: in Katunayake, 35 kilometres (22 mi) north of Colombo, in Hambantota, and in Jaffna.
Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island. Kingston is the largest English-speaking city south of the United States in the Western Hemisphere.
This article talks about transportation in the Bahamas, a North American archipelagic state in the Atlantic Ocean.
Barbados is a relatively small country with a length of 21 miles (34 km) and a width of 14 miles (23 km). Barbados has 1,600 kilometres (990 mi) of public paved roads, two active marine ports in, remnants of a railway system, and one airport; the Sir Grantley Adams International Airport, located in Christ Church.
Montego Bay is the capital of the parish of St. James in Jamaica. The city is the fourth-largest urban area in the country by population, after Kingston, Spanish Town, and Portmore, all of which form the Greater Kingston Metropolitan Area, home to over half a million people. As a result, Montego Bay is the second-largest anglophone city in the Caribbean, after Kingston.
Saint Ann is the largest parish in Jamaica. It is situated on the north coast of the island, in the county of Middlesex, roughly halfway between the eastern and western ends of the island. It is often called "the Garden Parish of Jamaica" on account of its natural floral beauty. Its capital is Saint Ann's Bay. Saint Ann comprises New Seville, the first Spanish settlement in Jamaica.
Ocho Rios is a town in the parish of Saint Ann on the north coast of Jamaica, and is more widely referred to as Ochi by locals. Beginning as a sleepy fishing village, Ocho Rios has seen explosive growth in recent decades to become a popular tourist destination featuring duty-free shopping, a cruise-ship terminal, world-renowned tourist attractions and several beaches and acclaimed resorts. In addition to being a port of call for cruise ships, Ocho Rios also hosts cargo ships at the Reynolds Pier for the exportation of sugar, limestone, and in the past, bauxite. The estimated population of the town in 2011 was 16,671, which is nearly 10% of the total population of St. Ann. The town is served by both Sangster International Airport and Ian Fleming International Airport. Scuba diving and other water sports are offered in the town's vicinity.
AirLink Express is an air charter airline based in Jamaica. The airline is located at Sir Donald Sangster International Airport (MBJ), Montego Bay. The airline offers charter and scheduled service to every airport in Jamaica. As of June 2018 the Jamaica Gleaner reports that the airline uses a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan
Kingston Harbour in Jamaica is the seventh-largest natural harbour in the world. It is an almost landlocked area of water approximately 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) long by 3.2 kilometres (2.0 mi) wide. Most of it is deep enough to accommodate large ships, even close to shore. It is bordered to the north by the city of Kingston, the capital of Jamaica; to the west by Hunts Bay and the municipality of Portmore; and to the south and east by the Palisadoes strip, which protects it.
Kochi is a major port city in the Indian state of Kerala. The city is widely known as the commercial or economic capital of the state of Kerala.
The railways of Jamaica were constructed from 1845, making it the second British colony to receive a railway system, following Canada in 1836 with the Champlain and St Lawrence Railroad. Construction started only twenty years after the Stockton & Darlington Railway commenced operations in the United Kingdom.
The Kingston to Montego Bay railway was the main railway in Jamaica, which from 1845 to 1992 linked the capital Kingston with the second city Montego Bay, passing en route most of the major towns.
The following is an alphabetical list of topics related to the nation of Jamaica.
The roads in Jamaica allow people and goods to traverse the island of Jamaica, which is the third largest in the Caribbean. As of 2011, Jamaica has road network 22,121 kilometres in length.
The Port Authority of Jamaica (PAJ) is an agency of the Ministry of Transport and Mining responsible for the:
Highway 2000 is a highway system in Jamaica connecting Kingston, with Ocho Rios and a planned connection to Montego Bay, passing through the parishes of St. Catherine, Saint Ann, Clarendon and proposed sections through St. James, Saint Elizabeth, Westmoreland, Hanover. The highway is operated by the Jamaica Infrastructure Operators and developed by Trans-Jamaica Highway Limited through contractors CHEC and Bouygues Construction.
Dominica is an island nation in the Windward islands in the Lesser Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. Most people arrive in Dominica via Douglas–Charles Airport, where most commercial flights to the island land. Dominica also utilizes sea transport and a roadway network.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Jamaica refers to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members in Jamaica. In 1980, there were 85 members in Jamaica. In 2021, there were 6,718 members in 18 congregations.