Rail transport in Mexico

Mexico has a freight railway system that is privately owned and extends across most of the country, connecting major industrial centers with ports and with rail connections at the United States border. Mexico's passenger rail service consisted of a limited number of tourist trains between 1997, when Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México suspended service, and 2008, when Ferrocarril Suburbano de la Zona Metropolitana de México inaugurated Mexico's first commuter rail service between Mexico City the State of Mexico.

History

Construction

Mexico's rail history began in 1837, with the granting of a concession for a railroad to be built between Veracruz on the Gulf of Mexico and Mexico City. However, no railroad was built based on that concession.

In 1857, Don Antonio Escandon secured the right to construct a line from the port of Veracruz on to Mexico City and onward to the Pacific Ocean. Revolution and political instability stifled progress on the financing or construction of the line until 1864, when under the regime of Emperor Maximilian, the Imperial Mexican Railway Company began construction on the line. Continued political upheaval continued to stifle progress and the initial segment from Veracruz to Mexico City was inaugurated nine years later on January 1, 1873 by President Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada.

President Lerdo, and his successor, Porfirio Díaz encouraged further rail development through generous concessions that included government subsidies for construction. At the beginning of Díaz's first term there were a total of 416 miles of track in service in Mexico. By the end of his second term in 1910, Mexico boasted 15,360 miles of in-service track, mostly built by American, British and French investors. [Fred Wilbur Powell, The Railroads of Mexico, 1921]

Growing nationalistic fervor in Mexico led the Díaz administration to bring the bulk of the nation's railroads under national control through a plan drafted by his Minister of Finance, José Yves Limantour. The plan, implemented in 1909, created a new government corporation, Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México (FNM), which would exercise control of the main trunk rail lines through a majority of share ownership in the rail lines.

Nationalization

The rail system suffered great deterioration from neglect during the period of the Mexican Revolution. Following the Revolution, the entirety of the Mexican rail system was nationalized between 1929 and 1937. In 1987, the government merged its five regional railroads into FNM. During the later period of national ownership, FNM suffered significant financial difficulties, running an operating deficit of $552 million (37 percent of its operating budget) in 1991. Competition from the trucking and shipping decreased railroad’s share of the total freight market to about 9 percent or about half of railroads share of a decade earlier.

Privatization

In 1995, the Mexican government announced that the FNM would be privatized and divided into four main systems. As part of the restructuring for privatization, FNM suspended passenger rail service in 1997.

In 1996, Kansas City Southern (KCS), in a joint venture with Transportacion Maritima Mexicana (TMM), bought the Northeast Railroad concession that linked Mexico City, Monterrey, the Pacific port at Lázaro Cárdenas and the border crossing at Laredo. The company was initially called Transportación Ferroviaria Mexicana, but was renamed Kansas City Southern de México (KCSM) in 2005 when KCS bought out TMM's interests. KCS's systems in the United States and Mexico jointly form end-to-end rail system linking the heartlands of Mexico and the United States.

The Northwest Railroad concession, connecting Mexico City and Guadalajara with the Pacific port of Manzanillo and various crossings along the United States border was sold to a joint venture between Grupo Mexico and Union Pacific Railroad in 1998. The company operates as Ferrocarril Mexicano or Ferromex.

There were two southern concessions, which were merged in 2000 to form Ferrosur. Ferrosur operates the rail line between Mexico City and the Gulf of Mexico port of Veracruz. In 2005, Ferrosur was purchased by Ferromex's parent company. KCSM challenged the acquisition and the merger failed to receive regulatory approval.

The three major Mexican railroads jointly own Ferrocarril y Terminal del Valle de México (Ferrovalle) which operates railroads and terminals in and around Mexico City.

Major Railroads

The major Class I freight railroads in Mexico include:

* Ferrocarril Mexicano (FXE)
* Ferrosur (FSRR)
* Kansas City Southern de México (KCSM)

Short line railroads include:

* Ferrocarril Chiapas-Mayab (FCCM) (also see Genesee and Wyoming)
* Linea Ferrocarril Coahuila-Durango (LFCD)
* Carrizo Gorge de Mexico (Carrizo Gorge Railway subsidiary)
* Ferrocarril y Terminal del Valle de México (Ferrovalle)
* Ferrocarril Transismitico
* Ferrocarriles Peninsulares del Noroeste (see Carrizo Gorge Railway) Passenger rail lines include:

* Ferrocarril Suburbano de la Zona Metropolitana de México (commuter rail system in the Mexico City metro area)
* Chihuahua al Pacífico (tourist train running through the Copper Canyon)
* Tequila Express (tourist train running from Guadalajara, Jalisco to a tequila distillery in Amatitán)

Railway links with adjacent countries

(from North to South)
* United States – yes - same 1435mm gauge
* Guatemala – yes – break-of-gauge 1435mm/914mm (Currently inactive or not in use)
* Belize – no railway to connect to
* FERISTSA Railway would connect Mexico with Panama - 1435mm gauge. [ [http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/FERISTSA Reference.com/Encyclopedia/FERISTSA ] ] fasho hoe

See also

* List of Mexican railroads
* Transportation in Mexico

External links

* [http://www.mexlist.com/railways.htm The Mexican Railways]
* [http://www.estaciontorreon.galeon.com/productos627821.html History of Mexico's Railroads] (in Spanish)
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=AvxLAAAAIAAJ The Railroads of Mexico] by Fred Wilbur Powell on Google Books

References