Mle CWI A IRI IA EIGN 21 
Havana’s Subway 
In a previous issue of THE CuBA REVIEW we published a note on the proposed new subway 
for Havana. 
The $45,000,000.00 required for the construction of this railroad, which will serve 
not only the city of Havana but also the entire province of the same name, will be 
subscribed to by American and English capital. The Havana subway will be similar to 
the Metropolitan of London and Paris, the New York subway, and those of Berlin, 
Buenos Aires, Madrid and others of the world’s principal cities. 
The name of the new company that will build the subway is the Cuba North & South 
Railroad Co. (Compafia Ferrocarrilera del Norte y Sur de Cuba) and the plans for the 
projected lines have been laid out by Messrs. Serafin Sanchez Govin and Ramiro de 
Ofiate, engineers and architects of the city of Havana, who have been studying the 
undertaking, laying out plans, etc., for the past seven years. The company, which is a 
Cuban organization, was formed before Notary Testar Fonts on June 5, 1918, and at 
the present time has already issued $25,000,000.00 in capital and stock and another 
$25,000,000.00 in bonds earning 6% interest, which according to our understanding 
has been taken up by a banking house in the United States in charge of placing same 
among American and English capitalists who are to finance the enterprise. During the 
months of September, October and November of last year Sr. Sanchez Govin, together 
with a member of the firm of Ofate & Sanchez Govin, engineers and architects, and Dr. 
Juan Antigas, auditor of the company, spent some time in New York City making a 
general study of conditions there so as to familiarize themselves with the latest im- 
provements made in subway building. Sr. Sanchez Govin and Dr. Antigas also made 
the preliminary arrangements for the placing of the stock and bonds by holding a series 
of conferences with different Wall Street bankers. During the month of May of this 
year these gentlemen will again leave for New York, vested with full power to make the 
final arrangements for the commencement of the actual work in the city of Havana 
within the coming year. 
Uniting the Towns of the Province 
According to the data which we have been able to obtain, the Cuba North & South 
Railroad Co. will have its initial station for the handling of passengers and freight at 
the Plazoleta de San Francisco (practically in front of the Lonja del Comercio Building), 
at which point the central subterranean station will be constructed. By means of this 
subway the city of Havana will be placed in direct communication with different im- 
portant towns of the Province of Havana, such as Calvario, Managua, Nazareno, San 
Antonio de las Vegas, Batabano, Melena del Sur, Nueva Paz, Palos, Pipian, Madruga, 
Casigua, Tapaste, Santa Maria del Rosario and San Francisco de Paula, thus forming a 
circuit embracing a number of North and South Coast points which will have its center 
at a conveniently situated place, the town of Calvario. 
The passenger trains will leave the central station every fifteen minutes simultaneously 
with the incoming trains; and all trains, both passenger and freight, upon arriving at 
the town of Arroyo Apolo will enter the subway and proceed to the terminus at San 
Francisco Plaza. The total length of the lines through the province will be 185 kilo- 
meters, and that of the subterranean lines 15 kilometers. The motive power of both 
passenger and freight trains will be electricity. It is stated that the passenger rates will 
be 30% less than those in effect via the United Railways of Havana and affiliated lines, 
and that a reduction of 50% will be made in the freight rates on fruit and other farm 
products. As regards the transportation of sugar cane to the centrals located within 
radius of the road, a 25% reduction will be made on the rates at present in effect. 
The subterranean part of the railroad will commence at Arroyo Apolo on privately 
owned property, and the tunnel will be constructed under the lines of the Havana Central 
