Tren a las Nubes

Overview

The railway line has 29 bridges, 21 tunnels, 13 viaducts, 2 spirals and 2 zigzags. Because of the design decision not to use a rack-and-pinion for traction, the route had to be designed to avoid steep grades. The zigzags allow the train to climb up driving back and forth parallel to the slope of the mountain.

The train runs four days a week, departing from San Antonio de los Cobres (where passengers arrive from Salta by bus) to La Polvorilla viaduct. though most tourists simply do the 8-hour one-way trip and return by other means. The train is composed of a dining carriage, bar carriage, a first aid area and two passenger carriages with room for 170 people, though this is expected to increase to 400 over time.

Currently, the train leaves San Antonio station for the 13-hour, The curved viaduct is 224 m long and 64 m high. Once the train has left Salta, it first enters the Valle de Lerma, and then the Quebrada del Toro, before reaching the puna. There are numerous stops along the way, some with markets selling artisan goods and locals offering regional cuisine.

History

Beginning

The possibility of a railway in the area began to be explored as early as 1889, and numerous studies were carried out up until 1916 analysing the feasibility of the line given the steep gradients and harsh terrain. Construction of the railway officially started in 1921, with the intention of connecting the North of Argentina with Chile across the Andes. The La Polvorilla viaduct, the highest of the line, was finished on 7 November 1932.

The route was designed by American engineer Richard Maury, (who later died in Salta) and after whom one of the stations has been named. The complete railway was inaugurated on 20 February 1948, following numerous delays and complications and a two-year period where work was stopped.

The line got its name in the early 1960s after students filmed a trip on the Salta-Antofagasta railway from inside the train carriages, often showing the vapor from the then-steam locomotive which – together with the cold mountain air – formed large vapour plumes. The footage was later offered to the Clarín newspaper to make a documentary, which was subsequently called Tren a las Nubes ("Train to the Clouds") because of the vapour clouds in the film. Ferrocarriles Argentinos (FA) later adopted the name to make it more appealing to tourists. It was not until 1972 that the route began being officially used by tourists as a heritage railway.

Privatisation

State-owned company Ferrocarriles Argentinos operated the service until early 1990s when the privatization process carried out by Carlos Menem's administration granted Tren de las Nubes in concession to a private local operator that took over the line in 1991.

In 2005 a train stopped at a 3,500 m height, with passengers having to be evacuated using helicopters. Since then, the National and Provincial Governments rebuilt the line, replacing 60 km of tracks and granting a new concession to private company "Ecotren" to operate the Tren a las Nubes.

Renationalisation

In July 2014 a train derailed near Abra Muñano, at a 4,000 m height, 80 km. before reaching San Antonio de los Cobres. About 400 passengers had to be evacuated from the train. After the incident, the Government of Salta led by Juan Manuel Urtubey rescinded the contract with "Ecotren", alleging safety failures. Following these events, the service was re-nationalised and the Province took over the operation and maintenance of the service. through a recently created state-owned company, "Sociedad del Estado Tren a las Nubes SFTSE".

With the Government of Salta as operator of the service, the Tren a las Nubes was announced to be running again by March 2015, although the service did not begin running again until 4 April 2015. During the 8-month closure of the line, both the National Government and the government of Salta had restored much of the railway track as well as the rolling stock. For that refurbishing, coaches were remodeled by the Province along with freight transport company Belgrano Cargas, while diesel locomotives were repaired at Alta Córdoba workshops.

As of November 2025, only the 44km portion between San Antonio de los Cobres and La Polvorilla viaduct is covered by train, with passengers being brought from Salta and back by bus.

Gallery

File:Train to the clouds in Salta -ARGENTINA- 006.jpg|Curve in Salta File:Tren a las nubes crossing bridge.jpg|Crossing railway bridge File:Tren a las nubes crossing viaduct.jpg|The train crossing one of 13 viaducts File:Artesanías en Viaducto La Polvorilla.jpg|La Polvorilla viaduct with an artisan market File:Tren a las nubes crossing viaduct2.jpg|Crossing a viaduct in 2015 File:Train to the clouds in Salta -ARGENTINA- 003.JPG|Train parallel to National Route 40 Tren a las nubes cruzando Viaducto la Polvorilla.jpg|Crossing La Polvorilla

References

References

1. [https://trenalasnubes.com.ar/historia/ Historia] on Tren a las Nubes website
2. "Route".
3. (7 April 2015). "Salta recuperó el Tren a las Nubes".
4. (4 February 2015). "Vuelve el Tren a las Nubes con descuentos para los salteños". [[La Gaceta (Tucumán).
5. "Un nuevo capítulo del Tren a las Nubes".
6. "Tren a las Nubes".
7. "El recorrido".
8. [https://www.trendelasnubes.saltaexcursiones.com/turismo_salta/default.aspx Tren a las Nubes] at Saltaexcursiones.com (12 Mar 2023)
9. (3 April 2015). "Vuelve a funcionar el Tren a las Nubes".
10. D'Andrea, Darío Silva. (11 June 2012). "Un tren para tocar el cielo". [[Perfil]].
11. "Viaducto La Polvorilla".
12. "Les trains touristiques du monde - Tren a las Nubes - Argentine".
13. Borelli, Luis. "Historia del Tren a las Nubes".
14. "Tours in Salta - Train to the Clouds".
15. Barker, Thomas. "Information about Richard Fontaine Maury".
16. "Historia".
17. Navia, Javier. (7 October 2007). "El Tren a las Nubes volvió a correr en las alturas del paisaje salteño". [[La Nación]].
18. (9 October 2007). "Tren a las nubes: crónica de un regreso al cielo con ritmo de copla". Clarín.
19. (19 July 2014). "Descarriló el "Tren de las Nubes" y evacuaron a 400 pasajeros". Clarín.
20. (20 July 2014). "Descarriló el Tren de las Nubes y evacuaron a 400 pasajeros".
21. (23 July 2014). "Tras las fallas de seguridad, Salta estatizó el Tren a las Nubes".
22. (15 October 2014). "No habrá Tren a las Nubes al menos hasta marzo 2015". [[El Tribuno]].
23. (4 February 2015). "Vuelve el Tren a las Nubes con descuentos para los salteños".
24. (5 April 2015). "Después de ocho meses, volvió el Tren a las Nubes". La Nación.
25. (1 April 2015). "El tren más famoso del país vuelve a las nubes". Perfil.