Durán to El Empalme runs about 6 times a day, with the first departure around 06:32 and the last around 07:30. One passenger pays between €16.29 and €22.89, every fee included, depending on the operator and the way you travel. The fastest door to door is 1h 48m over 146 km, on services run by 2 operators across 1 mode.
What one seat costs
The spread between the cheapest and dearest typical fare on this corridor, across 2 operators and 1 way of making the journey. The operator sets the price on the day.
Typical fares · Priced for 5 October 2026
€16.29 to €22.89
- 207%Moves across the booking window
When it runs, leaving Durán
No operator has filed a timetable for this direction yet, so the first and last departure below follow the pattern of the corridor. Read them as the shape of the service day rather than as times to turn up for.
- 06:32First departure
- 07:30Last departure
- 6Services per day
- 33%Run direct
Tren Ecuador runs this service and does not sell it here. Bookaway takes the payment.
Buying this journey
Bookaway lists departures for Durán to El Empalme on your date, and you pay on their side.
See Durán to El Empalme on Bookaway
Partner link. We do not sell this ticket, and we earn nothing from this one.
Fares by date
What this journey usually costs, by departure date. It shows which days run dearer.
Typical fares
- about €43.24Sun20
- about €38.84Mon21
- about €28.94Tue22
- about €30.59Wed23
- about €36.64Thu24
- about €35.54Fri25
- about €30.59Sat26
- about €25.64Sun27
- about €22.89Mon28
- about €20.69Tue29
- about €21.24Wed30
- about €28.94Thu1
- about €28.39Fri2
- about €26.18Sat3
- about €22.34Sun4
- about €16.29Mon5
- about €17.94Tue6
- about €19.59Wed7
- about €26.19Thu8
- about €23.99Fri9
- about €23.44Sat10
Based on what this route has cost recently. The operator sets the price on the day, and the live fare is confirmed when you book.
The train gets you into El Empalme. It does not get you a bed, and neither do we.
A room in El Empalme for the night the train gets in
The search opens on El Empalme with your nights already filled in, so it is one step to a real price.
Search El Empalme on Booking.com
Partner links. We do not sell accommodation. We earn a commission when a booking completes, and it never changes what you pay.
When to book Durán to El Empalme
The same search run across the whole booking window, so the shape of the curve is visible rather than described.
- €23.9990 days
- €15.7460 days
- €14.0945 days
- €15.7430 days
- €23.4421 days
- €26.1814 days
- €30.597 days
- €28.943 days
- €43.241 days
- Cheapest lead time
- Fares bottom out around 45 days ahead, at €14.09.
- How much it moves
- The gap between the cheapest and dearest lead time is 207 percent. The dearest point is €43.24, 1 days out.
- What that means
- Today sits inside the cheap window, which closes about 45 days before departure. Waiting from here has usually cost money on this corridor rather than saved it.
Book now Fares on this route are lowest around 45 days ahead. You are inside that window.
This corridor, specifically
Facts that apply to Durán to El Empalme and to no other route on the site.
Clocks
Both ends keep the same time, so the arrival is the departure plus the journey.
The shape of it
146 km
127 km as the crow flies, 15% further by the route services take. The bearing runs north.
Who lives at each end
315,724 → 48,754
Population at the departure city and at the arrival city, which is usually what decides how often anything runs.
How we know
0/2
2 of these connections were inferred from service-area overlap rather than observed in a timetable. We would rather say so.
The route
What the journey looks like
Direct or connecting, how far the route really runs, and what happens when a connection is missed.
- Direct or connecting
- 33% of the services we sell on this corridor run through without a change. The remaining 67% involve one connection.
- How far it really runs
- The route covers 146 km against 127 km in a straight line, a detour of 15 percent. Track and road geometry account for the difference.
- Where the change is
- Connections are made at Latacunga, Babahoyo, Riobamba, Ambato. The gap between arriving and leaving is 60 minutes, of which about 5 is walking.
- If the connection is missed
- The tightest connection we sell here has a 16 percent chance of not being made on the timetable alone. Both legs are sold on one booking, so a missed connection is ours to fix and you are rebooked at no charge.
Who runs this route
El Empalme is small enough to see in an afternoon, which is easier without the luggage. Storing it is not our business.
Where to leave your bags in El Empalme
Shops, cafes and hotels that take luggage, with the opening hours on the map so you know what is still open when you come back.
Check El Empalme on StasherOr try Bounce
Partner links. We do not run these networks. We earn a commission on a booking, and the price is the same as going direct.
Questions about Durán to El Empalme
The questions people actually ask about this journey, answered from the same prices and times the page above is built on rather than written once and left to go stale.
