Rail transport in the Dominican Republic

The first line (Ferrocarril Samaná-Santiago, with 1067 mm gauge), connecting Sanchez to La Vega with 79 kilometers (49.1 mi) long, started in 1881 and was opened on August 16, 1887.

A branch of additional 13 kilometers (8.1 mi) long from La Gina to San Francisco de Macorís was opened in 1893.

[1] The second line (Ferrocarril Central Dominicano, with 760 mm gauge), connecting Puerto Plata to Santiago with 82 kilometers (51.0 mi) long, started its construction in 1891 and was opened by President Lilís on August 16, 1897.

This system lacked of operational autonomy to use its revenues for maintenance and as results, the Puerto Plata-Santiago-Moca railway line was closed in 1951 and dismantled between 1955 and 1957, and the remaining network of Moca-Salcedo-Cabilla, La Gina-San Francisco de Macorís, and La Vega-Cabilla-La Gina-Sanchez lines were closed on February 3, 1976.

Due to the closure of some of them, during the 20th Century, the network has been partly reduced to a series of scattered branches, mainly concentrated around the cities of San Pedro de Macorís and La Romana.