Light rail

A concession will be awarded as soon as next year for a 21-kilometer light rail line serving commuters in Guatemala City, according to the preliminary report of the consulting group, which is helping to define the project.

The line, which would go into operation in 2021, following three years of construction, would carry some 250,000 people a day between North Center and South Center, and would have 20 stations, according to Spain-based IDOM, a professional services firm specializing in engineering, architecture and consulting.

The Inter-American Development Bank is financing the the $2 million feasibility study, the full version of which is expected in December.

As part of the project, it would be necessary to expropriate the owners of nearly 500 homes, which are located on the proposed route.

The Costa Rican Transport Ministry for its part is preparing the third study in three years for the development of a light rail line, following the resignation last month of the minister, who had in 2014 presented a proposal for the service,

His predecessor during the previous administration also developed a plan.

An advantage for the Costa Rica, if it can decide on a format, is that there should be no need to expropriate private owners.

San José has an existing rail route, running along the main axis of the capital, which is wide enough to handle a double track, electrified line.

The existing route is inefficient, consisting of a single track and powered by diesel-electric locomotives left from a rail cargo operation, which ended in the 1990s.