Tren de las Nubes

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Locomotive of the Tren de las Nubes

Tren de las Nubes (Spanish for Train of the Clouds) is a train service in Salta Province, Argentina, that connects the Argentine Northwest with the border with Chile in the Andes mountain range, over 4,000 meters above mean sea level, the third highest railway in the world. Originally built for economic and social reasons, it is now of primarily touristic value as a heritage railway.

The train leaves once a week from General Belgrano station in the city of Salta for the 15 hour-, 434 kilometre round trip to the viaduct La Polvorilla, located 4,220 meters above sea level. The curved viaduct is 224 meters long and 70 meters high. From Salta, the train enters first the Valle de Lerma and then the Quebrada del Toro before reaching the Puna. It is known as the Train to the Clouds because clouds can be often be seen around and under the bridges and slopes of the landscape through which the railway passes.

An average of 30,000 tourists visit the train each year, which is also the only public transport for some of the small towns on its path, and is thus used by their local inhabitants.The train runs from April to November and leaves at 07:00, returning to Salta around 22:00. During the summer, from December to March, the Tren al Sol ("Train to the Sun") travels from Salta to the Diego de Almagro station, at an altitude of 3,500 meters. (At present this service is not running do to restoration of tracks and refurbishing of carriages).

The railway line has 29 bridges, 21 tunnels, 13 viaducts, 2 spirals and 2 zigzags. Because of the design decision of not using 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 convoy of 10 wagons can carry 640 passengers at an average speed of 35 km/m. The diesel-electric General Electric locomotive with 2,475 HP has a weight of over 100 tonnes, and consumes around six litres of fuel for every kilometre. The train, which stops in each station for tourists to get off, see the town and buy local handicrafts, has a restaurant, folkloric events, and an on-board medic.

The construction of the railway started in 1921, to connect the North of Argentina with Chile across the Andes, and to serve the borax mines of the area. The La Polvorilla viaduct, the highest of the line, was finished on November 7, 1932. The complete railway was inaugurated on February 20, 1948, but it was not until the late 1970s that it started being visited by tourists. The route was designed by US engineer Richard Fontaine Maury, after whom one of the stations has been named.