Owned by the national company Ferrocarriles de Cuba, it represents the only suburban rail system of the Caribbean island.

[2] Other plans for a subway, based on Russian networks, were studied in the late 1970s and 1980s, due to the relationship between Cuba and the USSR.

After the 1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union and the consequent lack of funds of the Cuban government, the proposal for a Havana Metro was abandoned.

The network has limited use as urban transport and is primarily conceived to serve the suburbs and towns surrounding the capital.

[5] As of 2012[update], the Cuban government was making efforts to revitalize the rail network and expand the service.