|
|
Great Railway Journeys 2
A Peruvian Railway Journey
The Peruvian Railway System is the highest standard
guage railway system in the world. (The Lima-Huancayo-Huancavelica line).
Unfortunately terrorist activity has forced the closure of the most spectacular
part of it. What remains is spectacular in some ways or at least interesting.
The author travelled on PeruRail from
Cusco to Juliaca on the 19 th of Jan 2002 (and then on to Puno). If you are a
fan of Paul Theroux and are thinking on the lines of "The Great Railway Bazzar"
forget it! This railway journey was undertaken in First Class comfort and well
away from the local smelly third class…sadly. Still, that was the only
option. It was either that or else maintaining a constant vigilance about your
pockets and belongings to the extent of missing out on the journey
itself! We of course chose the First Class
option.
Cusco (or Cuzco) (12000ft)
has two railway termini. The train to Puno sets off from Huanchac station at
0800 hrs. The last coach is the Observation Car, an American style open-ended
coach. The penultimate coach is the First Class accommodation with armchairs,
tables and table lamps! Further on are the Orange and yellow third class
coaches - the so-called backpacker specials. First class coaches are painted in
a dark blue and yellow (? gold) livery.
The locomotives on this route are MLW
Bombardiers (see box)
 |
MONTREAL LOCOMOTIVE WORKS BOMBARDIER
MANUFACTURER'S PLATE
MLW took over the old ALCO works and manufacture diesel
electric export locos.
See Srilankan Railway links for
MLWs on Srilankan Railways |
|
The train, surprisingly,
departed on time - after the great photo shoot of posing on the footplate of
the loco, an activity encouraged by the loco engineer with no oiling of palms
involved. The fact that some of the Gringos recognised the loco as a MLW
Bombardier seemed to please the crew! ("Si! Si! MLW Bombardier! MLW
Bombardier!")
With a reverb blast of the air horns the train pulled
out of Cusco travelling at a leisurely 15 mph, clackety-clacking over badly
maintained non-welded rails. The train gently rocked from side to side and
fairly soon it was obvious that this was because the rail joints were not in
alignment but (? deliberately) staggered. Ballast was rather sparse.
| The PR Manager of PeruRail informs us that the tracks are
inspected and maintained regularly. The trains are relatively low speed when
compared to European high speed links and as such trackwork maintenance is
adequate. |
Thick black smoke
emanated from the loco. Obviously not warmed up enough or requiring tuning!
Leaving the suburbs of Cusco behind
the train started a descent and then a serious bit of climbing through tight
curves following the course of the Vilcanota River.
First class passengers relaxed in comfort. Drinks
and snacks were served. Lush fields of maize passed by. Children stood in the
doorways of adobe huts and waved at passengers. Passengers waved back and
talked into their video cameras. Coca Cola signs in evidence. Quite appropriate
as Coca Cola once contained cocaine!
The train passed through San Sebastion, San Jeronimo and Urcos.
Almost continuous blasts from the loco airhorns sounding a warning at the
almost continuous unguarded level (grade) crossings.
Railway stations appeared to be only marginally
better maintained than the adobe shacks and could often only be identified by
the abandoned passing loops. The train doesn't stop.
At first sight signalling does not seem to
exist. This is rather worrying. Old-fashioned derelict semaphore type signals
with the air of having seen better days pass by. Telephone poles are still
standing but with the wires ripped off. Seriously worrying but then the penny
drops. Radio signalling is the clue! Not a bad railroad one
thinks................Continued
Height above
sea the level (sic!) 14172ft
| Go
to the official PERURAIL
site for details of services, timetable etc. The site appears to be in capable
hands with a good response time! |
|
A
MadPage/Crazylanka
Publication. This page is not an official PeruRail site. All pictures ©
Gyan C.A. Fernando 2002. Send
e-mail for permission to reproduce pics. Don't pirate! Just ask! Better
quality pics available free.
First published
26th Feb 2002. |
