Living in Peru : your everyday companion

Andina

Peru’s Minister of Transport and Communications, Enrique Cornejo, today confirmed that domestic and foreign tourists will be able to reach Machu Picchu by train again, between the Piscacucho (kilometer 82) and Aguas Calientes (kilometer 110) stretch since March 29.

"A few days before our projected target date of April 1, both domestic and foreign tourists will be able to travel by bus to Piscaccuho (Kilometer 82) and then take the train to the town of Machu Picchu, also known as Aguas Calientes”, he explained.

Cornejo recalled that January’s torrential rains washed away portions of the train tracks of the Southern Railroad and the Southeastern Railroad, which is why authorities ordered a temporary closure of Machu Picchu, Peru's main tourist attraction.

The southeastern railway “was severely affected along 110 kilometers between Cusco and Machu Picchu. It involved works of varying difficulty, including one at kilometer 79, which is very difficult to achieve in the short term”.

The area was closed after heavy rains caused mudslides that blocked the roads and rail line between the popular tourist attraction and the nearby city of Cusco.

According to Romulo Guidino, general manager of Ferrocarril Transandino (FTSA), a special ceremony is scheduled for March 29, which will be attended by authorities from Lima and Cusco, as well as local and foreign press.

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Isabel Guerra

Peru's Transports and Communications Minister, Enrique Cornejo, said today that the Ministry has not authorized yet the operation of any night flights in Cusco's Airport Alejandro Velasco Astete, since there are no studies about its possible effects on local residents, or on the risks posed by night winds.

“That was only an announcement made by LAN,” he pointed out to TNews.

He also announced that the studies for a new International Airport in Cusco have already started, but that they have not decided if it will be located in Chincheros or in Ocoruna.

“Technical studies will be ready in six months' time,” Cornejo said.

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Isabel Guerra

The Municipality of Lima will launch the new massive urban transportation system, the Metropolitano charging lower fares, according to Gestión.

The Metropolitano is expected to start operating in April 2010.

The initial price of the fares will be as an average 0.50 cents lower than the current usual fees, and they will range from S/.0.50 to S/. 2

Walter Paredes, from the Municipality of Lima, said that they want customers “to feel that they finally have a transport service that is both good and cheap.”

He also remarked that the new transportation system will generate 3,000 jobs.

The new Metropolitano system will operate from 4am till midnight, with more than 500 buses.

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Isabel Guerra

LAN  has issued an statement informing that national and international operations at Arturo Merino Benitez International Airport in Santiago are expected to partially resume on Thursday, March 4.

However, the airline will continue rescheduling special flights for those who needed to arrive in Chile's capital but have not been able yet to do so due to the earthquake, according to TNews.

A complete spreadsheet of these rescheduled flights (in Spanish) can be found on LAN's website.

At the moment, Santiago's Airport is receiving special flights, and the passengers who have spent more days stranded in Lima will be prioritized, stated LAN.

LAN also stated that they will allow passengers who have not started their trip yet to change their departure dates, free of any penalty, until March 30.

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Isabel Guerra

Loreto's Regional Government and Canadian Dessau International signed a contract to do pre-investment studies for the North Iquitos-Yurimaguas Interoceanic Railways.

This railway will connect those cities with Piura on Peru's northern coast with Manaos, Brazil.

This project considers a 576 km railway to connect Iquitos, Nauta, Túpac Amaru, San Regis, Miraflores, Santa Clara, San Pedro I y II, Santa Rosa, San Roque, Roca Fuerte, San José de Saramuro, Maypuco, Parinari and Urarinas.

The route may be enlarged with extra connections to Orellana, Contamana, Saramirisa, El Estrecho and Pucallpa, in Ucayali region, says Semana Económica.

The total project costs reach some US $880 million, and the feasibility studies (sociological, topographic, geological, etc.), are expected to be concluded in 18 months, according to Peru21.

These studies are supposed to start in April, so that international bidding can be opened in September 2011.

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Isabel Guerra

Most flights to and from Lima and Santiago are still suspended since Saturday, Feb. 27, after the massive 8.8 earthquake that hit Chile, causing severe damage in the Arturo Merino Benitez International Airport, located in Santiago.

Spokerspersons from LAN airlines told Peruvian press that the airport may fully normalize its operations on Wednesday.

Merino Benitez Airport is currently receiving only a few authorized flights, but cannot serve departures, and the customs and migratory controls are being temporarily being carried out during a technical stop in Antofagasta.

Meanwhile, plane tickets for Iquique and Tacna are sold out.

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Isabel Guerra

Lima Airport Partners (LAP) General Manager, Jaime Daly, said that some US $ 50 million will be invested this year in the improvement of infrastructure and operations of Jorge Chavez International Airport.

“The investments will be addressed to different aspects, but specially to improve the landing strip,” he said, according to TNews.

These maintenance works of the landing strip will increase its useful life in ten more years.

According to Daily, the passengers flow at the Jorge Chavez international airport would increase to 9.05 million to the close of 2010, which would mean an increase of four and five percent compared to last year.

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Isabel Guerra

Lima Airport Partners (LAP) will organize a business conference between airports and airlines next week, intended to encourage more worldwide companies to consider Jorge Chavez Airport as their new hub in Latin America, reports TNews.

“This business conference will be attended by representatives of some 85 airlines and 100 airports, and 300 delegates will gather here to get to know the existing conditions to operate,” told Andina LAP´s General Manager, Jaime Daly.

Daly said that this event is important because the airlines who do not have at present flights serving Lima will be able to see for themselves the advantages that Jorge Chavez offers, and this will be backed with the Peruvian economy macroeconomic figures.

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Isabel Guerra

Lan Peru, an affiliate of LAN Airlines, will start serving routes to Peru from San Francisco, US, with four flights per week to Lima, starting in July 1.

That will be a new alternative for passengers in transit to multiple destinations in the region including Sao Paulo, Brazil; Buenos Aires, Argentina; and Santiago, Chile.

"This opens the gateway for an unprecedented expansion of economic and cultural ties between North and South America," said San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom," quoted by PRNewswire.

The company will service this route on modern Boeing 767-300s with long-haul reach and a capacity for 221 passengers.

LAN Airlines is one of the leading passenger and cargo airlines in Latin America, serving over 65 destinations around the world.

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Isabel Guerra

Some 1,500 tourists are currently stranded in Arequipa (south of Peru) due to the transports strike, since they can't find any bus to take them to Cusco, Lima or anywhere else.

Most of them are tourists from Argentina, Chile and Brazil that had planned to visit the Colca Valley, Arequipa beaches and especially Cusco; they can't book any flight because that means a much higher cost and they are on a tight budget, so they will have to go back to their countries.

The strike is also being observed in Huancayo: only four buses (from informal companies) departed yesterday to Lima.

However, there were not reports about violent incidents.

Meanwhile, special frequencies have been scheduled by the central train service, and the government has also setup “civic flights” to transport stranded people: reportedly, these flights will prioritize serving people with healh conditions.

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