The Tequila Express is a Mexican

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 regional train service that operates from Guadalajara, Jalisco

Guadalajara, Jalisco

Guadalajara is the capital of the Mexican state of Jalisco, and the seat of the municipality of Guadalajara. The city is located in the central region of Jalisco in the western-pacific area of Mexico. With a population of 1,564,514 it is Mexico's second most populous municipality...

, to the Tequila Herradura distillery at the San José del Refugio Hacienda in the municipality of Amatitán

Amatitan

Amatitán is the head of a municipality in the Mexican state of Jalisco, and is home to one of the world's largest tequila distilleries....

, Jalisco. Amatitán is approximately 40 kilometres (24.9 mi) northwest of Guadalajara and 32 kilometres (19.9 mi) southeast of the town of Tequila, Jalisco

Tequila, Jalisco

Santiago de Tequila is a town and municipality located in the state of Jalisco about 60 km from the city of Guadalajara. Tequila is best known as being the birthplace of the drink that bears its name, “tequila,” which is made from the blue agave plant, native to this area. The heart of the...

. The train service is so named because it features tequila

Tequila

Tequila is a spirit made from the blue agave plant, primarily in the area surrounding the city of Tequila, northwest of Guadalajara, and in the highlands of the western Mexican state of Jalisco....

 tastings and transports its passengers through blue agave fields to the distillery in Amatitán and towards (but not into) the town of Tequila.

The service began operating in 1997, concurrent with the elimination of general passenger rail service by Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México

Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México

Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México, was Mexico's state owned railroad company from 1938 to 1998, and prior to 1938 a major railroad controlled by the government that linked Mexico City to the major cities of Nuevo Laredo and Ciudad Juárez on the U.S. border...

. The service is operated by Ferromex

Ferromex

Ferromex is a private rail consortium that operates the largest railroad in Mexico.-Description:...

, owner of the Guadalajara train station and the rail line on which the service runs, under contract with the chamber of commerce

Chamber of commerce

A chamber of commerce is a form of business network, e.g., a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to advocate on behalf of the business community...

. Service operates on weekends, usually from Friday through Sunday with sporadic trips on Mondays. The excursion includes live mariachi

Mariachi

Mariachi is a genre of music that originated in the State of Jalisco, in Mexico. It is an integration of stringed instruments highly influenced by the cultural impacts of the historical development of Western Mexico. Throughout the history of mariachi, musicians have experimented with brass, wind,...

 music on board the train, a tour of the hacienda

Hacienda

Hacienda is a Spanish word for an estate. Some haciendas were plantations, mines, or even business factories. Many haciendas combined these productive activities...

 and distillery, as well as a dinner on the hacienda premises.

The train is quite popular especially during the Encuentro Internacional del Mariachi y la Charrería festival held in Guadalajara.

See also

• Ferrocarril Chihuahua al Pacífico
• List of World Heritage Sites in Mexico
• Napa Valley Wine Train
  Napa Valley Wine Train
  The Napa Valley Wine Train is operated by the Napa Valley Railroad . The train is a privately operated excursion train that runs between Napa and St. Helena, California. Much of the rail line parallels State Route 29 after leaving the City of Napa and passes the towns of Yountville, Rutherford and...
  
   is an alcoholic beverage based tourist train that operates in the area formerly known as Alta California
  Alta California
  Alta California was a province and territory in the Viceroyalty of New Spain and later a territory and department in independent Mexico. The territory was created in 1769 out of the northern part of the former province of Las Californias, and consisted of the modern American states of California,...
  
  

External links

• The Estación de Guadalajara is at 20.6565°N 103.3525°W