Rail transport in Mexico
Encyclopedia
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...
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
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...
suspended service, and 2008, when Ferrocarril Suburbano de la Zona Metropolitana de México inaugurated Mexico's first commuter rail service between Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
and the State of Mexico.
Construction
Veracruz
Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave , is one of the 31 states that, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided in 212 municipalities and its capital city is...
on the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
and Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
. 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
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
. 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
Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada
Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada y Corral was a jurist and Liberal president of Mexico.-Background:...
.
President Lerdo, and his successor, Porfirio Díaz
Porfirio Díaz
José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori was a Mexican-American War volunteer and French intervention hero, an accomplished general and the President of Mexico continuously from 1876 to 1911, with the exception of a brief term in 1876 when he left Juan N...
encouraged further rail development through generous concessions that included government subsidies for construction. At the beginning of Díaz's first term "Porfirio Diaz had inherited 640 kilometers of railroads that consisted almost exclusively of the British-owned Mexican Railway . By the end of his second term in 1910, Mexico boasted 15360 miles (24,719.5 km) of in-service track, mostly built by American, British and French investors.
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
José Yves Limantour
José Yves Limantour was a Mexican politician, Secretary of the Finance of Mexico from 1893 until the fall of the Porfirio Díaz regime in 1911.José Yves Limantour was the illegitimate son of Joseph Yves Limantour....
. The plan, implemented in 1909, created a new government corporation, 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...
(FNM), which would exercise control of the main trunk rail lines through a majority of share ownership in the rail lines.
Nationalization
Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution was a major armed struggle that started in 1910, with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against longtime autocrat Porfirio Díaz. The Revolution was characterized by several socialist, liberal, anarchist, populist, and agrarianist movements. Over time the 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
Kansas City Southern Railway
The Kansas City Southern Railway , owned by Kansas City Southern Industries, is the smallest and second-oldest Class I railroad company still in operation. KCS was founded in 1887 and is currently operating in a region consisting of ten central U.S. states...
(KCS), in a joint venture with Transportacion Maritima Mexicana (TMM), bought the Northeast Railroad concession that linked Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
, Monterrey
Monterrey
Monterrey , is the capital city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León in the country of Mexico. The city is anchor to the third-largest metropolitan area in Mexico and is ranked as the ninth-largest city in the nation. Monterrey serves as a commercial center in the north of the country and is the...
, the Pacific
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
port at Lázaro Cárdenas
Lázaro Cárdenas, Michoacán
Lázaro Cárdenas is a port city that with its surrounding municipality is located in the southern part of the Mexican state of Michoacán. It was formerly known as Los Llanitos, but changed its name as a tribute to Lázaro Cárdenas del Río, a Michoacán-born politician who was president of Mexico from...
and the border crossing at Laredo
Laredo-Nuevo Laredo Metropolitan Area
The Laredo-Nuevo Laredo Metropolitan Area is one of six bi-national metropolitan areas along the United States-Mexican border. The city of Laredo is situated in the American state of Texas on the northern bank of the Rio Grande and Nuevo Laredo is located in the Mexican State of Tamaulipas in the...
. 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
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...
with the Pacific port of Manzanillo
Manzanillo, Colima
The name Manzanillo refers to the city as well as its surrounding municipality in the Mexican state of Colima. The city, located on the Pacific Ocean, contains Mexico's busiest port. Manzanillo was the third port created by the Spanish in the Pacific during the New Spain period...
and various crossings along the United States border was sold to a joint venture between Grupo Mexico
Grupo México
Grupo México is the largest mining corporation in Mexico and the third largest copper producer in the world.Ferrocarril Mexicano , the company's rail transport division, operates the nation's largest rail fleet.-History:...
and Union Pacific Railroad
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
in 1998 during the presidency of Dr. Ernesto Zedillo (which later occupied the position of Director of the Board of Union Pacific). The company operates as Ferrocarril Mexicano or Ferromex
Ferromex
Ferromex is a private rail consortium that operates the largest railroad in Mexico.-Description:...
. Ferromex's freight volumes have increased; it hauled a record 22,365 million tonne-km in the first 6 months of 2010. Also, Ferrosur, the railroad serving Mexico City and cities/ports southeast of Mexico City, hauled their own record 3,565 million tonne-kilometers.
