The El Virilla train accident occurred in Costa Rica on 14 March 1926, when an overcrowded train carrying mostly farmers and laborers derailed while crossing a bridge across the Virilla River Canyon, killing 385[1] and injuring 93.

[2] The train was a special service booked on a Sunday for a religious pilgrimage from Alajuela and Heredia to Cartago where most intended to visit the stone figurine of the La Negrita at the Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Los Ángeles, which supposedly has great healing powers.

The pilgrimage was arranged by Professor Francisco Gomez Alizago, to raise money for a home for the elderly.

Several trains returned to Alajuela and Heredia with the bodies which were left at the stations for identification by friends and families.

The government declared three days of national mourning; flags flew at half mast; cinemas, bars and other places of entertainment were closed.