11th March 2010 – Following the successful completion of track repairs ahead of schedule by Ferrocarril Transandino S.A. (FTSA), concessionaire of the railroad in the south and southeastern of Peru, PeruRail today announced that, weather permitting, it will recommence its Vistadome train service to Aguas Calientes, the station for Machu Picchu Pueblo, on Monday 29th March, three days earlier than originally predicted. The Inca Citadel of Machu Picchu will reopen to tourists on 1st April 2010.
Initially train services will operate between Pisacucho, a station beyond Ollantaytambo, and Aguas Calientes, with a replacement bus service from Wanchaq Station in Cuzco bringing passengers by road to Pisacucho. The train journey will take 1 hour 20 minutes and the drive approximately 2 hours 30 minutes. It is estimated that it will be possible to make the entire journey from Poroy station in Cuzco to Machu Picchu by rail from July 2010, subject to favourable weather conditions.
PeruRail also operates a Backpacker service and the luxury Hiram Bingham train between Cuzco and Machu Picchu. The Backpacker train will resume at the end of April and the Hiram Bingham will be back in operation at the end of June 2010.
“We are very grateful that the exhaustive repair and reinforcing work made by FTSA engineers means that we can resume our services earlier than originally anticipated,” commented Armando Pareja, general manager of PeruRail.
“We know how important it is for our country to have tourists back in Machu Picchu, so we are working quickly, but with due consideration to all the necessary safety measures”, said Rómulo Guidino, general manager of FTSA.
Heavy rains at the end of January 2010 caused severe flooding in the Machu Picchu region leading to a series of landslides which severely damaged and eroded railway tracks between Cuzco, Ollantaytambo and Machu Picchu, the only means of vehicular access to the ancient Inca citadel.
