The first railway in Costa Rica was reputedly a tramway with donkey haulage, opened some time in the 1850s between Puntarenas and Esparza (about 13 miles, 21km), although little information seems to be available relating to this line. At Esparza it connected with an ox cart trail leading to the capital city, San José, located in the mountainous centre of the country.
The first steam hauled railway was the line from the moutain city of Alajuela to Puerto Limón on the Atlantic (Caribbean) coast. The first section, from Alajuela to San José (about 13 miles, 20km), opened in 1873. It was built to 3ft 6in (1067mm) gauge. Materials for the construction of the line had to be brought in from the Pacific Coast by way of the ox cart trail mentioned above.
The tramway from Puntarenas to Esparza was replaced by a railway in 1879, but the ox trail remained in use until the final section of the Pacific Railway was opened in 1910, completing a transcontinental connection from the Pacific to the Atlantic Coasts via San José. The importance of the new line can be judged from the fact that the 75 mile (120km) section from Puntarenas to San José was electrified as early as 1930.
By the 1990s, the railways of Costa Rica represented a substantial network, with both freight and passenger services. Then, in 1996, Hurricane Cesar caused extensive infrastructure damage throughout the country and railway operations ceased. Money for reconstruction was lacking and the system lay disused for many years. Now, however, reconstruction and rehabilitation are at last under way, under the auspices of the government agency Incofer. Regular passenger services are limited to a few commuter trains in the San José area, but a special tourist service operates between San José and Caldera (about 56 miles, 91km).
