The Country
With Machu Picchu as its main attraction why else would you need an excuse to visit Peru? Of course there are a lot of other reasons, including the Nazca Lines, the Inca Trail and Lake Titicaca floating islands. Plan well and plan in advance…….
Train Travel
Cusco Poroy – Ollantaytambo – Machu Picchu
Urubamba – Ollantaytambo – Machu Picchu
Cusco Wanchaq – Puno (Andean Explorer)
Machu Picchu – Hiroelectrica (not shown on Peru Rail website but trains available)
Ollantaytambo – Machu Picchu
Ferrocarril Central Andino (FCCA)
Lima – Huancayo (On selected dates only; approx 8 days per year)
Ferocarril Huancayo Huancavelica (FCHH)
Huancayo – Huancavelica (3 days per week in each direction)
Train times and Tickets
Peru Rail Tickets can be booked online or at Peru Rail ticket offices; including one in central Cusco.
Peru Rail offers three classes of travel on its trains to Machu Picchu, Expedition, Vistadome & the Hiram Bingham; the latter is a Luxury Pullman service.
On board the Andean Explorer there is only one class and this train is also essentially a Luxury Pullman service.
Peru Rail Timetables are available on their website and are updated throughout the year. Generally from January to April trains start further down the valley towards Ollantaytambo due to maintenance work.
Peru Rail Machu Picchu Station
Peru Rail Ollantaytambo Station
Inca Rail Tickets can be booked online.
Inca Rail offers three classes of travel on its trains to Machu Picchu, Machu Picchu Train (Economy Class), Inca Train (First & Executive Classes), Inca Princess (Presidential Class)
Inca Rail Timetables can be found on their website and trains operate every day of the year.
Inca Rail Machu Picchu Station
Inca Rail Ollantaytambo Station
FCCA Tickets can be bought online using their website and printed at home before you travel.
FCCA offers two classes of travel on board the Lima to Huancayo train, Classic and Touristic; the latter offers an inclusive drinks service as well as better seating.
FCCA’s Dates of Operation can be found on the website along with the rates for each class of travel. You get to pick your own seats as you go through the process.
FCHH tickets are purchased from ticket offices prior to the departure of the train.
FCHH timetables are listed on the Fahrplancentre website, along with days of the El Macho train’s operation
Notices & Train Times posted at FCHH Huancayo
Notices & Train Times posted at FCHH Huancavelica
For the Rail Enthusiast
Peru Rail’s Machu Picchu trains are worked by a mixture of Alco/MLW but with three GM’s now in the mix since 2013 there’s no guarantee of having Alco’s on the trains. With Peru Rail having ordered four new Sygnet Locomotives in 2014 this could even spell the end for the Alco’s once they’re delivered? While by rule of thumb the Vistadome trains are DMU’s this is not the case for all the Vistadome trains now; the Urabamba service is solid DMU but ALL trains from Cusco Poroy are loco-hauled regardless of train type. The Vistadome service to Hidorelectrica is also loco-hauled.
Hidroelectrica trains are now available to tourists again but they are not advertised on the Peru Rail Website for advance booking. Tickets can be bought at all Peru Rail offices and leaflets are available with the train times on them.
Peru Rail’s Andrean Explorer is generally MLW DL560 hauled with the loco working a freight in the opposite direction overnight after arrival at it’s destination.
Peru Rail Loco Roster from the very useful Diesel Shop Website
Andean Explorer Mileage Map from Peru Rail’s Website
Cusco to Machu Picchu Mileage Map from Peru Rail’s Website
FCCA Mileages from Fahrplancenter
Scanned Peru Rail Maps with km’s; these are readily available anywhere with Peru Rail:
Loco Types in Peru FCCA
GE C30-7 (#1001 to #1004)
GE B39-8 (#1005 to #1006)
GE C39-8 (#1007 to #1022 & #1026 to #1030)
EMD JT26CW-2B (#701)
EMD SD40T-2 (#1023 to #1025)
Loco Types in Peru FCHH
MLW DL532B
Loco Types in Peru – Peru Rail
Alco DL532 (#352, 353, 356, 357 (converted to DL535 #487) & 358)
MLW DL535 (#400, 481, 482 & 484)
GM G12 (#500, 510 & 520)
MLW DL560 (#651 to #659)
Our previous trip to Peru in 2013 was so enjoyable that we decided to go back and try something different; with another trip to Machu Picchu thrown in for good measure! The basis of this trip was the dates that FCCA had advertised to run their Lima – Huancayo tourist trains and even more specifically Read the Rest…
This trip had been a long, long, time overdue and very likely too late with Peru Rail having modified their train service over the last 10 years quite dramatically; there now being no service at all to Arequipa and the trains to Machu Picchu no longer start at Cusco San Pedro. Still, things are what Read the Rest…
Our previous trip to Peru in 2013 was so enjoyable that we decided to go back and try something different; with another trip to Machu Picchu thrown in for good measure! The basis of this trip was the dates that FCCA had advertised to run their Lima – Huancayo tourist trains and even more specifically Read the Rest…
This trip had been a long, long, time overdue and very likely too late with Peru Rail having modified their train service over the last 10 years quite dramatically; there now being no service at all to Arequipa and the trains to Machu Picchu no longer start at Cusco San Pedro. Still, things are what Read the Rest…