Heredia Train Promised
For December
The Heredia commuter
train may be running by
December if the
government is able to
keep its promise and the
Instituto Costarricense
de Ferrocarriles (Incofer).
The train service
between Heredia and San
José which comes at a
cost of some ¢2 billion
colones will help ease
traffic congestion and
if all goes well it
should be running by the
second week in December.
"The budgeted amount to
get the Heredia trains
moving reaffirms our
commitment to a
comprehensive energy
policy that protects the
interests of the country
and users. I am very
pleased that with these
resources we can realize
a tool that will allow
thousands of Costa
Ricans to leave their
car at home and mobilize
in a secure and economic
environment", said Costa
Rican president, Oscar
Arias Sánchez.
The rehabiliation of the
train service between
Heredia and San José is
one of the measures
announced by the
government as part of
the national contingency
plan to alleviate the
energy crisis generated
by the unsustainable
rise in the cost of oil
in the world.
Miguel Carabaguíaz,
president of Incofer,
explained that the
institution has been
working with limited
financial resources and
with the help of other
governmental
institutions, but the
injection of funds by
the central government
will help in meeting the
goal of giving Herdianos
the train.
The ministra de
Transportes, Karla
González, made an urgent
call to legislators to
quickly approve the
funds and added that the
Ministerio de Obras
Públicas y Transportes
(MOPT) will be working
hard with the Presidency
to obtain additional
material for the railway
from the govenrment of
Spain.
The MOPT minister added
that the train will be a
great source of energy
savings and will change
the habits of Costa
Ricans as they get
accustomed to using
pubic transportation and
leaving their cars at
home, which is the main
objecive of the
government's energy
policy.
Carabaguíaz explained
that the ¢2 billion
colones will be used to
repair sections of the
track which some parts
have been in abandon for
more than a decade,
analyze the state of
repair of the bridges,
refurbishing and
repairing the
locomotives and
passenger cars and
purchasing new
equipment.
Once the train is moving
again, it will offer
regular service between
Heredia and San José
during morning and
afternoon rush hours,
though exact schedules
and details are not yet
avaialble.
Part of the work on the
railway system is the
repairing the bridge
over the Rivera river in
Cinco Esquinas de Tibás,
installin some 11.200
railway ties and the
clean up of a major
portion of the tracks.
The Incofer has been
advancing work on the
Heredia tracks,
repairing the bridge
near the Hospital
Calderón Guardia,
cutting down weeds along
the route and
refurbishing the
Estación al Atlántico
and Cuatro Reinas de
Tibás stations.
Incofer will be using
diesel locomotives for
the service.
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