President José María Figueres Olsen closed the rail transportation system following damage during an earthquake and external pressure to liberalize the nation 's resources ; however , work is underway to reopen the rails . The Instituto Costarricense de Ferrocarriles ( INCOFER ) ( Costa Rican Railroad Institute ) is working to reopen the terminals and rails that link Alajuela and the other cities in the Central Valley . It is scheduled to open in 2014 . In 2012 , a proposal was made to build a train from Alajuela to Cartago but the project never got underway and was eventually scrapped
an earthquake
1991 Limon earthquake
Alajuela Province