The Lima to Huancayo railway through the Central Andes of Peru is one of the greatest engineering feats of the 19th century. This masterpiece was the project of over 10 000 Peruvians, Chileans, Chinese; a clever Polish engineer known as Malinowsky; and Henry Meiggs, a crazy entrepreneur whose passion convinced the Government to make this dream a reality. The railway line from Lima to Huancayo took nearly 40 years to complete. From 1870 to 1908, the railway witnessed blood, sweat and tears, as many people sacrificed their lives to give the Central Andes this special service. The ruling grade of the Central Railway is about 4 ½ degrees. Along its length of 335 km, it traverses 66 tunnels, 59 bridges and 9 zigzags where the steep mountainside permits no other way of negotiating the course. The track’s highest point is at La Galera at 4781m, the world’s highest train station on a standard gauge track. Railway buffs may like to know that the last Andes type 2-8-0 steam locomotive, No 206, is still in working order, although is usually locked in a shed in Huancayo. It was built specifically for this route in 1953 by Beyer Peacocks of Manchester. The thrilling experience of riding on the "Highest Train in the World" has been, bar a short period from July 1998 to June 1999, unavailable since 1991, when terrorists blew up the bridge known as Mal Paso (near Jauja). This action was used as the reason for stopping the train service from Lima to the Mantaro Valley. All passenger traffic now goes by road, but the train is still holds strong historical, economical and cultural significance in Huancayo for residents and visitors alike. It is our aim to bring the train back to life, to the place and with the people to whom it belongs - those who travel the Central Highlands. Here at Incas del Peru in Huancayo, we have been working tirelessly towards this goal through strong lobbying and international campaigning. We´d like to thank all of you who have helped us out with your interest and support, and we are happy to say that we have been making great progress. We are currently aiming to have the train running by July of this year. We still have a few hurdles to get over, however. Here’s the latest news: Since leaving our office in the old train station in Lima, we have been bound and determined never to give up the game! We have insisted and persisted in gaining attention from a variety of people and organizations. Finally, this year, the awful highway conditions from Lima to Huancayo have helped us to get our private and state institutions to band together and to take action. We went to Lima and talked to Jaime Blanco, the manager of Ferrovias Central Andinas, and made an official request to rent passenger service for ARAVIT Junin, an association of travel agents in the Central Andes. The next day we got our answer: it would cost us US$18,000 for one trip to Huancayo with 380 seats! This is a lot of money by Peruvian standards; BUT some years ago we put the same request to the state-run company that existed at the time. Coincidentally, Jaime Blanco was the Commercial Department Manager at the time, so we pulled out the old paperwork and asked him why he was now quoting us so much more for the same service. He responded with a new proposal of $13,000. Of course, this is still a lot of money, but we are sure we can manage it with some help and support from all of us who are determined to see the return of the train. This is what we are proposing: We should get the train going to Huancayo on July 27th. This is a National Holiday and many Peruvians travel to Huancayo and the Central Andes at this time of the year. Ideally, we will organize a public event to attract visitors from Lima. For example, we can host a Folk-Rock and Afro Music Festival in the Old Train Station here in Huancayo. ARAVIT is an excellent group of agents to coordinate such an event, being highly motivated to promote tours in the Mantaro Valley. In addition to selling train and concert tickets, we can offer a package deal that includes the train tickets, tours, food and lodging, as well as passes to the multicultural event or concert. At this juncture, our main concern is how to finance this venture… Is there anybody out there who can assist us in some way? We have sent a letter to President Toledo by way of some of his close associates, but have received no answer so far. Basically, the letter was to remind him of the public announcements he made last year declaring his commitment to getting the train working, and allocating new foreign investment to the project. Our letter to Toledo is not simply a request for funding; it is an attempt to promote jobs, to find alternative ways to invest in the economic development of our community, and to rescue the heritage that this railway represents for us. So you’re not President Toledo, but all the same maybe you can help us to make other valuable contacts. Some time ago, for example, we heard that the Trans Canada Railway was reducing services or being discontinued. Wouldn’t it be something if the cars that rode the longest railway in the world could now be used to ride the highest railway in the world?! If you have contacts, ideas, or money to invest in this cause, we would love to hear from you. We are certain that this train could be up and running again and that the Central Highlands can recuperate its most famous tourist attraction! More background and information about the train service and about our campaign is available on our website at www.incasdelperu.org (see “About Us – Campaigns”). Please feel free to respond with comments to luchoh@yahoo.com or incas_peru@hotmail.com We would love to hear from you!
