Instituto Costarricense De Ferrocarriles
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upright=1.20 , Universidad de Costa Rica station, San Pedro, Montes de Oca. Rail transport in Costa Rica is primarily under the stewardship of Incofer (Instituto Costarricense de Ferrocarriles), an autonomous institution of the state. Incofer owns the national railway infrastructure and operates virtually all freight and passenger services, which consist primarily of commuter trains through the highly populated Central Valley. The whole Incofer network is narrow gauge, although there are several small tourist railways of other gauges. Unfortunately, much of the railway system requires major repairs. An August 2016
OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate e ...
report provided this summary about the infrastructure, including the railways: "The road network is extensive but of poor quality, railways are in disrepair and only slowly being reactivated after having been shut down in the 1990s ... Internal transportation overly relies on private road vehicles as the public transport system, especially railways, is inadequate."


History

In 1871, construction was started on a railroad from Alajuela to Puerto Limón, via San José, on the Caribbean coast; the project was initiated by the government of General
Tomás Guardia Gutiérrez General Tomás Miguel Guardia Gutiérrez (December 16, 1831 – July 6, 1882) was President of Costa Rica on two occasions: from 1870 to 1876, and from 1877 to 1882. On 27 April 1870 Tomás Guardia was one of a group of army officers who depose ...
and was surveyed in 1868 by the British civil engineer
Edmund Wragge Edmund Wragge (1837 – 26 November 1929) was a British-born and trained engineer who constructed the first common-carrier narrow gauge railways in North America. He was invited back to Britain in 1897 to engineer the difficult approaches of ...
. The railroad from Alajuela to San José was completed by the beginning of 1873 and later continued until Cartago. Materials and equipment were brought into Alajuela from Puntarenas by oxen-powered carts. Due to a shortage of finances and natural obstacles (especially around
Río Sucio Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...
), the construction of the remaining sections was delayed, and the entire line did not become operational until December 7, 1890. upright=1.20 , Steam locomotive F.C. al P. no 1 Maria Cecilia in San Jose A contract for the building of the Pacific Railroad was signed in 1897, but again, the enterprise faced natural, financial and political difficulties. The Pacific Railroad was officially launched on July 23, 1910, when the first Pennsylvania-built steam locomotive, , named after the granddaughter of former President Rafael Iglesias, departed from Puntarenas to San José with passengers and cargo. Due to the required hard labor and lack of personnel in the country, several workers from
Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
,
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and
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, immigrated to Costa Rica. The transcontinental railway from Limón to Puntarenas became operational in 1910 and was central for the connection of the various fertile regions of the country. The route followed the Atlantic coast until the small port of Matina, before it passed inland to
Reventazón River The Reventazón River, , (), is a river in Costa Rica. Geography Reventazón River forms part of the Reventazón-Parismina drainage basin, it is long and flows into the Caribbean sea. It starts at the base of the Irazú Volcano, passing t ...
. From there, it bifurcated to cross the northern mountains, with one branch going north of Irazú and the other traversing the
Ochomogo Pass Ochomogo is a location in the province of Cartago, Costa Rica. It is in a mountain pass between the cities of San José and Cartago. It was the site of the Battle of Ochomogo (5 April 1823) between those who wanted Costa Rica to join the newly f ...
. At
San José San José or San Jose (Spanish for Saint Joseph) most often refers to: *San Jose, California, United States *San José, Costa Rica, the nation's capital San José or San Jose may also refer to: Places Argentina * San José, Buenos Aires ** San ...
, these lines reunited and the railway continued onto Alajuela, the small Pacific port of Tivives and Puntarenas. The railroad was jointly owned by the state and the Costa Rica railway company, with the latter behind the 1904 arrangement to build several branch lines through the banana districts of the Atlantic littoral. In 1926, a decision was made to electrify the lines, and the first electric train ran from San José to Puntarenas on April 8, 1930. The Costa Rican railroad network was damaged during an earthquake in 1991 and its operation was suspended in 1995. Since 2000, Incofer has been working to recommence and popularize rail transport again.


Accidents

On 14 March 1926, the
El Virilla train accident The El Virilla train accident occurred in Costa Rica on 14 March 1926, when an overcrowded train carrying mostly farmers and laborers derailed while crossing a bridge across the Virilla River Canyon, killing 385 and injuring 93. The train was a ...
happened on the Atlantic line, in a religious pilgrimage from Heredia to Cartago, out of around a thousand passengers, there were 385 deaths and 93 injured passengers, so far the worst train accident in the country's railroad history.


