As the third largest and second most populous country in
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
,
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
has developed an extensive transportation network to meet the needs of the economy. As with communications, transportation in Mexico is regulated by the
Secretariat of Communications and Transportation, (''Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes'', SCT) a
federal
Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to:
Politics
General
*Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies
*Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...
executive
Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to:
Role or title
* Executive, a senior management role in an organization
** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators
** Executive dire ...
cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filing ...
branch.
Roadways
The roadway network in Mexico is extensive and all areas in the country are covered by it.
[Mexico Infrastructure, power and Communications]
National Economies Encyclopedia. Retrieved 13 January 2007 The roadway network in Mexico has an extent of ,
[CIA - The World Factbook]
CIA World Factbook. Retrieved on 20
December 2010 of which are paved,
[Infraestructura Carretera]
. Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes. México. Retrieved 13 January 2007 making it the largest paved-roadway network in
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
. Of these, are multi-lane
expressways
Expressway may refer to:
*Controlled-access highway, the highest-grade type of highway with access ramps, lane markings, etc., for high-speed traffic.
*Limited-access road, a lower grade of highway or arterial road.
*Expressway, the fictional slide ...
: are four-lane highways and the rest have six or more lanes.
[
The highway network in Mexico is classified by number of lanes and type of access. The great majority of the network is composed of undivided or divided two-lane highways, with or without shoulders, and are known simply as ''carreteras''. Four or more-lane freeways or expressways, with restricted or unrestricted access, are known as ''autopistas''. Speed limits on two-lane highways can vary depending on terrain conditions. The speed limit on multi-lane freeways or expressways is on average 110 km/h (70 mph) for automobiles and 95 km/h (60 mph) for buses and trucks.
The expressways are for the most part ]toll roads
A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road (almost always a controlled-access highway in the present day) for which a fee (or '' toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemente ...
or ''autopistas de cuota''. Non-toll roads are referred to as ''carreteras libres'' (free-roads). Most toll expressways have emergency telephone booths, water wells, and emergency braking ramps at short intervals. The toll usually includes a "travelers' insurance" (''seguro del viajero'') for any accident occurring within the freeway. The toll expressways are on average among the most expensive in the world according to a comparative study realized in 2004 by the Chamber of Deputies
The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures.
Description
Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...
. The most traveled freeways are those that link the three most populous cities in Mexico— Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
, Guadalajara
Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...
, and Monterrey
Monterrey ( , ) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, Mexico, and the third largest city in Mexico behind Guadalajara and Mexico City. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the city is anchor ...
in the form of a triangle.[
No federal freeway or expressway crosses a city; toll expressways are either turned into toll bypasses (''libramientos''), often used as toll or free ring roads (''periféricos''), or are turned into major ]arterial roads
An arterial road or arterial thoroughfare is a high-capacity urban road that sits below freeways/motorways on the road hierarchy in terms of traffic flow and speed. The primary function of an arterial road is to deliver traffic from collector roa ...
even if they function as freeways with restricted access.
Mexican highways are assigned a one to three-digit number. North-south highways are assigned odd numbers whereas east-west highways are assigned even numbers. Toll expressways usually run parallel to a free road and so are assigned the same number with the letter "D" added. (For example, the undivided two-lane highway connecting Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
and Puebla
Puebla ( en, colony, settlement), officially Free and Sovereign State of Puebla ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its cap ...
is MX 150, and the six-lane toll expressway is MX 150D).
Mexico has had difficulty in building an integrated highway network because of the country's orography and landscape characteristics[Transportations and Telecommunications]
Mexico. Encyclopædia Britannica
The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various time ...
. Retrieved 14 January 2008—most of the country is crossed by high-altitude ranges of mountains. Over the last two decades, Mexico has made impressive investments in order to improve its road infrastructure and connect main cities and towns across the country. In spite of its extension and recent development, the roadway network in Mexico is still inadequate to meet the current needs of the population and except for the toll roads, and they are often inadequately maintained.[
An additional problem is that in the center of the country the roads run into Metropolitan Mexico City from regional centers, but there are few roads that run peripherically to connect the other regional centers without running through the congestion around the capital. The federal government, in partnership with the government of Mexico State and the Federal District, has tried to alleviate that problem by constructing a tolled Mexico City bypass highway, "Arco Norte," which was partially opened in 2009.][Arco Norte web site]
Retrieved 25 August 2010
Railroads
Mexico privatized its freight rail service with the dissolution of the former Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México
Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México (better known as N de M and especially in its final years as FNM) was Mexico's state owned railroad company from 1938 to 1998, and prior to 1938 (dating from the regime of Porfirio Díaz), a major railroad con ...