How long does it take to get from Durán to El Empalme?
The fastest journey from Durán to El Empalme takes 1h 48m door to door, of which 1h 10m is spent moving, on the train. Most services take around 1h 53m, because that average includes slower stopping services and journeys with a connection. Times include reaching the terminal and leaving it at the far end.
How much does it cost to travel from Durán to El Empalme?
The cheapest fare from Durán to El Empalme is €16.29, as of 19 September 2026. A typical fare across the next three weeks is €28.12. Both figures are the total for one passenger, including taxes, supplier fees and our service fee, so nothing is added at checkout.
What is the cheapest way to get from Durán to El Empalme?
The cheapest way from Durán to El Empalme is by train, at €16.29 for one passenger on 5 October 2026. That journey takes 1h 54m door to door. Cheaper is rarely faster on this corridor, and the comparison table on this page shows what each mode costs against what it saves.
When should I book Durán to El Empalme?
Fares from Durán to El Empalme bottom out around 45 days before departure, at €14.09. Across the whole booking window the gap between the cheapest and the dearest lead time is 207 percent, measured on 19 September 2026. Booking inside the last week has consistently cost more on this corridor.
Which day of the week is cheapest for Durán to El Empalme?
Tuesday is the cheapest day to depart from Durán to El Empalme, at €20.69. That is the median of 21 priced departure days across the next three weeks, as of 19 September 2026. Shifting a departure by one day is usually worth more than shifting the booking by one week.
Which month is cheapest for Durán to El Empalme?
February is the cheapest of the next 5 months to travel from Durán to El Empalme, at €15.19 for one passenger. Each month is priced on its fifteenth, so the comparison is like for like rather than a mix of weekends and midweek departures.
Who runs services from Durán to El Empalme?
No operator record names Durán to El Empalme directly. Ferrocarriles del Ecuador, Tren Ecuador publish service areas covering both ends and may serve it, so we list them as possible operators rather than confirmed ones.
Is there a direct service from Durán to El Empalme?
33 percent of the services we sell from Durán to El Empalme are direct. The rest connect at Latacunga, Babahoyo, Riobamba, Ambato, with about 60 minutes between the two services. Both legs are sold on one booking, so a missed connection is rebooked at no charge.
Which station or terminal do services from Durán to El Empalme use?
Services from Durán to El Empalme by train leave from Eloy Alfaro station and arrive at El Empalme station. Allow about 44m in total for reaching the departure terminal and leaving the arrival one, which is already included in every door to door time on this page.
Can I change or refund a ticket from Durán to El Empalme?
2 of the 2 operators we sell from Durán to El Empalme allow a change or a refund. A change on a changeable fare costs €5.00. The operator table on this page names which is which, and the condition is shown again before you pay.
Where these numbers come from
Places, coordinates, operators, which operator serves which pair, and every distance on this page are real and come from open data. Where a corridor has a filed timetable the departure times are real too, and ferry fares are the prices the operators publish themselves.
Derived from service area No carrier record names this exact pair. The operators listed publish a service area covering both places at a distance their mode plausibly carries people, which is evidence that the corridor is served and not evidence of a specific service. Pages state which, because presenting the two as the same thing would be dishonest.
Where no operator publishes a fare for a corridor, the price here is our own estimate, worked out from the real distance and the real operator through a fare curve that follows lead time, day of the week and season. It tells you roughly what the journey costs. It is not a seat anyone has agreed to sell, and the payment step will not take it.
Defined in full at Door to door, Fares, The booking window, Carbon, Distances
- On this page
- Every figure above was computed for Durán to El Empalme on 19 September 2026: 146 km of route against 127 km in a straight line, 6 services a day, 2 operators a cheapest fare of €16.29, and 1h 48m door to door on the fastest mode. The return direction is computed separately and its numbers are not these numbers.
The train is the simple part. What you do once you are in El Empalme is somebody else's catalogue.
Day trips out of El Empalme and across Ecuador
Day trips that leave El Empalme in the morning and cover a good part of Ecuador by evening.
See El Empalme on CivitatisOr browse GetYourGuide
Partner links. We do not sell tours or tickets. We earn a commission on a booking, and it never changes the price.
The two ends, compared
Durán reaches 10 places in 1 countries on services we hold, over distances from 54 to 339 km. El Empalme reaches 11 places in 1 countries, from 85 to 229 km.
Other ways to make this journey
Leaving Durán
- 10Places you can leave for
- 1Countries
- 2Operators
Arriving in El Empalme
Leaving El Empalme
- 11Places you can leave for
- 1Countries
- 2Operators