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.
