Minister: Cargo train to rectify "historical error"

Plans to reactivate Costa Rica's cargo train line from Limón port to Caldera port are designed to correct an historical error committed by country planners, public works and transport minister Randall Quirós told BNamericas. The "error" was ignoring train transport. "We have abandoned the train lines and left them in disuse for the last eight years, deciding to focus on trucking for our transport needs," he said. "Now, international oil prices are at an all-time high and we are paying the price for our error." As such, the minister has met with state railway company Incofer to review plans to reactivate the cargo train, he said, expanding on reports from newspaper Diario Extra. "The train line will be an executive project, with financing from the executive fund at a relatively low cost," he added, expecting the reactivation program to be launched in June this year. The potential benefits are numerous: while trains consume a quarter of the energy compared to trucks to transport the same amount of materials, train use also will reduce road traffic and the amount of tonnage transiting along highways, extending the useful life of those roads. The trains would handle about 2,700t/y to Limón port on the Caribbean, and some 700t/y to Caldera port on the Pacific, according to the paper. The railway would not be put out to concession for now, Quirós added.