Fatal Machu Picchu Train Wreck Involves Units of LVMH, Carlyle
(Bloomberg) — Global luxury conglomerate LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE and Carlyle Group Inc., one of the world’s largest private equity firms, are holding shares in train operators facing scrutiny after a fatal crash on a railway carrying tourists to Machu Picchu.
A train driver was killed and dozens more injured in Tuesday’s head-on collision. The iconic tourist destination in Peru’s Andes attracts more than 1 million visitors each year. Many people make the short trip by train from the city of Cusco or nearby towns in the region’s “Sacred Valley” because the remote UNESCO heritage site is not directly accessible by road.
Paris-based LVMH holds a stake in one of the train operators, PeruRail SA, through its investment in Belmond Ltd., a high-end hospitality and travel business that LVMH acquired in 2019. Belmond’s website advertises a ride in the “most luxurious” carriages to its well-heeled customers, where they can “eat exquisite Peruvian cuisine, then head to our vintage cocktail bar.”
Belmond also owns 50% of Ferrocarril Transandino SA, which has the concession to operate the railway line where the accident occurred, according to the 2025 Ferrocarril Transandino business plan.
Representatives for LVMH and Belmond did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The PeruRail train crashed into a train operated by Inca Rail SA, in which the Carlyle unit has a majority stake. Carlyle is trying to sell its shares through an asset manager that manages its assets in Peru.
Carlyle did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Asset manager GRAM declined to comment.
Carlyle entered the Peruvian rail tourism market nearly a decade ago, supporting Inca Rail’s improvements to the route between the towns of the Sacred Valley and the foothills of Machu Picchu, which winds along the Urubamba River and features narrow rights-of-way. The deal appeared to be an example of how global capital is intertwined with tourist outposts and their infrastructure connections.
PeruRail said in a statement on its website Wednesday that it evacuated 2,000 passengers to a nearby town in the early morning hours and began restoring train service.
Inca Rail said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday that it immediately implemented safety and emergency procedures following the collision and was coordinating with authorities to investigate the causes.
The incident in Peru’s top attraction comes at a time when the country’s tourism industry is struggling to rebound after the Covid-19 pandemic.
–With help from Preeti Singh and Jeannette Neumann.
More stories like this available Bloomberg.com
