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| GP40-2's 3021 and 3019 with GP38M-2 2017 perform a long shunt as part of the compex operation of turning and re-forming the Chepe Express after the evening arrival in Creel. |
Mexico is not a country known for it's passenger trains, indeed in 1997 as part of the privatisation of Mexico's railways, passenger services were suspended across the country.
While there have been a few positive developments in recent years (notably 'Tren Maya' on the Yucatan peninsula and the 'Interoceanico' train in the south of the country best known for it's use of ex-British Intercity 125 trains) there was one passenger service which survived the cuts; 'El Chepe' running from the city of Chihuahua to the Pacific coast at Los Mochis in northwestern Mexico.
Since I was travelling to Chihuahua for a wedding, and the Chepe runs through one of the most scenic nearby destinations, the Copper Canyon (a large part of the reason for its survival) incorporating the train into my trip was a no-brainer.
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| The Chepe Express arrives at Divisadero. 29.04.2025 |
The route route of the train is officially the Ferrocarril Chihuahua al Pacífico, of which construction started around 1900 and is now operated by Ferromex. The line was not finally completed until 1961 having been built in stages and at great cost and skill. The line features 87 tunnels, 36 major bridges and includes one of only three full 'loop's' in North America where the track crosses back over itself as it climbs from sea level to a maximum gradient of 8,000 ft. The route covers 415 over it's full route and to travel from Chihuahua through to Los Mochis is a full days travel scheduled to take 16 1/2 hours.
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| Chepe coaches shunting at Creel. |
The passenger train operation is a little complicated, and actually runs as two different services; the 'Chepe Regional' which runs two days a week in each direction calling at all stations on the complete route from Chihuahua and Los Mochis and is aimed at the local market. Much more widely publicised is the 'Chepe Express', a luxury tourist train which runs between Creel (a town some 160 miles southwest of Chihuahua) and the Pacific at Los Mochis up to three times a week in each direction calling at principle stations in a mere 9 hours, if of course it is on time!
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| The Copper Canyon at Divisadero. |
While the two services sound simple enough, there are several nuances which make planning a journey a little more tricky- Tourists are very much encouraged to travel on the more expensive luxury 'Chepe Express' train, to the point that tickets cannot be booked to travel on the Regional train, except between Chihuahua and Creel where it is the only option. Those then wishing to use the Regional, in order to facilitate a multi-day itinerary can then change their tickets by phone, but only having paid for the more expensive train, and ensuring that the majority of their journey is on the 'Express'. The timetable also means that one cannot start a journey in Chihuahua on the Regional and then change on to the Express at Creel... as that will have already departed ahead of it, and since you can't do the whole trip by Regional, an overnight stay is enforced! Oh- and during 'off peak' times, which include May and June the Express schedule reduces to twice a week.
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| GE ES44AC 4590 leads the Chepe Regional south of Posada station. EMD GP40-2 3022 is the trailing loco. 29.04.2025 |
Reading all the above, and with events which I could not move either side of our wedding in Chihuahua planning a trip on the 'Chepe' soon became quite constrained. I wanted to get off and visit some of the Copper Canyon as well, so eventually settled for travelling just a short part of the route, from Creel to Bahuichivo (around 3 hours), staying overnight and then returning the following day.
Of course I would like to have done the whole thing, but this was going to be the best way for my partner and I to experience the train and actually have a nice time as well- even if it did mean a 4 hour drive from Creel on either side!
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| First class seating on the Chepe Express. |
The 'Chepe Express' contains three classes of accommodation, Tourist (offering a reserved seat in a coach), Business Class (with additional access to the Business Class Bar) and finally the most expensive option of 'First Class'. This top end option gives access to all the facilities of the train, a comfortable reserved seat with power point and Wi-Fi as well as access to the Business Class bar, a panoramic dome restaurant and the terrace bar at the rear of the train which comes complete with large opening windows. I opted for the 'First Class' option, coming in at around £140 per person for the return journey of about 3 hours each way. A lot of money by Mexican standards (and there is no food or drink included), but not a huge expense for a train of this nature all things given - plus, I wanted to travel in the dome and on the outside viewing terrace!
