Ferromex

Infobox SG rail
railroad_name=Ferromex
system_

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map_size=300
locale=Mexico
start_year=1998
end_year=present
hq_city=

Ferromex (a contraction of "Ferrocarril Mexicano" or "Mexican Railroad") is a private rail consortium that operates the largest (by mileage) railroad in Mexico.

Description

Ferromex began operating on February 19, 1998, following the privatization of most of the government-owned railroads. The Ferromex system operates over more than 8,500 kilometers of track and interconnects five major inland Mexican cities, five cities along the border with the United States, four seaports on the Pacific Ocean and one more on the Gulf of Mexico. Currently, Grupo Mexico owns 74% and Union Pacific 26% of the company.

Passenger Services

Ferromex also operates the Chihuahua al Pacífico "ChePe" railroad, on which operates a tourist line that runs through the Copper Canyon. Ferromex also operates the Tequila Express which runs from Guadalajara, Jalisco to a tequila refinery in Amatitán, Jalisco.

Merger with Ferrosur

In November of 2005, Grupo Mexico, owner of Ferromex purchased Infraestructura y Transportes Ferroviarios, the parent company of Ferrosur, another of Mexico's Class I railroads, in a US$309 million stock transaction. [FWN Select, "Grupo Mexico Buys Ferrosur Railway From Carso" (Nov. 25, 2005)] [cite journal
month=March
year=2006
title=Abandonments & Acquisitions
journal=Trains Magazine
pages=p 15
volume=66
issue=3
id=ISSN 0041-0934] The Mexican Federal Competition Commission (CFC) had rejected a proposed 2002 merger of Ferromex and Ferrosur amid opposition from Ferromex competitor, Grupo Transportación Ferroviaria Mexicana (TFM). [FWN Select, "Mexico's Antitrust Agency To Study Railway Merger" (Nov. 28, 2005)]

Following the November 2005 purchase of Ferrosur by Grupo Mexico, Kansas City Southern de México (KCSM), successor to TFM, petitioned the Mexican government to block the merger of Ferrosur and Ferromex. The CFC rejected the merger in June of 2006 stating that the merger would have led to excessive concentration in the railroad industry to the detriment of consumers and competing shippers. [FWN Select, "Mexico's Antitrust Commission Rejects Rail Merger Appeal" (Nov. 15, 2006)] The Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation upheld the CFC's rejection of the merger in April of 2007 and the CFC has embarked on investigations into whether the two firms fix prices, agree on which markets each firm will compete in, or cut back supply, and has threatened sanctions against Grupo Mexico for anticompetitive practices. [The America's Intelligence Wire, "Supreme court upholds CFC suspension of Ferromex-Ferrosur merger - Mexico"(April 24, 2007)]

Grupo Mexico has stated that it would consider selling its railroad assets if its litigation to push through the merger of Ferromex and Ferrosur were to fail.

See also

* Rail transport in Mexico
* List of Mexican railroads
* Chihuahua al Pacifico
* Tequila Express

References

External links

* [http://www.ferromex.com.mx Ferromex Web site (in Spanish)]
* [http://mexlist.com MEXLIST—The Group for Mexican Railway Information]