Snapshot of a Metro Bus making its rounds at the bus stop of Plaza Cinco de Mayo. The impressing building to your left is the former railroad station built by the U.S. Panama Canal Commission during the construction of the Panama Canal. From here you could take a train to Colon City on the Atlantic Side. Today it is a museum operated by the Panama Government. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.
Aren’t the old railroad stations wonderful? They have such a solid feel – like the old libraries. Good that they’ve turned it into a museum – I presume there’s a new, modern station tucked somewhere. Why didn’t they keep this as a station?
The reason is the highly dense traffic in the area. Having trains there would create a traffic jam that woul drive people nuts. Plaza Cinco de Mayo is one of the most densly populated urban areas of Panama City.
The current railroad station is located in the former Panama Canal Zone in a town called Ancon. The railroad is operated by the Panama Canal Railway Company, a joint venture between Kansas City Southern, a U.S. Class I railroad, and Mi-Jack Products, North America’s leading independent intermodal terminal operator.
On February 17, 1998, the venture was awarded a 50-year concession to rebuild and operate the railway. It’s used mainly to transport containers from one ocean to the other. A passenger wagon was added to accommodate tourists.
Regards,
Omar.-
What a shame our idea to paint the Metro buses like the Diablos Rojos never got off the ground. These new buses, while long-needed and a great improvement in so many ways over the old stateside converted school buses do absolutely nothing to contribute to the vibrancy of this wonderful country.
Hi Richard:
I echo with your words. We did our part, but the Panama authorities gave us a dead ear. Who knows? In the future somebody out there will get the idea and transform the new buses into works of art in motion, just like the Diablos Rojos. There are large areas to paint beautiful pictures in the new buses.
The possibility of imitating the old Diablos Rojos is still there. Let’s keep our hopes high.
Regards,
Omar.-