THE vice-president of Ecuador, María José Pinto, joined minister of infrastructure and transport, Roberto Luque, in a ceremony held at Alausí station on August 20 to mark the official reopening of the 12.5km Alausí - Sibambe section of the Guayaquil - Quito line.
This section includes the famous Devil’s Nose incline, with its dramatic switchbacks carved into the Andes mountains.
The Ecuadorian government is investing in the rehabilitation of the Guayaquil - Quito line which forms the national network. All 965.6km was shut down in 2020 when, alongside other state-owned enterprises such as the postal service and national airline, the national railway was placed into liquidation during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Government studies indicate that reopening the line will greatly increase tourism and boost local economies, reducing the need for the local population to leave in search of employment.
“Restoring tourism is not a whim, it is a productive social commitment, because when tourism is encouraged, the economy is strengthened and opportunities for development are created,” says Pinto.
Reopening of the Alausí - Sibambe section has been funded with $US 685,000 that the government provided to the municipality of San Pedro de Alausí, which has been used to equip stations, maintain two diesel locomotives and for wheel repairs on one locomotive.
According to the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, tourist trains are being operated on a sustainable basis under a public-private partnership, in which the rail infrastructure is managed and operated by the private sector.
Following a five-year suspension of services, a total of 25km of the Guayaquil - Quito line has now been reopened. The first section to reopen was the 12km between Ibarra and Antonio Ante, north of Quito, where scheduled services began operating in April. Trains began running again between Alausí and Sibambe on July 5.
A third section is due to open later this year following the rehabilitation of track and rolling stock. This is the 17km section from Riobamba to Urbina, located between the Devil’s Nose and Quito. An agreement for this project was signed during the ceremony on August 20 by Luque and the mayor of Riobamba, Jhon Vinueza, and the mayor of Guano, Oswaldo Estrada.
