In the 1960s and 1970s, the railroad went into a decline, exacerbated further by the Managua earthquake of 1972. The government reacted to this by constructing a 25.4 km branch from Ceiba Mocha to Puerto Somoza (now Puerto Sandino) in 1976. This significantly increased productive operations and revenues, but did not reverse the long-term trend. Governmental subsidies were steadily increasing and passenger transport declining. The oldest line Corinto - León was abandoned in 1982 when floods damaged tracks. In 1993, there were still 373 km of narrow gauge tracks in the Pacific region and isolated 3 km of standard gauge line at Puerto Cabezas in the Caribbean. Several trains a day carried passengers south from Managua to Granada, or north from the capital to León.