Interurbano Line (Costa Rica)


Interurbano Line, is a commuter railway line in Costa Rica, operated by the national public railway operator Incofer. The line connects the provinces of Alajuela, Heredia, San José and Cartago.

History

Costa Rica had two main lines for freight and passenger transportation, the Pacific line and the Atlantic line, both of which converge in the San José canton, with the eponymous terminus station of each line a mere 2 kilometer apart, which are connected by rail.
Between 1993 and 1995 a brief passenger service made use of the tracks, but it was not enough to keep Incofer working, as the institution have been running in a deficit for a long time, for which it was technically closed in 1995.
Incofer then recreated the Interurbano as a commuter single line making use of this available infrastructure.
The initial trail line was between Pavas and Montes de Oca, in 2005.
In 2008 the announcement of extending the line to Heredia started works on cleaning up the old line, trial runs were executed with derails being common, the initial service of the current rebooted Interurbano was between the Atlántico station and Heredia station, which started on 2009. New rolling stock from Spain, the Apolo 2400 units, were imported in 2009.

Future

There are plans to reconstruct the whole passenger line with an electric railroad, including elevated segments to improve the vehicular road flow, with forty six stations, and service every three to five minutes, under the Sistema de Transporte Rápido de Personas project.

Stage Zero of Electrification

New plans to electrify the passenger lines are in place, beginning with a "Stage Zero" which means to start with new more efficient diesel powered rolling stock. These eight new units were ordered to the company CRRC Qingdao Sifang from China, they will have more space and the seats are arranged along the walls of the units, a first in the country.
With the new units it will be possible to extend and provide the service to Paraíso, Cartago and San Rafael, Alajuela.
A projected start date for a bidirectional electric railway line is set for around the year 2025, with bidding offers starting in 2022.

Line data

The line is operated at street level, which makes it difficult to achieve an optimum speed due to frequent encounters with busy streets, at average the speed is at about.
From its reopening the train crossings at street level didn't have barriers, bells or any other security measure, accidents between the train and cars are common, as well as accidents with pedestrians, in 2018 security measures were installed at 45 crossings, with plans to grow to 136, but vandalism and accidents against the barriers are common.

Services

There are three services running on the Interurbano line, all of them use the same rolling stock interchangeably, and the range of a service might include part of another. There is no express services, all stops are served.

Cartago

Making use of the old railroad line to the Atlantic, but finishing in Los Ángeles neighborhood, Cartago, as of October 2019, with plans to continue towards Paraíso. Shaded stops are only served at rush hour.
NameDistanceStation TypeOther servicesDistrict, Canton
Atlánticobuilding, staffedBelén-Pavas–Curridabat, Alajuela-Río Segundo-Heredia-San JoséCarmen, San José
UCRplatformBelén-Pavas–CurridabatSan Pedro, Montes de Oca
ULatinaplatformBelén-Pavas–CurridabatSan Pedro, Montes de Oca
CFIAplatformBelén-Pavas–CurridabatCurridabat, Curridabat
UACAplatformSánchez, Curridabat
Tres RíosplatformTres Ríos, La Unión
Cartagobuilding, staffedOccidental, Cartago
Los ÁngelesplatformOriental, Cartago

Planned extension

Railway tracks clearing and recovery, as well as new bridges and infrastructure is under construction for extending the Cartago service to these two stops.
NameDistanceStation TypeOther servicesDistrict, Canton
Oreamuno east of Los Ángeles platform.platform with shopsSan Rafael, Oreamuno
Paraíso east of Los Ángeles platform.abandoned station buildingParaíso, Paraíso

Belén-Pavas–Curridabat

Using the railroad line to the Pacific, with a small segment of the line to the Atlantic. Shaded stops are only served at rush hour.
NameDistanceStation TypeOther servicesDistrict, Canton
Belénbuilding, staffedSan Antonio, Belén
PedregalplatformSan Antonio, Belén
MetrópoliplatformPavas, San José
DemasaplatformPavas, San José
PecosaplatformPavas, San José
Pavas CentroplatformPavas, San José
JacksplatformPavas, San José
Tubo Tico platformPavas, San José
La SalleplatformMata Redonda, San José
ContraloríaplatformMata Redonda, San José
CementerioplatformHospital, San José
Pacíficobuilding, staffedHospital, San José
Plaza VíquezplatformCatedral, San José
La CorteplatformCatedral, San José
Atlánticobuilding, staffedCartago, Alajuela-Río Segundo-Heredia-San JoséCarmen, San José
UCRplatformCartago, Alajuela-Río Segundo-Heredia-San JoséSan Pedro, Montes de Oca
ULatinaplatformCartago, Alajuela-Río Segundo-Heredia-San JoséSan Pedro, Montes de Oca
CFIAplatformCartagoCurridabat, Curridabat

Planned extension

Railway tracks clearing and recovery is under way to provide access to this stop in the Belén-Pavas–Curridabat service.
NameDistanceStation TypeOther servicesDistrict, Canton
San Rafael, Ojo de Agua west of Belén station.abandoned station buildingSan Rafael, Alajuela

Alajuela-Río Segundo-Heredia-San José

Uses the segment from Alajuela through Heredia toward the Atlantic station. Darker shaded stops are only served at rush hour.
NameDistanceStation TypeOther servicesDistrict, Canton
AlajuelaplatformAlajuela, Alajuela
Bulevar AeropuertoplatformRío Segundo, Alajuela
Río SegundoplatformRío Segundo, Alajuela
San JoaquínplatformSan Joaquín, Flores
San FranciscoplatformSan Francisco, Heredia
Herediabuilding, staffedHeredia, Heredia
MirafloresplatformRincón de Sabanilla, San Pablo
Santa RosaplatformSanta Rosa, Santo Domingo
ColimaplatformColima, Tibás
Calle BlancosplatformCalle Blancos, Goicoechea
Atlánticobuilding, staffedCartago, Belén-Pavas–CurridabatCarmen, San José
UCRplatformCartago, Belén-Pavas–CurridabatSan Pedro, Montes de Oca
ULatinaplatformCartago, Belén-Pavas–CurridabatSan Pedro, Montes de Oca

Rolling stock

The lines runs on diesel locomotives and units: