International Railroad Discussion > Peru: head-on collision of Machu Picchu tourist trains, one dead

Two trains taking tourists to and from Peru’s famed archaeological site collided,
killing a train driver.  Thirty passengers were injured, around twenty seriously. 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/dec/31/peru-machu-pichu-head-on-train-crash



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/31/25 06:50 by GenePoon.

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Thanks for sharing this unfortunate incident on the Machu Picchu tourist train operation.  Sorry to hear about the engineer fatality.

I am wondering how it is possible in the modern days with so many technologies to control trains, someone can put two trains on the same tracks running in opposed directions.

Posted from Android

Pedro Rezende
Vespasiano MG,
https://youtube.com/c/minasgeraisrailways1

When my wife and I rode the train some 10 years ago they were running on train orders, 1900 era U S Railroading.  

They run quite a few trains to Aguascaliente, the base of Machu Picchu, and the only way for tourist to access Machu Picchu. I rode it in September with my now ex-girlfriend and we made a number of meets between Ollantaytambo and Aguascaliente.

Does this line have signal protection?

PHall Wrote:
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> Does this line have signal protection?

No, not that I saw, and I keep an eye out for these things.

In 2011, when I rode once from Ollatabampo to Aguascalientes I was invited to ride in the cab once I identified myself as an American RR engineer.
That time they were using a Spanish-Language version of Track Warrents, it was very easy to understand with almost no grasp of Spanish.
There is a separate passenger service from Cuzco to and past Aguascalientes that is seemingly off limits to foreigners,  It carried workers for the hydroelectric power plan a ways downstream (east) of where the tourist market ends. I was strongly advised that I could not ride that service (it does wind through bad neighborhoods as it climbs out of the valley in Cusco). 
From the looks of some of the passengers in these photos trains serveing both markets were involved.
Here is a photo from that I was told did not have a train that actually operated (even though the rails are not rusty.)

Does this line involve switchbacks?

Victor Baird