freight service in 1998. There is a Mexico City Metro
The Mexico City Metro ( es, Metro de la Ciudad de México) is a rapid transit system that serves the metropolitan area of Mexico City, including some municipalities in Mexico State. Operated by the Sistema de Transporte Colectivo (STC), it is ...
and a Monterrey Metro
Metrorrey, officially Sistema de Transporte Colectivo Metrorrey, is a light metro/rapid transit system in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico. Operations began in 1991. , the system operates 50 high-floor electric trains, along a total system of 40 st ...
as well as light rail systems operating in Mexico City (Xochimilco Light Rail
The Xochimilco Light Rail (locally known as el Tren Ligero and known by the government as Tren ligero de la Ciudad de México) is a light rail line that serves the southern part of Mexico City. It connects to, but is not considered a part of, th ...
), and Guadalajara ( Guadalajara light rail system).
The Secretariat of Communications and Transport
The Secretariat of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation (''Secretaría de Infraestructura, Comunicaciones y Transportes'', SICT) of Mexico is the national federal entity that regulates commercial road traffic and broadcasting. Its he ...
of Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
has proposed a high-speed rail link that would transport passengers from Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
to Guadalajara, Jalisco
Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Mexico, while the Guadalaj ...
, with stops in the cities of Querétaro
Querétaro (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Querétaro ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Querétaro, links=no; Otomi language, Otomi: ''Hyodi Ndämxei''), is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. I ...
, Guanajuato
Guanajuato (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guanajuato ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Guanajuato), is one of the 32 states that make up the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 46 municipalities and its capital city i ...
, Leon
Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to:
Places
Europe
* León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León
* Province of León, Spain
* Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...
and Irapuato; and a connected line running from the port city of Manzanillo to Aguascalientes
Aguascalientes (; ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Aguascalientes ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Aguascalientes), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. At 22°N and ...
. The train, which would travel at 300 km/h, allows passengers to travel from Mexico City to Guadalajara in just 2 hours (the same trip by road would last 7 hours).
Airports and air travel
Mexico has an extensive network of modern airports all throughout the territory;[Domestic Flights in Mexico]
Mexperience. Accessed 19 January 2008 flying domestically is considered efficient and safe.[ Airport infrastructure in Mexico is the most advanced in ]Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
:[Infrastructuras]
Información de México. Ministerio de Industria, Turismo y Comercio de España. all the cities with more than 500,000 inhabitants have an airport. There are 1834 airports in Mexico, the third-largest number of airports by country in the world. The seven largest airports—which absorb 90% of air travel—are (in order of air traffic): Mexico City International Airport
Mexico City International Airport ( es, link=yes, Aeropuerto Internacional de la Ciudad de México, AICM); officially ''Aeropuerto Internacional Benito Juárez'' (Benito Juárez International Airport) is the main international airport serving ...
, Cancún International Airport
Cancun International Airport ( es, Aeropuerto Internacional de Cancún) is located in Cancún, Quintana Roo, on the Caribbean coast of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula. It is Latin America's third and Mexico's second busiest airport, after Mexico Ci ...
, Don Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla International Airport (Guadalajara
Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...
), General Mariano Escobedo International Airport
Monterrey International Airport, ( es, link=yes, Aeropuerto Internacional de Monterrey, ), ceremonial name General Mariano Escobedo International Airport, is an international airport located in Apodaca, Nuevo León, Mexico. Together with Del N ...
(Monterrey
Monterrey ( , ) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, Mexico, and the third largest city in Mexico behind Guadalajara and Mexico City. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the city is anchor ...
), General Abelardo L. Rodríguez International Airport
General Abelardo L. Rodríguez International Airport ( es, Aeropuerto Internacional General Abelardo L. Rodríguez) or simply Tijuana International Airport ( es, Aeropuerto Internacional de Tijuana), , in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, is Mex ...
(Tijuana
Tijuana ( ,["Tijuana"](_blank)
(US) and [< ...]
), General Juan N. Álvarez International Airport
Acapulco International Airport, officially General Juan N. Álvarez International Airport , is the main airport of Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico, located from the city.
In 2020, the airport handled 395,948 passengers, and in 2021 it handled 670,2 ...
(Acapulco
Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , also , nah, Acapolco), is a city and major seaport in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semicircular bay and has bee ...