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
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
port of Veracruz
Veracruz, Veracruz
Veracruz, officially known as Heroica Veracruz, is a major port city and municipality on the Gulf of Mexico in the Mexican state of Veracruz. The city is located in the central part of the state. It is located along Federal Highway 140 from the state capital Xalapa, and is the state's most...
. 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
Ferrocarril y Terminal del Valle de México
The Ferrocarril y Terminal del Valle de México is a company that operates railroads and terminals in and around Mexico City, the capital of Mexico. It is jointly owned by Kansas City Southern de Mexico, Ferromex and Ferrosur....
(Ferrovalle) which operates railroads and terminals in and around Mexico City.
A tram system was also planned in Mexico City, but the project was halted in 2008.
High Speed Rail
The Secretariat of Communications and Transport of MexicoMexico
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...
proposed a high-speed rail link that will transport its passengers from Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
to Guadalajara
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...
, Jalisco
Jalisco
Jalisco officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in Western Mexico and divided in 125 municipalities and its capital city is Guadalajara.It is one of the more important states...
, with stops in the cities of Querétaro
Santiago de Querétaro
Santiago de Querétaro is the capital and largest city of the state of Querétaro, located in central Mexico. It is located 213 km northwest of Mexico City, 96 km southeast of San Miguel de Allende and 200 km south of San Luis Potosí...
, Guanajuato
Guanajuato
Guanajuato officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Guanajuato is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 46 municipalities and its capital city is Guanajuato....
, Leon
León, Guanajuato
The city of León, formally León de los Aldama is the sixth most populous city in Mexico and the first in the state of Guanajuato. It is also the seat of the municipality of León...
and Irapuato; and a connected line running from the port city of Manzanillo
Manzanillo, Colima
The name Manzanillo refers to the city as well as its surrounding municipality in the Mexican state of Colima. The city, located on the Pacific Ocean, contains Mexico's busiest port. Manzanillo was the third port created by the Spanish in the Pacific during the New Spain period...
to Aguascalientes
Aguascalientes
Aguascalientes is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 11 municipalities and its capital city is Aguascalientes....
. The train which would travel at 300 km/h allows passengers to travel from Mexico City to Guadalajara in just 2 hours at an affordable price (the same trip by road would last 7 hours). The network would also connect the network to Monterrey
Monterrey
Monterrey , is the capital city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León in the country of Mexico. The city is anchor to the third-largest metropolitan area in Mexico and is ranked as the ninth-largest city in the nation. Monterrey serves as a commercial center in the north of the country and is the...
, Chilpancingo
Chilpancingo
Chilpancingo de los Bravo is the capital and second-largest city of the state of Guerrero, Mexico. It is located at . In the 2005 census the population of the city was 166,796. Its surrounding municipality, of which it is municipal seat, had a population of 214,219 persons...
, Cuernavaca
Cuernavaca
Cuernavaca is the capital and largest city of the state of Morelos in Mexico. It was established at the archeological site of Gualupita I by the Olmec, "the mother culture" of Mesoamerica, approximately 3200 years ago...
, Toluca
Toluca
Toluca, formally known as Toluca de Lerdo, is the state capital of Mexico State as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. It is the center of a rapidly growing urban area, now the fifth largest in Mexico. It is located west-southwest of Mexico City and only about 40 minutes by car to the...
, Puebla
Puebla
Puebla officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 217 municipalities and its capital city is Puebla....
, Tijuana
Tijuana
Tijuana is the largest city on the Baja California Peninsula and center of the Tijuana metropolitan area, part of the international San Diego–Tijuana metropolitan area. An industrial and financial center of Mexico, Tijuana exerts a strong influence on economics, education, culture, art, and politics...
, Hermosillo
Hermosillo
Hermosillo is a city and municipality located centrally in the northwestern Mexican state of Sonora. It is the capital and main economic center for the state and region. It contains almost all of the state's manufacturing and has thirty percent of its population...
, Cordoba
Córdoba, Veracruz
Córdoba, officially known as Heroica Córdoba, is a city and the seat of the municipality of the same name in the Mexican state of Veracruz. It was founded in 1618....
