The railway network in Ecuador has been undergoing a revival over recent years, and what had once been dismissed as being a waste of money and too difficult to maintain is now being brought back into regular use.

Like many South American countries, the railway network is quite limited and is considered to be a novelty by many, but when it comes to traveling from the Andean capital in the mountains down to the coast, it is certainly one of the most comfortable ways to do so.


The project was only revived in 2008, and there is regular progress being made in terms of the line itself and the number of passenger services available.

The History Of Railways In Ecuador

There were sections of the railway that were built in the mid nineteenth century, but it wasn't until the 1890s that a project was identified to complete an ambitious line between the coastal city of Guayaquil and the capital city, Quito. This was completed in 1908,and at its height the railway line ran from the cities of Guayaquil and Cuenca in the south of the country up to Quito and then all the way up to San Lorenzo near the northern border. The line ran quite well for several decades, but after years of neglect, the storms of El Nino in 1997 and 1998 caused significant damage to the line, and the full line was abandoned, although there were some local services that continued.

The Current Railway Network

Since the revival of the railways began in 2008, the railway line between Guayaquil (Duran is the name of the station, which is on the outskirts of the city) and Quito has been fully reinstated, and there are regular trains running between different stops along the line, along with some trains that run the entire route.

One of the surprising aspects is that there is also a section of the line north of Quito that also offers services, and these are between Otavalo and Salinas. The company operating the railways in Ecuador do state that they want to recover the infrastructure, but it is unclear whether this will include restoring the full routes to Cuenca and San Lorenzo.

Buying Tickets And Practical Advice For Using The Railway

At the moment, the trains running the full length of the line between Quito and Guayaquil are not fixed for a regular schedule, so it is worth checking on the website to see if there are services running that will match your schedule. Some months have one service and others have three, so checking in advance is important. There are regular services along different sections of the line, and these schedules are also available online.

When it comes to booking tickets, this can currently be done either by going to one of the railway stations and buying in advance or on the day from the ticket booth, or there is a call center where it is also possible to purchase tickets. When it comes to catching the train, the railway company does request passengers arrive at least thirty minutes before departure.

Visiting The Devil's Nose

One of the most famous parts of the Ecuadorean railway is known as the Devil's Nose, and is a series of switchbacks which sees the train gain over five hundred meters in altitude in a very short time. This part of the network never fully stopped running, as visitors came to see this engineering feat as a tourist attraction, and there were always excursions taking people up to the impressive viewpoint at the top of the Devil's Nose.

Alternative Transport Methods

The main issue that the railway is encountering at the moment is that it is really looking to attract tourists, rather than trying to be a viable form of transport. This certainly works when it comes to being a scenic and interesting method of travel in the country, but for most visitors the network of buses and coaches will still be cheaper and more practical as a way of getting around the country. For example, flying from Guayaquil to Quito is only a very short journey, while the journey by bus can be completed in nine hours, both of which are quicker than the train excursion at the moment.