Howard Campbell, Gleaner Writer

While attending Dinthill Technical High School in Linstead, St. Catherine during the 1970s, Aldo Brown sometimes travelled on trains operated by the Jamaica Railway Corporation (JRC).

He said the rides from that bauxite town to his home in neighbouring Clarendon had a lasting impression.

"You actually learn a lot. It's an experience I'll never forget," Brown told Automotives.

The JRC has not offered passenger service since 1992. However, Brown, president of the May Pen Chamber of Commerce, is optimistic that government's plans to resume operations from Kingston to Clarendon, as early as next year, will help jump-start the parish's economy.

"That would be a positive. we have many stakeholders in Clarendon working hard to change our image," Brown said.

Violent area

Located in the heart of Jamaica's sugar belt, Clarendon has earned a reputation as one of the country's most violent areas. Brown believes the train service can change that.

"Passengers coming through can see a lot of Clarendon they never saw before, like the Great Houses and the sugar factories," Brown said. "When we were the biggest sugar parish many people came from all over Jamaica to find jobs here."

On Wednesday, transport and works minister Mike Henry announced government's initiative for the development of the Vernamfield Cargo Aerodrome in south west Clarendon.

He said repairs to train lines at the Sandy Gully Bridge in Kingston should be completed by next year, enabling transportation of cargo from Kingston to and from Vernamfield.

Reginald Allen, communications spokesman at the ministry, said the second phase of this project is expected to be the resumption of passenger service from Kingston to Clarendon.

Since the opening of the St Catherine to Sandy Bay leg of Highway 2000 in December 2004, the commute between Kingston and Clarendon has been less taxing. Brown said frequent train stops in Clarendon can also do wonders.

"If and when that day comes we have to have our product marketed and ready to be sold," he said.

Foreign exchange earner

Business interests have long linked the return of an efficient train service with tourism, Jamaica's leading earner of foreign exchange.

Rum producers Wray and Nephew Limited, owners of Appleton Sugar Estate in St Elizabeth, once offered to restore rail service between that parish and Montego Bay, home of modern Jamaican tourism.

Administrators there said it could tap into the growing eco-tourism market by introducing visitors to St Elizabeth's diverse nature scene. The ride to Montego Bay, they pointed out, would also give them a chance to see remnants of Jamaican history.

The gesture was endorsed by the Association of Jamaica Attractions

Limited, but not acknowledged by government.