Tren de Juguete

About

In 1985, Alan García was elected president of Peru and promised an electric train for the city of Lima. In 2011, a section of Line 1 was inaugurated—22 of the 236.88 kilometers that make up the 7 lines of the original plan. During these 25 years, the train has served a variety of purposes far removed from transporting passengers. Someone composed a song for it, others got married inside its carriages, enthusiastic artists painted murals on the unfinished columns, a young woman started an urban art project in its honor, and a dreamer drove it alone every Friday to prevent its deterioration. Thus, many lives and stories have been intertwined with the rails of this unfinished train. There are still 163 stations to be built and many reasons to demand that the promises not be forgotten.