, Veracruz
Veracruz
Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave , is one of the 31 states that, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided in 212 municipalities and its capital city is...
, Oaxaca
Oaxaca
Oaxaca , , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca is one of the 31 states which, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided into 571 municipalities; of which 418 are governed by the system of customs and traditions...
, Colima
Colima
Colima is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It shares its name with its capital and main city, Colima....
, Zacatecas
Zacatecas
Zacatecas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Zacatecas is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and its capital city is Zacatecas....
, Torreon
Torreón
Torreón is a city and seat of the surrounding municipality of the same name in the Mexican state of Coahuila. As of 2010, the city's population was 608,836 with 639,629 in the municipality. The metropolitan population, including Matamoros, Coahuila, and Gómez Palacio and Lerdo in adjacent Durango,...
, Chihuahua, Puebla
Puebla
Puebla officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 217 municipalities and its capital city is Puebla....
, San Luis Potosi
San Luis Potosí
San Luis Potosí officially Estado Libre y Soberano de San Luis Potosí is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and its capital city is San Luis Potosí....
, Mexicali
Mexicali
Mexicali is the capital of the State of Baja California, seat of the Municipality of Mexicali, and 2nd largest city in Baja California. The City of Mexicali has a population of 689,775, according to the 2010 census, while the population of the entire metropolitan area reaches 936,826.The city...
Saltillo
Saltillo
Saltillo is the capital city of the northeastern Mexican state of Coahuila and the municipal seat of the municipality of the same name. The city is located about 400 km south of the U.S. state of Texas, and 90 km west of Monterrey, Nuevo León....
and Acapulco
Acapulco
Acapulco is a city, municipality and major sea port in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific coast of Mexico, southwest from Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semi-circular bay and has been a port since the early colonial period of Mexico’s history...
by 2015. The whole project was projected to cost 240 billion pesos, or about 25 billion dollars. Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim
Carlos Slim Helú
Carlos Slim Helú is a Mexican business magnate and philanthropist who as of 2011 is the richest person in the world, for the second year in a row...
expressed an interest in investing in high speed rail.
Major railways
- FerromexFerromexFerromex is a private rail consortium that operates the largest railroad in Mexico.-Description:...
(FXE) - Kansas City Southern de México (KCSM)
Short line railroads include:
- Ferrocarril y Terminal del Valle de MéxicoFerrocarril y Terminal del Valle de MéxicoThe Ferrocarril y Terminal del Valle de México is a company that operates railroads and terminals in and around Mexico City, the capital of Mexico. It is jointly owned by Kansas City Southern de Mexico, Ferromex and Ferrosur....
(Ferrovalle) - Linea Coahuila DurangoLinea Coahuila DurangoThe Línea Coahuila Durango is a short-line railroad company operating between the states of Durango and Coahuila in Mexico. It was created as a freight railroad company when the Ferrocarriles Nacionales de Mexico was privatized between 1997 and 1998. It started operations on 27 April 1998...
(LFCD) - Ferrosur (FSRR)
- Carrizo Gorge de Mexico (Carrizo Gorge Railway subsidiary)
- Ferrocarril Transistmico
- Ferrocarriles Peninsulares del Noroeste (see Carrizo Gorge Railway)
Passenger rail lines include:
- Expreso Maya (tourist train that runs from PalenquePalenquePalenque was a Maya city state in southern Mexico that flourished in the 7th century. The Palenque ruins date back to 100 BC to its fall around 800 AD...
to Mérida, YucatánMérida, YucatánMérida is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of Yucatán and the Yucatán Peninsula. It is located in the northwest part of the state, about from the Gulf of Mexico coast...
) - Ferrocarril Suburbano de la Zona Metropolitana de México (commuter rail system in the Mexico CityMexico CityMexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
metro area) - Chihuahua al PacíficoChihuahua al PacíficoThe Ferrocarril Chihuahua al Pacífico , also known as El Chepe from its reporting mark CHP, or Ferrocarril Chihuahua-Pacífico is a major rail line in northwest Mexico, linking the city of Chihuahua, Chihuahua, to the city of Los Mochis, Sinaloa and its port Topolobampo...