Current status

Although it once connected the Caribbean ports of Limón and Moín with the Pacific port of Caldera, traversing the Central Valley area and Costa Rica's largest cities along the route, the system fell into disrepair towards the end of the 20th century following a financial crisis that saw the President of Costa Rica,
José María Figueres José María Figueres Olsen (born 24 December 1954 in San José, Costa Rica) is a Costa Rican businessman and politician, who served as President of Costa Rica from 1994 to 1998. He also ran for president in the 2022 Costa Rican general electi ...
, order the cessation of Incofer's commercial activity, resulting in the redundancies of most of its workforce except for a select few who were charged with preserving railway assets. However, operations were never fully suspended, and there was always at least the occasional freight and maintenance traffic along certain parts of the network. Some other parts, on the other hand, were essentially abandoned until 2005 when urban passenger services were reintroduced along a corridor between the suburbs of Pavas, to the west of San José, and San Pedro, to the east. Since then, services have been greatly increased following investment in second-hand
DMUs A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple-unit train powered by on-board diesel engines. A DMU requires no separate locomotive, as the engines are incorporated into one or more of the carriages. Diesel-powered single-unit railcars are also ...
imported from Spain and the rehabilitation of dozens of kilometres of previously inoperative track. , the bulk of railway operations occur in the Central Valley area and consist of passenger services between the San José suburbs of Pavas, Curridabat and Belen, and between San José and the cities of Heredia and Cartago. Work is now under way to rehabilitate further sections beyond these main termini, such as between Heredia and Alajuela, and from Cartago to Paraiso, in order to extend the existing services. Trains (particularly freight trains, as well as a privately operated tour train) ran between San José and the port of Caldera until 2011, when a short section of the line was compromised following the construction of Route 27. This prompted a dispute between Incofer and the highway developer, Autopistas del Sol. This dispute has not yet been resolved and Incofer officials have been quoted as saying that while they are technically able to run trains over the damaged section, it is dangerous to do so. Unfortunately, the resulting lack of regular traffic on this line has facilitated the theft of rails. Visitors to Costa Rica may perceive the railway as being somewhat limited compared to other forms of transport, due to the current lack of anything except a basic commuter service.


Passenger services

While mainly freight lines, there were passenger services to the Pacific since 1910 and to the Caribbean since 1890 from
San José San José or San Jose (Spanish for Saint Joseph) most often refers to: *San Jose, California, United States *San José, Costa Rica, the nation's capital San José or San Jose may also refer to: Places Argentina * San José, Buenos Aires ** San ...
, but these were abandoned and under maintained. Only the remnants of the urban areas remain.


Freight services

* Freight trains San José - Caldera (Incofer) * Freight trains from Puerto Limón to Fortuna and towards Guápiles, mainly for banana transportation, as from 2007 on steel and construction materials have been added to the freight transported


Lines


Pacific Railroad

The currently abandoned first started in 1857 by implementing a mule-drawn railroad, between Puntarenas and Barranca, the construction of the current right-of-way occurred from 1895 to 1903, which was halted due to lack of foreign funds and then proceeded with national funds until 1910. From 1926 to 1930, the railroad was converted to electrical, which then changed its name to ''Pacific Electric Railroad'' (, F.E. al P.). It was in use until 1995. The railroad of this line in the Greater Metropolitan Area was re-purposed to create the Interurbano Line.


Atlantic Railroad

Works started in 1871 for the , and ended in 1890, currently the railroad between Cartago and the Caribbean plains is abandoned, but there are steel freight operations on the Caribbean ocean side. The railroad of this line in the Greater Metropolitan Area was re-purposed to create the Interurbano Line, which covers the East of the Central Valley up to Cartago.


Interurbano Line

By reconditioning and restoring the railway tracks in the Greater Metropolitan Area, Incofer was able to put into work a commuter line, the Tren Interurbano, which connects the provinces of Alajuela, Heredia,
San José San José or San Jose (Spanish for Saint Joseph) most often refers to: *San Jose, California, United States *San José, Costa Rica, the nation's capital San José or San Jose may also refer to: Places Argentina * San José, Buenos Aires ** San ...
and Cartago. There are street running trains in several places.


Quepos Railroad

Currently abandoned and dismantled, the was an essential part of the banana production in the Central Pacific coast of the country, it was long, between Coto Junction (Unión) and Puerto González. Right-of-way is now owned by Incofer.


Golfito Railroad

Now abandoned, the was used for banana freight transportation and had a connection to
Puerto Armuelles Puerto Armuelles is a city and Corregimientos of Panama, corregimiento on Panama's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast in western Chiriquí Province adjacent to Costa Rica. It is the seat of the Barú District, Chiriquí, Barú District and the second-l ...
in
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, it was long, covered the hamlets of Palmar Sur,
Piedras Blancas Piedras Blancas is the capital town of the municipality of Castrillón, in the province of Asturias, Spain. It is west of Avilés, west of Gijón, northwest of Oviedo and east of Asturias Airport. Piedras Blancas is a singular entity of pop ...
, Coto 47,
Laurel Laurel may refer to: Plants * Lauraceae, the laurel family * Laurel (plant), including a list of trees and plants known as laurel People * Laurel (given name), people with the given name * Laurel (surname), people with the surname * Laurel (mus ...
and
Golfito Golfito is a district and port town of the Golfito canton, in the Puntarenas province of Costa Rica, located on the southern Pacific Coast, near the border of Panama. Toponymy Literally translated as 'little gulf'. Geography Golfito has an ...
. Right-of-way is now owned by Incofer. Several locomotives were cosmetically restored and can be seen in
Golfito Golfito is a district and port town of the Golfito canton, in the Puntarenas province of Costa Rica, located on the southern Pacific Coast, near the border of Panama. Toponymy Literally translated as 'little gulf'. Geography Golfito has an ...
.


