Nowadays, with its original character largely unchanged, it operates as a heritage railway and was made internationally famous by the 1978 Paul Theroux book The Old Patagonian Express, which described it as the railway almost at the end of the world.
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The line is in possession of 22 steam locomotives, 11 Henschel and 11 Baldwins 2-8-2 "Mikado" type locomotives, 7 of which are currently operable, 2 Baldwin and 3 Henschel in the Maitén - Esquel section, and 2 Baldwin locomotives in the Jacobacci section.
Another important tourist attraction is the narrow-gauge train (with 75 cm between the rails), known as La Trochita locally and in English as The Old Patagonian Express, after the book by Paul Theroux.