The Interoceanic Railway of Mexico (''Ferrocarril Interoceánico de México'') was one of the primary pre- nationalization railways of Mexico. Incorporated in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

in 1888 to complete an unfinished project and compete with the

Mexican Railway The Mexican Railway (''Ferrocarril Mexicano'') was one of the primary pre- nationalization railways of Mexico. Incorporated in London in September 1864 as the Imperial Mexican Railway (''Ferrocarril Imperial Mexicano'') to complete an earlier ...

, it completed a

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

main line from

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...

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 1891. Branches included Mexico City to

Puente de Ixtla Puente de Ixtla is a city in the Mexican state of Morelos. It stands at . The city serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of the same name. The municipality reported 66,435 inhabitants in the year 2015 census. The town gets ...

(the constructed part of an incomplete line to Acapulco), Puebla to Cuautla, Atencingo to Tlancualpicán, and a cutoff between Oriental and Santa Clara (bypassing Puebla). Through subsidiary Mexican Eastern Railroad, the Interoceanic acquired a branch from

San Marcos San Marcos is the Spanish name of Saint Mark. It may also refer to: Towns and cities Argentina * San Marcos, Salta Colombia * San Marcos, Antioquia * San Marcos, Sucre Costa Rica * San Marcos, Costa Rica (aka San Marcos de Tarrazú) ...

Teziutlán Teziutlán is a city in the northeast of the Mexican state of Puebla. Its 2005 census population was 60,597. It also serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding Teziutlán Municipality. The municipality has an area of 84.2 km2 (32.51 ...

in 1902, and in January 1910 it began operating the Mexican Southern Railway from Puebla to

Oaxaca Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of Mexico. It is ...

under lease. The

Mexican government The Federal government of Mexico (alternately known as the Government of the Republic or ' or ') is the national government of the United Mexican States, the central government established by its constitution to share sovereignty over the republi ...

acquired control of the Interoceanic in 1903, and subsequently sold it to the

National Railroad of Mexico The National Railroad of Mexico (''Ferrocarril Nacional de México'') was one of the primary pre- nationalization railways of Mexico. Incorporated in Colorado in 1880 as the Mexican National Railway (''Ferrocarril Nacional Mexicano''), and head ...

in exchange for ownership of that company.Fred Wilbur Powell
The Railroads of Mexico
Stratford Company (Boston), 1921, pp. 139-147 Manual of Statistics Company (New York)
The Manual of Statistics: Stock Exchange Hand-Book
1908, pp. 163-164 Although the National Railroad became part of the

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 ...

(''National Railways of Mexico'') in January 1909, the Interoceanic and its two subsidiaries remained separate companies. Poor's Manual Company (New York)
Poor's Intermediate Manual of Railroads
1917, pp. 928-946 Following

privatization Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...

in the 1990s, Transportación Ferroviaria Mexicana (now

Kansas City Southern de México Kansas City Southern de México (KCSM), formerly Transportación Ferroviaria Mexicana (TFM), is a company dedicated to freight transportation using rail in the northeastern part of Mexico. KCSM is fully owned and operated by Kansas City Southern ...

) acquired most of the main line of the former Interoceanic, while several branches, including the old line to Puebla and the Mexican Southern, were assigned to

Ferromex Ferromex (syllabic abbreviation of Ferrocarril Mexicano or "Mexican Railway") is a private rail consortium that operates the largest (by mileage) railway in Mexico with combined mileage (Ferromex + Ferrosur) of and is part of the North American ...

. A portion of the former Interoceanic and a station have been preserved as a heritage railway and

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...

in Cuautla.

References

External links

*�
Rinconestudiantil.com: Photos of the heritage railway in Cuautla
*�

{{authority control Heritage railways in Mexico Defunct railway companies of Mexico 3 ft gauge railways in Mexico Museums in Morelos Railway museums in Mexico Railway companies established in 1888 Railway lines opened in 1891 Railway companies disestablished in 1903 Porfiriato Transport companies disestablished in 1903

See also

References

External links