Incofer Promises Heredia
Train Running In Six
Months
Instituto Costarricense
de Ferrocarriles (Incofer)
may be making a promise
it cannot keep, to get
the train rolling in
Heredia in six months.
The train would provide
daily service between
San José and Herdia and
will Incofer some ¢2
billion colones.
Incofer says that the
work will begin as soon
as the Legislative
Assembly approves the
expense to rehabilitate
the line, a job that is
already two years behind
schedule.
The delays is also
partly due to the
decision of the
Ministerio de Obras
Públicas y Transportes (MOPT)
to promote the
development of an
electric train for the
Gran Area Metropolitana
(GAM).
However, the plans for
the new train service is
now stalled at the
Consejo Nacional de
Concesiones after the
Contraloría
(Comptroller's office)
rejected to approve the
contract of a Brasilian
firm to carry out a
feasibility study.
The incofer statement
comes days after the
government announced
measures to reduce
gasoline consumption in
the country.
The idea is to get the
Heredia - San José train
moving quickly to reduce
the constant daily
traffic jams getting
into and leaving Heredia
from San José and reduce
gasoline consumption
which has reached record
levels.
The Incofer plan, once
it has its funding in
place, is to repair the
railway line between
barrio La California in
San José and the Central
Market in Heredia.
According to Incofer
officials, the line only
needs maintenance work
and cutting down of
shrubs between San José
and Cuatro Reinas de
Tibás. The real work to
be carried out is
between Tibás and
Heredia, where new
railway has to be laid
down and the bridges
over the Virilla river
in Colima de Tibás and
at Cinco Esquinas.
Some of the current
railway has sunk into
the ground, while in
some areas it is missing
completely due to theft.
To get the service
moving, Incofer also has
the rask of repairing
the locomotives and cars
that are currently being
mothballed at the
Estación del Ferrocarril
al Pacífico in San José.
Miguel Carabaguíaz,
president of Incofer,
did not give the details
of the work ahead of the
state institution, like
the number of daily runs
and hours of operation
and the number of stops.
Carabaguíaz did say,
however, that it would
have less stops than the
current San Pedro - San
José - Pavas train route
and would run at a
higher speed. Train
speed along the Pavas
route is restricted to
30 Kmh, while the
Heredia train would run
at 40 Kmh, according to
Carabaguíaz.
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