Unused Trains Sit at Old Railway Stations in Costa Rica.

In the midst of global fuel and energy pressures, Costa Rica has researched several ways to alleviate the country’s dependence on outside fuel sources. Though experts are researching energy from marine algae, trash-to-plasma conversion, wind power, and many other ideas, there is one energy-saving tactic that has been ignored until now: 11 unused electric cargo trains.

The Costa Rican Railroad Institute (Incofer) is in possession of eleven unused electric trains, manufactured in 1981 and unused since 1995, when former president José María Figueres closed the institute. The train fleet was specially built for extremely difficult work conditions, and they remain in very good condition. If the trains were used, in conjunction with electric cables, they would help to greatly reduce the country’s dependence on diesel and gasoline-fueled vehicles to transport goods throughout Costa Rica.

According to the Ministry of Environment and Energy, 78 percent of fuel is consumed by the transport sector. Of that 78 percent, 66 percent of fuel consumption is attributed to the movement of cargo and other goods. Further adding to fuel woes, La Nación, one of Costa Rica’s leading newspapers, reported on July 10 that 70 percent of cargo trucks, as well as 7,000 other vehicles, aren’t up-to-date with repairs.

Electrical engineer and former director of Incofer, Luis Diego Bolaños Herrera, explained that a cargo train is capable of transporting the same amount of goods as a tractor trailer, while using just one-fifth of the gasoline or diesel. Obviously, trains that run on electricity, like the retired Incofer fleet, will use no fuel at all. Jochen Sassen, president of Arconsult S.A., the firm that sold the locomotives to Incofer, affirmed that the fleet can transport 1,200 tons of cargo over flat land and 800 tons through the mountains.

Similar trains, bought new, would cost about $4 million each today. There are currently nine trains sitting in the Incofer yards in San José, and another two in Siquirres. Six of the locomotives have problems, like rust or broken headlights. Miguel Carabaguíaz, executive president of Incofer, has asked Arconsult to put a value on the train lot, so that the Costa Rica government may determine if the trains are worth being fixed.

In addition to fixing up the trains, the old electric grid will need to be re-electrified. The grid extends from San José to Puntarenas, and the Atlantic corridor from Moín to Río Frío. These routes are ideal for the transportation of major exports, like banana and sugar cane.

Though there are quite a few repairs and upgrades to be made to the cargo rail system, the resulting cargo routes should help the country to greatly reduce its dependence on gasoline and diesel and redefine Costa Rica travel and shipment routes. Of course, the pros must be equally weighed against the cons, such as the the number of truck driving jobs that will be lost. For the moment, however, the pressing matter is whether the costs of reviving the old train lines will be outweighed by the benefits reaped.

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Filed under: Costa Rica News on July 14th, 2008