Rocks on train tracks strand 900 Machu Picchu tourists amid protest | Peru

Peru Tourism Minister, after the suspension of a passenger train service due to a protest, on Tuesday Machu Picchu Anta Inca, near the castle of at least 900 tourists were trapped, he said.

Perurail said that the service was suspended on Monday because the route in the mountainous Cusco region of Perura was blocked by “various sized rocks” as the residents clashed with the authorities and bus companies. Perurail’s local unit said that the “third parties” had dug part of the railway road that affect the stability of the runway and slow down the evacuation of tourists.

The protesters say that after the duration of the concession has expired, there is a lack of transparency and justice in the process of changing the tourist bus operator Consettur, and that different local enterprises have paved the way for different local enterprises to benefit from the vital industry.

Tourism Minister Desilu Leon said that 1,400 tourists have been released to local radio on Monday, but 900 was trapped in Aguas Calientes, the closest town to the most visited cultural field of Peru.

The protest began last week after the end of the concession of Consettur, a bus company that ferries until the entrance of the 15th century Inca Citadel from Aguas Calientes.

A neighboring region assigned another bus company to serve instead, but protesters in Aguas Calientes prevented operating.