An emblematic landmark of Quito, the Eloy Alfaro Chimbacalle Station with its renowned Cruise Train has undergone extensive restoration to become a principal tourist attraction of the country. Under the international campaign All You Need Is Ecuador, the government entity Trains of Ecuador has undergone a revival in recent years.

“We found a business not on the verge of death, but totally dead. We took its pulse, and it did not have any. We could rescue a few things, and we had to restructure the business focusing principally on tourism with three objectives. Stimulate the economies of the places where the train passes, recuperate the historical memory of Ecuador, and also operate the most beautiful train in the world,” said Jorge Eduardo Carrera Sanchez, the General Manager of Trains of Ecuador to teleSUR.

Sanchez said that it is the Citizen’s Revolution of President Rafael Correa that has allowed for a rebirth of the station, to in an effort to transform Ecuador into what he described as a “touristic power.”

The station was inaugurated on June 8,1908 by President Eloy Alfaro, with its first route being from Duran, on the coast to the mountainous region where Quito is situated as both a cargo and passenger train. Currently greeting visitors is a train which first arrived at the station in 1917.

In 2008, the Chimbacalle station was declared Cultural Heritage of Ecuador, and was selected as being a one of the seven Wonders of Quito landmarks in 2010. The station features a museum of trains in Ecuador, a park and cafe run by members of the Chimbacalle neighborhood.

Since the beginning of the Citizen’s Revolution seven years ago, 30 stations across the country have been revitalized, and seek to support the communities through which the trains pass. There are currently eight routes in operation, allowing passengers to take in the geographical extremities of the country, ranging from the coast to mountains and rainforest.

Sanchez said that in the past year 160,000 people rode the train leaving from Chimbacalle, and additionally 100,000 people visited the station.

“We have a conception that they are stations that are alive so that people can enjoy the train that is not a public space where they can enjoy various activities. The neighborhood has converted the station as one of its cultural spaces,” said Sanchez to teleSUR English.

Renowned ice sculpture artist Jose Rafael Sanchez Lucero gave a live performance of his art on Thursday to elementary students from the neighborhood, in which he sculpted the slogan All You Need Is Ecuador and the emblematic Middle of the World monument.

On his art, he told teleSUR, “promote the brand of the country, which is All You Need Is Ecuador. It is at an emblematic site that is more than 100 years old, which is where we are right now at the train station. We also have in the back the mill, which is also more than 100 years old. And the landscape in the background, this is really what inspired me to do this, here, today.”

Source: www.telesurvtv.net