International connections

There was a railway connection in the Caribbean over the
Sixaola River The Sixaola River (Spanish: ''Río Sixaola'') is a river in southern Limón Province, Costa Rica.Google Earth It flows from the Cordillera Talamanca to the Caribbean Sea northeast of Sixaola at . The river's headwaters are part of the La Amistad ...
between Panama and Costa Rica. The bridge collapsed in 2017. In 2018, China donated to Panama a factibility plan to open a high speed train between Panama and Costa Rica, but by 2019, the plan was rejected. The Golfito Railroad had a freight connection to
Puerto Armuelles Puerto Armuelles is a city and Corregimientos of Panama, corregimiento on Panama's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast in western Chiriquí Province adjacent to Costa Rica. It is the seat of the Barú District, Chiriquí, Barú District and the second-l ...
in Panama. There were no connections to
Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...
. As of 2020 there are no current or planned connections to
Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...
or Nicaragua.


Inter-oceanic Dry Canal

There are plans and studies regarding the construction of an inter-oceanic dry canal ( es, Canal Seco Interoceánico) across the country, from the Caribbean sea to the Pacific Ocean, through the northern plains of the country, in a similar and parallel route to the
Route 4 Route 4, or Highway 4, may refer to several highways in the following countries: International * AH4, Asian Highway 4 * European route E04 * European route E004 * Cairo – Cape Town Highway Albania * SH-4 road in Albania from Durres to Kakav ...
road. The main way of merchandise transportation would be using railroad to transport container, with plans to build ten road lanes alongside the railroad tracks, two new ports on each coast terminus. In April 2020 the National Concessions Council ( es, Consejo Nacional de Concesiones, CNC) rejected and archived the plans for the dry canal.


Private railways

There are very few private railways, in small loops.


Swiss railroad

At the Hotel Los Héroes in
Nuevo Arenal Nuevo Arenal is a town located in the Arenal district of Tilarán Canton in the Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica. It is located on the north shore of Lake Arenal. The former village of Arenal near the La Fortuna area was inundated in 1978 with ...
,
Tilarán Canton Tilarán is a small town and a district in Guanacaste Province in Costa Rica. It is the seat of the Tilarán Canton located in the hills overlooking the west shore of Lake Arenal. It is connected by road to El Silencio, and by the 142 road down th ...
( Guanacaste Province), a Swiss hotelier has built a mountain railway for the guests of his panorama restaurant, Pequeña Helvecia (little Switzerland). The rolling stock had been originally used by a Swiss farmer from Chéseaux, who built a
field railway A , or , is the German term for a narrow-gauge field railway, usually not open to the public, which in its simplest form provides for the transportation of agricultural, forestry () and industrial raw materials such as wood, peat, stone, earth an ...
but never got a permission to run it. The hotelier bought it in 1999 and put in operation in 2000 as a tourist attraction under the name "Tren Turistico Arenal". , it is long, with an elevation of and two tunnels.


Castillo Country Club

Built in the 1970s, this is a small 1.2 kilometer loop railroad with a diesel engine and three passenger cars for family entertainment purposes inside the club. It was built by engineers that previously worked on the rail to the Pacific.


See also

*
Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
*
Transportation in Costa Rica There are many modes of transport in Costa Rica but the country's infrastructure has suffered from a lack of maintenance and new investment. There is an extensive road system of more than 30,000 kilometers, although much of it is in disrepair; this ...
*
Rail transport in Central America Rail transport in Central America consists of several isolated railroad lines with freight or passenger service. The most famous one is the Panama Canal Railway, the oldest transcontinental railroad in the world, connecting Panama City with Col ...
*
Rail transport by country This page provides an index of articles on rail transport by country. International railway organisations * International Union of Railways (UIC) * International Union of Public Transport (UITP) * Association of American Railways (AAR) Afri ...
*
Afro Costa Rican The afro is a hair type created by natural growth of kinky hair, or specifically styled with chemical curling products by individuals with naturally curly or straight hair.Garland, Phyl"Is The Afro On Its Way Out?" ''Ebony'', February 1973. ...


References


External links


AmericaTravel
operator of Tico Train Tour (history, stations, pictures)

(basic info, contact)


Chronology of the Railroad in Costa Rica
(history, pictures)


Unofficial site with time table, history and more

Banana-Expres
animadoc about interactions between the railroad construction and Costa Rica's development * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rail Transport In Costa Rica 3 ft 6 in gauge railways in Costa Rica