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At least 900 people have been trapped near Peru’s Inca city of Machu Picchu after protesters blocked the tracks.
Around 1,400 tourists were evacuated, but hundreds of others were left stranded after the protesters clashed with officials and bus companies as a contract row escalated.
Trains in the mountainous Cusco region near the ancient city were suspended after locals blocked the railway with ‘rocks of various sizes,’the operator PeruRail said.
It also claimed ‘third parties’ had dug up part of the rail route, making evacuation operations slower.
Police were called in to try clear the tracks at the foot of Machu Picchu (Picture: AFP/Getty Images)
People visiting Machu Picchu in the Andes – which sees more than 1.5 million visitors each year – usually take the 68-mile train from Cusco to Aguas Calientes.
Some people trek part of the route, which covers 24 miles in around four days.
The clashes flared up last week after a bus concession ended with the operator, Consettur, according to Reuters.
Protesters accuse the process of replacing the operator of a lack of transparency and fairness.
Locals are reportedly demanding that a new company run the bus service from the train station to the archaeological site.
For hundreds of tourists, the row means Machu Picchu is out of bounds by train until the tracks are cleared.
There were further clashes when the police attempted to unblock the railway, leaving 14 police officers injured, according to AFP.
The US Embassy issued a fresh travel warning after the clashes, saying ‘local organisations are protesting changes regarding the bus service contract serving the route to the Machu Picchu site, including by placing objects on the rail line tracks connecting Ollantaytambo and Machupicchu Pueblo.’
It said the protests are expected to continue and that railways and roads to Machu Picchu ‘may be disrupted without prior notice.’
Peru’s tourism minister, Desilu Leon, said 1,400 visitors stranded at the station had been evacuated on Monday night.
Meanwhile, some of the 900 people stuck at the Unesco world heritage site decided to start making their way back on foot.
Miguel Salas, a tourist from Chile, told AFP: ‘In my case, I can’t do it because my wife is pregnant.’
More than 1,200 tourists had to be evacuated in January last year after protests erupted over the new ticket sales system at the site.
A wave of protests in 2022 saw huge boulders being placed on the railway line.
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