Newsletter
COPPER CANYON TRAIN TRIP WORLD RECOGNITION
To our customers, suppliers, and friends:
México, D.F. October 2005. Last September 27th, in La Paz, BCS México, the Chepe train was awarded an international recognition–accreditation as one of the top ten most spectacular train trips in the world during the celebration of the “Tourism World Day”. This acknowledgment was given to Ferrocarril Mexicano by the Mexican President Vicente Fox. The recognition was witnessed by Ing. Narciso Agundez Montaño, Governor of Baja California, and Lic. Rodolfo Elizondo T., Mexico’s Secretary of Tourism, among other government officials.
The Chepe train has been operating through the Copper Canyon since 1961, with a state of the art infrastructure created by Mexican engineering. The Chihuahua-Pacifico line covers nearly 410 miles of railroad with 37 spectacular bridges and 86 imposing tunnels, becoming the only terrestrial connection between the cities of Chihuahua. Chih. and the City of Los Mochis, in Sinaloa in Mexico.
In June of 1997 Ferrocarril Mexicano obtained the concession to operate the Copper Canyon route, and we made our goal to offer a world class service to all in-coming tourists. In one year we completely remodeled our passenger cars, which included mechanical and comfort features, accumulating an investment of $ 4.5 million dollars and $16.5 million dollars in infrastructure maintenance, increasing safety and security throughout the line and have continually worked in these areas over the 8 years of operation. We have also improved the services offered through the Copper Canyon:
- Chepe Train: four daily departures for passengers, two for the first class train and two more for the economic class train. The destinations are Chihuahua–Los Mochis and Los Mochis–Chihuahua, with remodeled passenger cars, a dining and bar car. This allows our customers to travel trough the Copper Canyon while comfortably enjoying reclining seats, air conditioning and food and drinks from the menu. The economic class train operation was also improved by adding new seats to the passenger cars and a snack bar
- Hauling for the American tourism railroad “Sierra Madre Express,” this service began to operate the Copper Canyon route in 1985 with round trips from Nogales to Creel to Nogales, Son.
- RV Caravan service initiating operations in 1965 and consisting of motor home transportation on flatbeds, touring through the Copper Canyon, starting in La Junta, Chihuahua bound for Los Mochis, with stops in Creel, Divisadero and Bahuichivo.
- Transportation of Holland America line cruise passengers, initiating operations in December 2004, starting in El Fuerte, Sin. and bound for Divisadero.
- Tours for train fans on board their own railroad inspection cars, known as “speeders” with round trips from Chihuahua to Los Mochis, stopping in Creel, Divisadero, el Fuerte, Bahuichivo, Creel and Chihuahua