(tourist train running through the Copper CanyonCopper CanyonCopper Canyon is a group of canyons consisting of six distinct canyons in the Sierra Tarahumara in the southwestern part of the state of Chihuahua in Mexico...
) - Tequila ExpressTequila ExpressThe Tequila Express is a Mexican regional train service that operates from Guadalajara, Jalisco, to the Tequila Herradura distillery at the San José del Refugio Hacienda in the municipality of Amatitán, Jalisco. Amatitán is approximately northwest of Guadalajara and southeast of the town of...
(tourist train running from Guadalajara, JaliscoGuadalajara, JaliscoGuadalajara 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 a tequilaTequilaTequila 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....
distillery in AmatitánAmatitanAmatitán is the head of a municipality in the Mexican state of Jalisco, and is home to one of the world's largest tequila distilleries....
)
Museums
There are several rail museums in Mexico including: the Old Train Station and Railway MuseumOld Train Station and Railway Museum
The Old Train Station and Railway Museum is located in the city of Aguascalientes, in the state of Aguascalientes, in Mexico.Aguascalientes was once the largest hub in Mexico's rail system, and it held the largest workshop and warehouse complex in all Latin America.The museum consists of two...
in Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes
Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes
The city of Aguascalientes is the capital of the state of Aguascalientes in western central Mexico. It stands on the banks of the Río Aguascalientes, 1880 meters above sea level, at...
;
a former station along the Interoceanic Railway of Mexico in Cuautla, Morelos
Cuautla, Morelos
Cuautla , officially La heroica e histórica Cuautla de Morelos, or H. H. Cuautla de Morelos, is a city and municipality in the Mexican state of Morelos. In the 2005 census the city population was 145,482 and the municipality population was 160,285. The municipality covers 153.651 km²...
which serves as a museum;
the Museo de las Ferrocarilles en Yucatán is in Mérida, Yucatán
Mérida, Yucatán
Mérida is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of Yucatán and the Yucatán Peninsula. It is located in the northwest part of the state, about from the Gulf of Mexico coast...
;
and the National Railway Museum in Puebla, Puebla
Puebla, Puebla
The city and municipality of Puebla is the capital of the state of Puebla, and one of the five most important colonial cities in Mexico. Being a planned city, it is located to the east of Mexico City and west of Mexico's main port, Veracruz, on the main route between the two.The city was founded...
.
Railway links with adjacent countries
- United StatesRail transport in the United StatesPresently, most rail transport in the United States is based on freight train shipments. The U.S. rail industry has experienced repeated convulsions due to changing U.S. economic needs and the rise of automobile, bus, and air transport....
– yes - same gauge 1435mm (4 ft 8½ in) - GuatemalaRail transport in GuatemalaAlthough Guatemala still has a network of narrow gauge railroads, no passenger or freight trains currently run, except for occasional chartered tourist trains.- History :...
– yes – break-of-gaugeBreak-of-gaugeWith railways, a break-of-gauge occurs where a line of one gauge meets a line of a different gauge. Trains and rolling stock cannot run through without some form of conversion between gauges, and freight and passengers must otherwise be transloaded...
gauge 1435mm (4 ft 8½ in)/ (Currently inactive or not in use) - FERISTSAFERISTSAFERISTSA was the name of a proposed USD $3 billion privately owned commercial railroad going from the Panama Canal Railway Company through the entire length of Central America, linking with Mexico's rail system at the Guatemala border, and thus to the United States of America.- Description :The...
railway was proposed, which would connect Mexico with Panama
See also
- List of Mexican railroads
- Transportation in MexicoTransportation in MexicoTransportation and Communications in Mexico may refer to:* Communications in Mexico* Transportation in Mexico...
External links
- The Mexican Railways
- History of Mexico's Railroads (in Spanish)
- The Railroads of Mexico by Fred Wilbur Powell on Google Books
- Ferrocarril Coahuila Durango
- Ferromex
- Ferrosur
- Kansas City Southern
- Ferrocarril Y Terminal Del Valle De Mexico
- Mexican government: Secretary of Communication & Transport