Train travel in Costa Rica – a general overview (2026) trenopedia.com

Costa Rica is famous for its national parks and eco tourism. Train travel in Costa Rica is limited to suburban lines, although the country has a rich and interesting history of the railways. Almost all of the railway network needs major repairs. Last updated: 02.02.2026 Train travel in Costa Rica – current situation Costa Rica.

Train travel in Costa Rica – current situation

Costa Rica has more than 500 kilometers of railway lines. Currently, passenger trains run on only three lines:

San José – Cartago
Curridabat – Pavas – Belén
San José- Heredia – Alajuela

Suburban trains are operated at street level and average speed is about 20 km/h. Roads in San Jose downtown are congested and trains are popular between residents and commuters. Trains are mostly comprised of Apolo 2400 diesel multiple units imported from Spain in 2009 (former FEVE trains) or air-conditioned metro-style diesel multiple units manufactured in China and delivered to Costa Rica in 2019. Sometimes passenger carriages hauled by a diesel locomotive are deployed, especially on San Jose – Cartago route.

There are no long-distance passenger trains.

There are no international trains from Costa Rica to adjacent countries.