Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez inaugurated on Sunday a railroad linking the Venezuelan capital of Caracas to Tuy Medio, the country's first new railway in around 30 years.

The 93-km-long Ezequiel Zamora Rail System cost 5 billion bolivars (23 million U.S. dollars). It is designed to reduce the pressure of traffic on the roads into Caracas, transporting large volumes of commuters from working class neighborhoods that are home to 290,000 people.

The Chavez government has planned a series of infrastructure projects, linking Venezuela to the major cities of South America. The administration has been able to count on booming oil prices for funding for projects including a bridge across the Orinoco River and a new children's heart hospital.

Other planned projects are subway systems in the cities of Maracaibo and Valencia as well as a trolley system in the Andean city of Merida, which is due to break ground before the Dec. 3 presidential vote.

(Xinhua News Agency October 16, 2006)