A few private railways exist, constructed for business purposes:
A railway 27 miles long of the Asphalt Mines of Inciarte in Zulia.
A railway of 10 miles of the Asphalt Mines of Guanoco, Sucre.
A two mile railway of Asphalt Mines of Guanipa, Monagas.
A railway 10 miles from San Lorenzo, Zulia, to oil wells of the Caribbean Petroleum Company.
A railway 19 miles from Bobures, Zulia, to a sugar plantation.
A railway 19 miles from Rio Limón, Zulia, to coal fields 40 miles west of Maracaibo, leased by the Caribbean Coal Company.
Considerable railway construction is talked of, but the only immediate probability is of a road from the port of Castilletes on the Gulf of Venezuela to a coal property near Lake Maracaibo, belonging to the Caribbean Coal Company. A port is to be constructed admitting vessels of 35 feet draft, the present depth being 16 feet. The railway 93 miles long of standard gauge is to have a one way capacity of 10,000 tons daily, with maximum freight charges lower than any at this time on existing lines. As no port charges of any kind are to be collected, if the construction and mining development are carried out as expected, it will be a most important industrial development for Venezuela which may affect the trade of Curaçao and Maracaibo. As this port will be but 595 miles from Colon, and as the coal is said to be of the best quality, it is important for ships making use of the Canal.
The Venezuelan Government now gives generous concessions to foreign companies or individuals, undertaking railway construction.