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.