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The Costa Rican transportation department has tried from having traffic police directing traffic in key downtown spots to installing intelligent traffic lights and even restricting vehicles to circulate on certain days depending on their license plate number.
However, one solution has had a positive response from the public as well as environmentalists and the government. The solution is to fully restore the Costa Rican train system that was shut down in Jose Maria Figueres Olsen’s administration from 1994-1998.
The National Railway System has slowly yet firmly started servicing the Metropolitan area since 2006 by offering an alternative to public transportation within the area. The small commuter trains service the towns of San Pedro, San Jose and Pavas providing a convenient alternative to routes that would normally need at least 2 bus changes to reach.
The National Railway System previously announced that it will be adding a new route to help lessen the problematic traffic situation between San Jose and the province of Heredia. Heredia is a rapidly growing residential and commercial area that has attracted thousands of people. The simple two-way connecting route has long before collapsed turning a 12 kilometer journey to an excruciating 2 hour drive.
Authorities have been cleaning up the railroad tracks and reinforcing them in order to have this train route open by December. The Costa Rican government has therefore bought 4 “Apollo” train units from the Spanish government for € 2 million that are scheduled to arrive in January 2009.
Authorities as well as train users are eager to count with this new train route as time, fuel consumption and related stress symptoms will decrease.
