Korea National Railway (KR) has announced that it has signed a contract with a Costa Rica rail authority to conduct a feasibility study on a plan to restore the 98.3km rail track between Puntarenas and San Jose.

KR signed the contract with Incofer, which is an independent state-owned institution in Costa Rica that operates all freight and passenger services, as well as owns the national railway infrastructure, reported Business Korea.

KR will validate the feasibility of the project, along with other Korean companies Soosung Engineering and Consulting and Dongil Engineering.

In 2019, KR implemented a railway management consulting project for Costa Rica, awarded by The Inter-American Development Bank.

Since last year, KR has been working to secure passenger railway projects in the Greater Metropolitan Area.

It has also formed a consortium with Korean firms to secure orders.

The San Jose area passenger railway project is aiming to reduce traffic congestions in the Greater Metropolitan Area through five electrified dual-track rail lines with a total length of 84.9km.

The value of the project is estimated to be around $1.6bn.

Last September, KR secured the Halkali-Gebze High-Speed Railway Project in Turkey.

The company signed an MoU with Turkish construction firms YAPI and LIMAK, forming a consortium for the express railway project.

KR also discussed business cooperation with Turkish State Railways and the Republic of Turkey Investment Office.