Costa Rica Trains
Click to enlargeBy the early 1900’s, Costa Rica trains had two stations in charge of transportation to the Pacific and Caribbean coasts from San Jose. The constructions of the rain tracks started in 1871, but weren’t quite clear until 1884 when a contract was signed with Minor Keith , this railroad was meant to connect the Caribbean port of Limon with the Capital city of San Jose and transport good, exports and people. This railroad made incredibly easier holding business with Europe and the East of the United Estates. This train was nationalized in 1972 and was opened for business until 1995. People who used to travel could enjoy the lovely sceneries of the road and feel the breeze of the road: all green, Limon, Costa Rica train opened a gate for those who wanted to move to San Jose and search for a better life. In San Jose, the gorgeous architecture of the station was eclectic and Victorian with small baroque details, in July 29th, 1980, this building was declared Architecture History Patrimony and the Costa Rican Art museum completely restored the entire building and old wagons to turn them into classrooms and workshops and home of the MUFES (Museo de Formas y Espacios). Three rooms are dedicated to plastic arts, music and architecture; the ancient locomotive is now a museum piece well guarded and the rest of the station is a lovely green area.
In 1887 a route to transport coffee that was meant to be exported to England was created between Barranca and the port of Puntarenas. It was made of wagons that were pulled by donkey called “Burrocarril”. This train stared working in 1882 from alajuela to Catago and from Limon o Carrillo. The success of the Caribbean train was so amazing that it motivated the construction of the Costa Rica Pacific railroad between Puntarenas and San Jose, this locomotive was called Maria Cecilia, eland it started working in 1930. A lot of lives were lost during its construction because of the hard conditions and the fact that they had to open roads among rivers and mountains. A lot of towns started to grow on the railroad side. Every time the train arrived it was a party: it will carry the mail, newspapers and people from all over Costa Rica. The Pacific train station was closed by Jose Maria Figueres because of the increase of vehicles and the construction of new roads. In the last couple of years, the train started working again: first with small weekend trips through San Jose (Paseitos en Tren and Faenas a la Tica) then with all day trips to Puntarenas.
Since September of 2005 the train to the Pacific is open as the “Urban Train” transporting people from San Pedro to Pavas with two trips in the morning and two trips in the afternoon everyday of the week. They even plan on giving the service just like it used to be decades ago all over the country and avoid neglecting this outstanding way of transportation. Trains are easy to take care of and definitely cheaper than automobiles or busses, they use less o no gas at all and don’t fill the air with contaminated fumes or gases. The Costa Rican trains have certainly come a long way and are full of history, the stories they would tell about the old Costa Rica if only they could speak. Right now, more and more people are using it on regular basis, making the dream of implementing the train back to its origins more and more like a reality. Contact our travel advisors and ask them for information about the “Urban Train” or the day tours available and enjoy just like Ticos do, a lovely, interesting and wonderful train trip just like the old days.