I always thought the "highest" trains in the world were Brooklyn bound expresses on Saturday nights! Ah, I have friends from Chile and Peru. I will have to ask them if they know of this line. Lots of luck to you! It sounds very exotic indeed! JOHNNY TRAINS NUEVA YORK
I heard about this line on "Great Railway Journeys of the World", first aired about 1979 or so. In that show, Miles Kingston also told of a narrow-gauge line from Huancayo to Huancavelica (sorry about the spelling), plus a standard-gauge line to Machu Pichu. I was very impressed, even with the high-altitude line- puts our Colorado narrow gauge lines to shame! I sure hope you get the line restored- in such a rugged country, it looks to be the best way over the Andes.
Capture the terrorists and make them re-build the bridge! I will be anxious to see the train run again!
Ah, what was the last thing Sir Alec said in "The Bridge Over the River Kawi?" "MY GOD. WHAT HAVE I DONE................" Then the bridge blows up.
Incas Del Peru, welcome to the TrainBoard Forums. Your post is very encouraging. I am e-mailing your post to an acquaintance who is a consultant to regional and short-line railroad companies. I am hoping that he can relay your need to some of his venture capital contacts. I wish you full success in your endeavor.
Thanks to all of you who are train lovers. We are very motivated, as a group of institutions in Huancayo are very interested in taking serius actions to get the train back to work. We have to face the main problem is corruption, the track owners are the worst, as they make lots of money and are paying under the table to stop the train. We have a posibility to get 120,000 tons of cement to take to Huancayo, but the mayor of a suburb in Lima doesn´t want to get the licence to extend a branch of the railroad to the factory that produces the cement. We have to get all the info to the public, so the corruption will stop and finally we could get our train back. For those who watched the TV special many years ago.... that was the BBC coming to Huancayo when I was just a 18 years old boy, maybe you saw a boy offering a hotel with hot water at the very end of the journey... it is me! I was born in the train station in Huancayo, and thanks to the train I got involved in tourism, so mush I feel in debt to the train that it has become an obsesion to get it back to my people in the Central Andes. Any help, ideas or contacts will be welcome, to get this dream come true will be to give back to the Central Andes its most important tool to develop tourism, therefore a real benefict to a larger group of people, not only for some few fat cats on big trucks. Yes soemone wrote before a slogan I took for this campaing: NO TRAIN NO GAIN Thanks to you all, cheers: Lucho Hurtado
WOW! That was my slogan! I'd like to see that on every car bumper in Peru! God Bless! Good luck. Just missed my friend from Chile today. I'll have to ask him if he has ever seen the line. Johnny Trains
I have rode many miles of track over the Andes and loved every moment of it! My wife is from Ecuador and we visit every two years or so. I've rode in box cars with seats, passenger cars and even on top of the car with the rest of the crazy people. All this was in Ecuador during the past 10 years. It was the last time I rode on the tender of a Baldwin steam engine. Biggest problem in Ecuador are the floods that wash out the tracks. Went to Machu Picchu a few years back. There we took the train from Cuzco to Machu Picchu..... wonderful trip!! Cuzco is a beautiful city and one I could visit often. Would have taken the train from Lima and on to Machu Picchu with time permitting. Not sure if it was running then? Haven't been to the highest rail yet but I got close at 11,340 ft in Ecuador and at least that or better in Peru. Recommend any trip thru the Andes. ...Eddie [ 13 April 2002, 02:05: Message edited by: eddelozier ]
I asked one of the guys that works in my building if he knew of the railroad. He is from Columbia. He said, "OH! THAT"S IN PERU!" before I could finish the question. He said he didn't think I would like it because there is thin oxygen so high up! I guess the Incas wouldn't like New York air either! It's a little bit thick. He also said that was some of the most beautiful scenery in the world. There's a place called, "LA PASA"? Near Bolivia? I might be wrong but Willy said it was the highest city in the world? Also, there have been new ruins uncovered recently? A whole new city?
