Number 15

Train Crossings in Costa Rica

In the US, there is so much talk about safety at train crossings.  We hear about train vs car/truck/bus/people accidents all the time. The outcry is usually something like this…”something must be done these crossings are just not safe enough”.   According to the Federal Railroad Administration, there were a little under 12,000 total accidents/incidents in 2014 with total fatalities of over 800 (stay with me here).  In the US, there are lights, crossings bars and bells to signal an approaching train to a crossing.

There is no equivalent to the Federal Railroad Administration that I could find in Costa Rica.  What is amazing is that in Costa Rica there are no crossing bars that come down as a train approaches a road crossing.  There are no bells.  Most crossings don’t even have lights.

This is a typical railroad/road intersection.  Cars stop on the tracks until the traffic moves. 

  

It has fascinated me that there is not a car/train accident daily in Costa Rica.  Maybe the people of Costa Rica have figured out that an accident between a car and train…The Train Wins.