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| A trio of EMD locos, GP40-2's 3021 and 3019 with GP38M-2 2017 sandwiched in the middle the Chepe Express stock at Creel with |
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| The Business class lounge. |
The 'Express' itself is a lengthy train, loading to 14 coaches during our journey, and hauled by a trio of Ferromex EMD GP/SD40's which are now a considerable vintage. On my one sighting of the Chepe Regional it was a GE ES44AC in charge, a much newer machine dating to just 2007. The locos of the Express look and sound great, but if you are hoping to listen to them from on board, think again! First class is marshalled at the back of the train so that the terrace bar always looks out over the tracks (this requires some very complex shunting and 'wyeing' of the train to keep it all in the right order!), and while the terrace has opening windows, being 14 coaches back with a diesel generator under each coach to provide the air conditioning leaves absolutely no chance of hearing the engines! While the carriages have 'barn' style doors where the top half opens, passengers are not permitted to travel in the vestibules on the Express (and there are plenty of staff to enforce this), and despite paying the highest fare, passengers are not allowed into lower class parts of the train to get near to the engines either- ah well, time to enjoy the bar instead! (Note that the Chepe Regional seemed to be full of people in doorways- I suspect this train is not flooded with hospitality staff!).
After staying overnight in Creel we boarded the Chepe Express around 20 minutes before departure (having realised during breakfast that you are supposed to be ready to board 45 mins before!) and were greeted by the hosts directing us to the First Class boarding point. All passengers are pre-booked and listed on check-in sheets with the carriage staff, and we later discovered that the train could well depart from stations early once everyone was on board.
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| Ferromex 3021, 3007 and 2017 depart from Bahuichivo bound for Los Mochis. 27.04.2025 |
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| The open terrace bar with views out over the rear of the train. |
The journey is spectacular for the entire stretch that we are travelling between Creel and Bahuichivo with the train runnin almost right on the rim of the canyon at Divisadero (you might even see it from the dome restaurant)- I believed there to be a short pause here so that everyone could get a photo of the canyon, but in actual fact nobody was allowed off the train- so that was a view to return to in the car!
My favorite spot on the train was the terrace bar where one can enjoy a beer while enjoying the open views of this picturesque region out the back of the train. There are several 'landmarks' which are announced and result in an influx of passengers, but most of the time the coach is fairly quiet, as it seems is most of the area being off-season.
The other carriages were also of course sampled. The Business class bar being a very comfortable place to enjoy a drink with sofas to relax, though these soon became rather cramped when a large tour group turned up!
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| A happy customer, your writer, enjoying the dome restaurant. |
The dome restaurant car is another highlight of the trip and was enjoyed for dinner on the return. The level of English on board the train is sometimes limited and ordering dinner proved a little more difficult than expected, ordering wine even more so! Having established that there was no red wine available, a bottle of rosé was enjoyed with a beef steak (which wasn't really a beef steak). It was all nice, but perhaps not the outstanding meal that it could have been. The views however are certainly elevated, even if the AC which has to work particularly hard in this 'greenhouse' does make the environment a little loud.
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| Tourist class coaches. |
This scenic line is far from busy, during both journeys no other trains were sighted, and during my time in the Creel area there was little evidence of much traffic. Perhaps once or twice a day a train horn would be heard, but one freight train was caught while out and about on the road.
Creel itself is a pleasant town in which to spend a few days, maintaining it's 'Western' feel and fully kitted out to cater for the tourist trade. And at 'just' 4 hours from the city of Chihuahua, the Copper Canyon region really is 'close'!
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| The attractive town of Creel. |
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| Pacifico beers in the bar! |
Overall I really enjoyed my trip on the 'El Chepe' and if I found myself back in the area with a little more time I would certainly like to complete the full journey. It is remarkable that the train has survived cuts to Mexican services, but when speaking to the locals of Chihuahua state it is clear that they are fiercely proud of their train- 'the last one in Mexico!' The real proof though is that my partner enjoyed the trip and said that she could quite happily spend 9 hours on board!
Details of train schedules, fares and how to book are on the Chepe website https://chepe.mx/
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| El Chepe nears San Rafael on 29th April 2025 working from Creel to Los Mochis. |
