By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The Institute
of Railways announced that from Saturday until
Monday 22, there will be no train service. The
suspension of the service is due to repairs in the
train tracks that will be made during Holy Week.
With respect to these repairs, transit officials
announced that there will be partial closures on
some roads to protect workers and equipment that
will be on the road.
The first partial closure will be made on the road
between La California* to San José,
through Central Avenue* and Second Avenue*.
The second partial closure will be around Barrio Escalante* in San
Pedro. Work on the road will be done from today at
5 a.m., until Thursday, April 18.
The Railways Institute reports that during the
closures, workers will reconstruct some of the
railroad tracks and put in a concrete roadway.
Transit officials call on drivers to drive
cautiously through the closure areas.
Related to new trains, as A.M. Costa Rica reported
on December 7, the Institute announced the
purchase of eight new diesel trains, to be
manufactured by the Chinese company CRRC Quingdao
Sifang Co., for a total of $32,659,122.
According to the institute, each one of the eight
trains has an engine and passenger cars for a
total length of 38 meters, a capacity of 372
passengers, air conditioning, preferential seats
and space for two wheelchairs per carriage, high
technology radio system and a display system with
LED screens.
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They are made from stainless steel and are meant
to last for up to 30 years. The engines will are
less polluting than the current ones.
In addition to the purchase of the trains,
specialized machinery and a stock of spare parts
were purchased for the workshops that will
maintain the new trains.
The equipment included lathes, bearing pits,
precision special forklift equipment, train
washing machine, traveling crane gantry, milling
machine, hydraulic jacks, gas measurement
equipment, and a gas test bench.
The railway institute says the first two trains
will be delivered in April 2020 with the rest of
the trains delivered in June 2020 and that the
extra materials will be delivered in October 2019.
Right now, the institute has 11 Apollo trains and
4 locomotives with 24 passenger cars to provide
transportation between San Jose and the provinces
of Heredia, Cartago and Alajuela.
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Have you
traveled by train in Costa Rica? If so, how
would you rate train service? We would like to
know your thoughts on this story. Send your
comments to: news@amcostarica.com
*Link to reach the place.
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