By Raffique Shah

Two news articles from the international press agencies caught my eye last Friday. The first was a report that China was building a US$27-billion train line that will connect Beijing with the southern economic hub of Shenzen. I read it bearing in mind that our Transport Minister, Colm Imbert, recently told a post-Cabinet briefing that the proposed rail link between Arima and Port of Spain will cost “at least US$6 billion”. Last week, in an obvious bid to speed up the tendering-and, presumably, construction-process, Imbert’s ministry hosted a meeting with potential bidders at which more details of the reintroduction of rail transport in the country were discussed.
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