LVMH’s Belmond Blames Carlyle Unit for Machu Picchu Train Crash
(Bloomberg) — The luxury hospitality subsidiary of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE is blaming a train company majority owned by global private equity firm Carlyle Group Inc for a deadly crash on the railway connecting to Peru’s iconic Machu Picchu ruins.
One person was killed and dozens injured in a crash on the afternoon of December 30 on Peru’s highest-profile railway, which is important to the tourism industry.
LVMH’s Belmond Ltd said in a letter to the prime minister’s office that the Carlyle’s Inca Railway had crossed an unauthorized section of tracks, leading to a head-on collision between two trains heading in opposite directions.
“The Inca Railway train did not stop at the designated point and proceeded along an unauthorized track,” said the letter, seen by Bloomberg and signed by Belmond executive Laurent Carrasset. “It crashed after approximately 400 meters (437.4 yards),” the letter added.
In the letter, Carrasset said the railway was single-track and managed with mandatory stops and occasional detours so that trains heading in opposite directions could change. He added that at the time of the incident, the Inca Rail train had to stop and wait for PeruRail to enter one of these detours. But instead he continued to exceed the limit of the permitted track area.
In a statement, Inca Rail said jumping to conclusions before officials had assessed the matter “could lead to biased interpretations of facts that are still being verified.” The company added that it was cooperating with the authorities and stood in solidarity with those injured and the driver of the Inca Rail train, who was the only person killed.
The railway between Cusco and Machu Picchu carries around 3 million passengers a year, and Belmond is the dominant player through two joint ventures that the luxury company operates. While it operates luxury trains through PeruRail, Belmond, through Ferrocarril Transandino, also operates the rail concession on which both its own trains and Inca Rail travel.
According to government statistics, in 2024, PeruRail had a 74% market share on the Machu Picchu route, while the rest belonged to Inca Rail.
Carrasset’s letter stated that approximately 2,000 passengers were trapped in the accident and had to wait approximately 12 hours to be evacuated.
Machu Picchu cannot be reached by road. Tourists normally take the train or hike, which can last for days. Famous for its stonework and spectacular views of the Andes, Machu Picchu is Peru’s most popular tourist destination among foreign tourists, many of whom travel here by luxury trains.
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