First Steam Train in Cuba

On June 21, 1839, Cuba inaugurated its inaugural steam railway, connecting Havana with Bejucal over 27 kilometers of track. This marked the first steam railway in Latin America and the Caribbean, using British-built locomotives similar to those on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. The project was driven by sugar plantation owners seeking efficient transport for their crops, overcoming engineering challenges like swampy terrain with wooden trestles. It symbolized Cuba's early adoption of industrial technology and spurred further rail expansion across the island, influencing economic growth in the sugar trade well into the 20th century.