INSIDECOSTARICA.COM
| COSTA RICA
NEWS | Saturday
31 December 2011
INCOFER:
Cartago
Next
Year,
Alajuela
The
Next
And
Then
Puntarenas
and
Limón
Starting
next
month
will
be
work
on
the
commuter
train
to
Heredia
and
Alajuela,
as
the
Instituto
Costarricense
de
Ferrocarriles
(INCOFER)
steams
ahead
with
its
plans
to
expand
train
service
in
the
Central
Valley.
The
objective
is
to
have
the
trains
running
from
San
José
to
the
Old
Metropolis
(Cartago)
by
the
end
of
2012
and
to
Alajuela
by
the
following
year
This
plan
would
expand
the
current
commuter
train
service
from
downtown
San
José
to
San
Pedro,
Pavas,
San
Antonio
de
Belén
and
downtown
Heredia.
In
the
case
of
Cartago
all
that
remains
is
to
plan
out
the
work
schedule,
according
to
Miguel
Carabaguiaz,
president
of
INCOFER.
Once
Cartago
and
Alajuela
are
completed,
Carabaguiaz
said
the
INCOFER
will
start
to
work
on
train
service
to
Puntarenas
on
the
Pacific
coast
and
Limón
on
the
Caribbean
side.
History
Geographically,
Costa
Rica
in
the
west
it
reaches
the
Pacific
ocean,
and
in
the
east
the
Caribbean
ocean.
Therefore
it
was
logical
that
the
railway
be
connected
with
these
oceans.
In
1871,
a
contract
was
given
for
construction
of a
railroad
from
Alajuela
to
Puerto
Limón
on
the
Caribbean
coast
passing
through
San
José,
under
the
government
of
General
Tomás
Guardia
Gutiérrez.
The
construction
from
Alajuela
to
San
José
was
finished
in
the
beginning
of
1873
and
later
continued
until
Cartago.
Necessary
materials
and
equipment
were
brought
in
from
Puntarenas
to
Alajuela
by
oxen
pulled
carts.
Due
to
shortage
of
finance
and
natural
difficulties
(especially
around
Río
Sucio),
the
completion
of
the
following
sections
was
delayed.
The
whole
line
to
Limón
started
operations
on
December
7,
1890.
A
contract
for
building
the
Pacific
railroad
was
signed
in
1897.
Again,
the
enterprise
faced
natural,
financial,
and
political
difficulties.
The
Pacific
Railroad
was
officially
inaugurated
on
July
23,
1910
when
the
first
engine
Maria
Cecilia
departed
from
Puntarenas
to
San
José
with
passengers
and
cargo.
(from
Tico
Train
history)
According
to
Encyclopædia
Britannica
1911,
the
transcontinental
railway
from
Limon
to
Puntarenas
was
begun
in
1871,
and
formed
the
nucleus
of a
system
intended
ultimately
to
connect
all
the
fertile
parts
of
the
country,
and
to
join
the
railways
of
Nicaragua
and
Panama.
It
skirted
the
Atlantic
coast
as
far
as
the
small
port
of
Matina;
thence
it
passed
inland
to
Reventazón
River,
and
bifurcated
to
cross
the
northern
mountains;
one
branch
going
north
of
Irazú,
while
the
other
traversed
the
Ochomogo
Pass.
At
San
José
these
lines
reunited,
and
the
railway
continued
to
Alajuela,
the
small
Pacific
port
of
Tivives,
and
Puntarenas.
The
railways
were
owned
partly
by
the
state,
partly
by
the
Costa
Rica
railway
company,
which,
in
1904,
arranged
to
build
several
branch
lines
through
the
banana
districts
of
the
Atlantic
littoral.
In
1926,
a
decision
was
made
to
electrify
the
lines.
First
electric
train
ran
from
San
José
to
Puntarenas
on
April
8,
1930.
The
railroad
network
was
damaged
during
an
earthquake
in
1991
and
operation
suspended
in
1995.
Since
2000,
the
state
railroad
authority
(INCOFER)
has
been
working
to
resume
and
popularize
rail
transport
again.
Insidecostarica is an independent news media
portal featuring news of Costa Rica, Central
America, Latin America and other wonderful
and weird stuff. External links are
provided for reference purposes.
Insidecostarica.com is not responsible for
the content of the external sites.
Join
our Facebook page