), and Lic. Gustavo Díaz Ordaz International Airport (Puerto Vallarta
Puerto Vallarta ( or simply Vallarta) is a Mexican beach resort city situated on the Pacific Ocean's Bahía de Banderas in the Mexican state of Jalisco.
Puerto Vallarta is the second largest urban agglomeration in the state after the Guadala ...
).[ All airports are privately owned, with the exception of Mexico City International Airport. This airport remains the largest in Latin America and the 44th largest in the world transporting close to 26 million passengers a year.
There are more than 70 domestic airline companies in Mexico.][ The major player in the industry is Aeroméxico, owned by ]Grupo Financiero Banamex
Grupo Financiero Banamex S.A. de C.V. has its origins and is the owner of the Banco Nacional de México or Citibanamex (formerly Banamex). It is the second-largest bank in Mexico. The Banamex Financial Group was purchased by Citigroup in August ...
. Mexicana de Aviación, the oldest airline in Mexico, was the second player of the industry until it ceased operations on August, 2010. Other small airlines include Aeroméxico Connect (Aeromexico regional subsidiary), Click Mexicana
MexicanaClick, formerly Click Mexicana, was Mexicana's regional operator, serving most of Mexicana's domestic routes between more than 25 Mexican cities. It was founded as a low-cost carrier, but changed its market to regional operations after ...
(Mexicana's low cost subsidiary), Aviacsa
Consorcio Aviaxsa, S.A. de C.V., doing business as Aviacsa, was a low-cost airline of Mexico with its headquarters in Hangar 1 of Zone C on the property of Mexico City International Airport in Venustiano Carranza, Mexico City, Mexico. The airlin ...
, Volaris
Volaris, legally ''Concesionaria Vuela Compañía de Aviación S.A.P.I. de C.V.'', is a Mexican low-cost airline based in Santa Fe (Mexico City), Santa Fe, Álvaro Obregón, D.F., Álvaro Obregón, Mexico City l-888-Ʒ9Ʒ-I394 with its hubs in M ...
, Interjet, TAR Aerolineas, Aeromar
Transportes Aeromar, S.A. de C.V, doing business as Aeromar, is a Mexican airline that operates scheduled domestic services in Mexico and international services to the United States, Guatemala, and Honduras. Its main base is Mexico City Internat ...
, VivaAerobus, Magnicharters and Republicair
Republic''A''ir was a Mexican airline founded in 2004. It is based at Toluca International Airport, in the city of Toluca, Mexico. Republicair was banned from its operations by DGAC in April 2007, but as of July 2007 they returned and restarted ...
.
The governments of the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and Mexico recently approved an agreement of "open skies", which allows low-cost carriers to operate point-to-point (direct) routes between American and Mexican cities.[ This will decentralize air traffic in ]North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
by bypassing major hubs and connecting smaller cities directly.
All travelers visitin
Mexico need to apply Mexico evisa
(known as: Forma Migratoria Múltiple). Foreign nationals may also need to apply for an additional visa, depending on their nationality.
Seaports
Mexico has 76 seaports and 10 river ports.
. Centro de Información y Documentación Empresarial sobre Iberoamérica The four major seaports concentrating around 60% of the merchandise traffic are Altamira and Veracruz
Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...
in the Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...
, and Manzanillo and Lázaro Cárdenas
Lázaro Cárdenas del Río (; 21 May 1895 – 19 October 1970) was a Mexican army officer and politician who served as president of Mexico from 1934 to 1940.
Born in Jiquilpan, Michoacán, to a working-class family, Cárdenas joined the M ...
in the Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
. These four seaports are followed in traffic by Acapulco, Puerto Vallarta, Guaymas, Tampico, Topolobampo, Mazatlán and Tuxpan
See also
* Telecommunications in Mexico
Mass media in Mexico are regulated by the Secretariat of Communication and Transportation (''Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes or SCT''), a federal executive cabinet ministry and by the Federal Telecommunications Institute (''Instit ...
* Transport in Mexico City
* Economy of Mexico
References
External links
*
Información de transporte en Mexico
*
Secretaria de Comunicaciones y Transportes portal
Information on Mexico Infrastructure Projects and related investments
MEXLIST general repository of Mexican railway information
(defuncional)
Annual conference in on Mexico Infrastructure Projects including energy, transportation, logistics and water
Directory of Mexican Bus Company categorized by City with updated timetables
{{Americas topic, Transport in