Copper Canyon

Economy Class vs. First Class. As of December, 2003, the first class train left at 6 a.m. in the morning, and the second class train left an hour later at 7 a.m.  My trip from Chihuahua to Los Mochis took 18 hours on the second class train, not arriving in Los Mochis until almost 2 a.m. the following morning.  The second class train is used purely for transportation by many people who live in the Sierra Madres, so it makes twice as many stops as the first class train, quite a few more stops than listed on the price schedule, I might add. The conductors were not going to put a family with little children out in the cold night 15 miles from their cabin.

For the trip back I purchased a ticked on the first class train. The trip was three hours shorter, but otherwise the only difference that the first class train had a dining car versus a "food" car. The mix of tourists to locals was higher on the first class train. The first class train was much more crowded, making it more difficult to get a spot at the window in the spaces between the cars from which to shoot photos. All in all, I would probably choose the economy class boths ways should I make the trip again. The food car served only sandwiches and soup, but service was quick. The dining car on the first class train was crowded, and service was slow. A hamburger and french fries cost $6 in the dining car. The food car was also open until just 30 minutes of arrival and served hot coffee on demand. The dining car closed several hours earlier.

But enough preliminaries: On with the trip!