El Chepe covers some 400 miles connecting the State of
Sinaloa to the State of Chihuahua and takes tourists to México’s Copper
Canyon.
On a second try in 1857, Don Antonio Escandon obtained the right to build a rail line from the port of Veracruz into the city of Veracruz and then on to México City. Political instability and inadequate financing delayed the beginning of construction for seven years, when Emperor Maximilian created the Imperial Mexican Railway Company and began construction. However, since his tenure as Emperor was short lived (3 years) and tumultuous on top of that, little was accomplished and the initial segment from the City of Veracruz to México City was not inaugurated until nine years later on January 1, 1873.
México’s rail service remained small until Porfirio Díaz assumed power in 1876. At that time México had 640 kilometers (398 miles) of rail lines, the vast majority of which was owned by the British. When Díaz left office in 1911 México boasted 24,720 kilometers (15,360 miles) of rail lines. However, these lines were not built by the government, but rather through concessions made to investors from America, Great Britain, and France.
Towards the end of his reign a growing sense of nationalism caused Díaz to bring the operation of the railroads under government supervision by the creation of Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México (FNM).
When Francisco Madero led the uprising against the autocrat Díaz in 1910, which started the Mexican Revolution, it was the beginning of the country’s rail lines falling into disrepair.
When the Revolution was over, México’s rail system was in shambles and between 1927 and 1937 the government nationalized its railroads. However, the FNM was unable to profitably operate them and by 1990 its balance sheet and operating statements were covered in red ink.
In 1995 the Mexican government under President Ernesto Zedillo privatized its railroads and terminated all passenger service in 1997.
As of today the only passenger rail lines in México are the Chihuahua-Pacifico train, José Cuervo Express, Pacific Southwest Railway Museum, Tequila Express, Tren a Tecate, and Tren Turistico Tijuana-Tecate.
The longest of these rail lines is the Chihuahua-Pacifico train or El Chepe, as it is commonly known. El Chepe covers some 400 miles connecting the State of Sinaloa to the State of Chihuahua and takes tourists to México’s Copper Canyon. The other passenger lines are primarily targeted to tourists.
The only other passenger service is a few metro commuter service systems in México City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey.
Other than this limited passenger service; México’s rail lines have serviced only cargo since 1997 and the number of miles of rail lines has fallen to about 10,000. Therefore when México’s President Enrique Peña Nieto announced in his December 1, 2012, inaugural address a multibillion-dollar plan to restore passenger rail service in México, most were caught by surprise.
His proposals started with the completion of a rail line across the Yucatan Peninsula linking the city of Merida to the beach resorts of the Mayan Riviera.
The Mexican states of Yucatan, Quintana Roo, and Campeche have been working on getting a high speed rail line to connect their states for some time. In June of 2011 Secretary of Public Works for the State of Yucatán, Francisco Torres Rivas, said that in September of that year the state would submit its request for proposals for the project, which has been described as historic, because, as he said, “in 100 years México has not made an investment in the rail system in the country.”
Officials estimated that at least a million people would ride the train each year and thousands of tons of cargo could be transported. The train was intended to run in the morning and the evening, as promoted by Yucatan Governor Ivonne Ortega Pacheco. The first run was to be exclusively for passengers and the second for cargo.
Torres Rivas said at that time the state had been contacted by representatives from Great Britain, China, Germany, France, and México who were interested in participating in the project.
Additionally, to determine the cost/benefit of the project the World Bank financed a survey of 8,000 people who travel between Merida and Cancún. The consensus was that a trans-peninsular fast train was the optimal solution.
When Nieto expanded somewhat on his support of the trans-peninsular train, he limited the train service to connecting Merida and the beach resorts of the Mayan Riviera at Punta Venado with links to the Mayan archaeological sites of Chichén Itzá and Tulum. The State of Campeche and the city of Cancún got relegated to “future expansion.”
In January of this year the Secretary of Communications & Transport (SCT), Gerardo Ruiz Esparza, announced that the federal government had signed a cooperation agreement with the state of Yucatán, covering the new rail line for passengers and freight traffic from Mérida to Puerto Venado.
At that time the Secretary of SCT said that the spending of 30 million pesos ($2.35 million) on the project in 2013 had already been approved, including environmental studies and the preparation of a business plan, which would enable the rail line to begin “as soon as possible.”
The plans call for upgrading and incorporating existing infrastructure between Mérida and Valladolid, Yucatán. The 278 km (173 miles) route across the Yucatán Peninsula is to be engineered for passenger trains operating at up to between 160 km/h (99 mi/h) and 180 km/h (112 mi/h).
Some are saying the railway will be carrying passengers to the Mayan Riviera next year. I am not holding my breath. Nevertheless, I do believe in my lifetime cruise ship passengers and college kids will be partying in air-conditioned rail cars while the scenery flies by at 110 mph.
The most ambitious high speed rail line is the one proposed for México City and Querétaro. The city of Querétaro, in the state with the same name, lies 120 miles northwest of México City. It is one of México’s fastest growing manufacturing towns and has become the center for the country’s aerospace industry. This high speed rail line is estimated to cost $4.5 billion.
The SCT has acknowledged that engineers were still drawing up feasibility studies and cost estimates for the México City-Queretaro project, which envisions 100,000 daily passengers riding the rails between the cities by 2016 and construction underway within a year.
The third big project, not that they are all not “big,” is a high speed line connecting Toluca, the Capital of the State of México, to México City. The 60 km (37 mi) long railroad line will have 5 km (3 mi) of tunnels, 40 km (25mi) of viaducts and 15 km (9mi) directly above ground. It is projected to carry 250,000 passengers a day at its commissioning in late 2017, foreseeing an increase of up to 400,000 passengers per day in 2042.
The SCT has said that these three projects would represent a total investment of around of 95 billion pesos ($7.4 billion). .
Pablo Suarez, Director General of Transporte Ferroviario y Multimodal (Department of Rail and Intermodal Transport) in the SCT, said authorities are in the process of determining whether it will operate these new rail lines under a concession scheme or through public-private partnerships.
Whichever way they go, the railway companies IAMSA, PCZ Solucione Ferroviarias,CAF, and Bombardier are all interested in participating in these projects.
Bombardier, a Canadian firm has said that it is the only competitor in the sector that can take trains from design to commissioning. It already has a work force of 20,000 workers in México. A spokesperson for Bombardier pointed out it has the ability to produce a locomotive a day at its main plant in Ciudad Sahagun, in the state of Hidalgo.
Do I think these projects will be completed on time? No. But, I do believe that high speed passenger trains are in México’s future.
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