The Austro train reappeared in the budget with Chimborazo photos and artisan coffee. In Riobamba the conversation is different: how much is the ticket to Ambato market on Monday?
Sofía Palacios covers the Cuenca–Loja–Riobamba corridor. She knows the altitude economy is not only exports: ticket price, the cousin’s remittance from Madrid, rent downtown.
If the train only serves weekend tourism, the feed will say it first. Riobamba does not need another postcard. It needs infrastructure that survives Monday.
