ARESEP carries out first analysis on Costa Rican freight train

This is an automated translation of the press release issued in Spanish

• Study covers the state of three zones of the railway network: Atlantic, Pacific and Southern Zone.

Bull. 024-2024, March 14. The Public Services Regulatory Authority ( ARESEP ) carried out a study that analyzes, for the first time, the current conditions of the existing railway in the country.

In this analysis, good practices were identified at a structural and functional level, to improve the track conditions of the three railway corridors, which are located in the Atlantic, Pacific and Southern Zone.

Regarding this analysis, the Mayor of Transportation, Edward Araya Rodríguez, highlighted that “this analysis is an effort to modernize the country's railways and have exclusive infrastructure for freight transportation that helps unload our roads with transportation of efficient merchandise.”

This research is carried out by ARESEP within the quality programs, which allow us to know the state of public transportation services, identify good practices for the promotion of continuous improvement and the definition of indicators that allow measurement.

The study covers an analysis of the infrastructure, rolling stock, control-command and signaling on each of the routes, as well as the operation and management of traffic, maintenance and telematics applications. The main results for each area are presented below:

Atlantic Zone

It comprises an area of 310 km in length. The longest route is between Limón and San Cristóbal with 109 km, being the only road in use and representing 31% of the extension. However, 39% of the track is abandoned and another 30% of the track is in poor condition, meaning that only the circulation of minor railway equipment is allowed, due to undermining, subsidence in the track and lack of infrastructure. railway.

In this area, steel, containers with paper, bananas and processed and aggregates are transported, as well as tourist services. However, at this time only the transportation of steel is enabled and with large fluctuations in demand. The most important project is to rehabilitate the Electric Freight Train in the Huetar Caribe and Huetar Norte (Telca) regions, but there is no significant progress.

Pacific Zone

This sector is made up of 127.5 km between San José and Puntarenas, with branches in Ciruelas and Salinas-Caldera. None of the roads are in operation. At several points there are critical conditions such as landslides, collapses, sewer collapses and sedimentation.

Currently the track has significant damage between Atenas and Orotina, which prevents the transit of railway equipment. The route in Ciruelas has been affected by vandalism or lack of consideration of the right of way in the construction of level crossings. In case of restoring service, it is crucial to review the condition of the railway bridges over the Grande de Atenas, Jesús María and Barranca rivers, to ensure functionality and safety.

South Zone

It extends for 128.5 km between Golfito and Palmar and between Coto, Empalme and Puerto González. The region does not have rolling equipment in operation, nor a basic railway. It is urgent to establish milestones that allow the delimitation of railway rights of way and basic maintenance to preserve the branches.

Among the main recommendations of the study are the following:

1. Carry out a georeferenced topographical survey of the rights of way at the national level to update the map of the railway network.
2. Demarcate with fixed reference points (cairns) on abandoned branches to delimit the rights of way.
3. Develop a manual for the design and construction of level crossings to guarantee railway safety.
4. Establish a vegetation control program on railway branches in a state of abandonment.
5. Conduct a traffic flow study at unprotected level crossings with high rates of vehicle collisions.
6. Implement a program for the proper management and collection of waste in the workshops
7. Implementation of railway indicators relevant to freight train service.
8. Create urban mobility spaces (cycle lanes or pedestrian projects) using railway right-of-way that is not used in the long term.

This technical report can be found at the link: www.aresep.go.cr/tren/calidad