Korea National Railway to carry out feasibility
study on rail project in Costa Rica, says report

Korea National Railway, KR, announced Wednesday that it has signed a contract with the rail authority of Costa Rica, better known as Railways Institute or Incofer, to carry out a feasibility study on a plan to restore the rail line between San José and Puntarenas, according to a Business Korea Journal report.

According to the report, the Korea railway signed a contract with Incofer, an autonomous state institution in Costa Rica that owns the national railway infrastructure and operates virtually all freight and passenger services.

The San José area passenger railway project is aimed at easing traffic congestions in the Greater Metropolitan Area (which is the zone made up of cities in the outskirts of San José such as Alajuela, Heredia and Cartago) by building five electric dual-track rail lines with a total of length of 84.9 kilometers. The project cost is estimated at $1.8 million.


Incofer plans to restore a 98.3 kilometer-line linking the provinces of San José and Puntarenas on the Pacific Coast. KR will verify the feasibility of the project jointly with another two Korean companies, Dongil Engineering and Soosung Engineering and Consulting.

"The Korea Railway has maintained close technical ties with Costa Rica," the report said. In 2019, it carried out a railway management consulting project for Costa Rica, which was awarded by The Inter-American Development Bank.

Since 2020, it has been stepping up its efforts to land passenger railway projects in the Greater Metropolitan Area. "It has formed a consortium with Korean companies to win orders," said the report.

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How will privatizing the train transport service impact Costa Rica? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com

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