The Mexican Railway (''Ferrocarril Mexicano'') was one of the primary pre-

nationalization Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization contrasts with p ...

railways of Mexico. Incorporated in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in September 1864 as the Imperial Mexican Railway (''Ferrocarril Imperial Mexicano'') to complete an earlier project, it was renamed in July 1867 after the

Second French Empire The Second French Empire, officially the French Empire, was the government of France from 1852 to 1870. It was established on 2 December 1852 by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, president of France under the French Second Republic, who proclaimed hi ...

withdrew from Mexico.

History

The main line from

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...

was dedicated on January 1, 1873, by President

Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada y Corral (; 24 April 1823 – 21 April 1889) was a Mexican liberal politician and jurist who served as the 31st president of Mexico from 1872 to 1876. A successor to Benito Juárez, who died in office in July 1872, ...

; branches connected Ometusco to

Pachuca Pachuca (; ), formally known as Pachuca de Soto, is the capital and largest city of the east-central Mexico, Mexican States of Mexico, state of Hidalgo (state), Hidalgo, located in the south-central part of the state. Pachuca Municipality, Pach ...

and

Apizaco Apizaco is a city in Apizaco Municipality located near the geographic center of the Mexican state of Tlaxcala, approximately 25 minutes by car from the state's capital city of Tlaxcala. Those seeking to reach the port of Veracruz by railroad fr ...

Puebla Puebla, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Puebla, is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its capital is Puebla City. Part of east-centr ...

.Fred Wilbur Powell
The Railroads of Mexico
Stratford Company (Boston), 1921, pp. 102-103 Manual of Statistics Company (New York)
The Manual of Statistics: Stock Exchange Hand-Book
1908, pp. 195-196 The between Esperanza and

Paso del Macho Paso del Macho is a municipality in the Mexican state of Veracruz. It is located in the central zone of the state, about from the state capital, Xalapa. It has an area of . It is located at . Geography The municipality of Paso del Macho is del ...

were

electrically Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...

operated beginning in the 1920s. The Mexican Railway remained independent of the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

-owned

Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México ''Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México'' (better known as N de M and after 1987 as Ferronales or FNM) or ''National Railways of Mexico'' was Mexico's state owned railroad company from 1938 to 1998, and prior to 1938 (dating from the regime of P ...

(''National Railways of Mexico'') until the government gained control in June 1946 and merged the property in March 1959. Following

privatization Privatization (rendered 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 w ...

in the 1990s,

Ferrosur The Ferrocarril del Sureste (English: "Southeastern Railway"), commonly known by the syllabic abbreviation Ferrosur, is a railway that serves the southeastern regions of Mexico. The company was formed in 1998, following the privatization of Mex ...

acquired the lines of the former Mexican Railway.

Passenger transport

Although the Mexico City-Veracruz line, formerly the Mexican Railway, is currently a freight rail line, it has historically been used for passenger service as well.

The ''Jarocho''

Many passenger trains of the ''

'' were named after the city they connected Mexico City's Buenavista station with. Therefore, the ''

Jarocho Jarocho was, historically, the horseman of the Veracruz countryside, who worked on the haciendas of the state, specifically those dedicated to the job of vaquero (cowherd) and everything related to cattle ranching. Jarocho was for Veracruz and it ...

'' (a Spanish word meaning a person from Veracruz) was the name given to the train that went from Mexico City to the Port of Veracruz via the former Mexican Railway. The ''Jarocho'' operated as part of the N de M until 18 August 1999.

Proposed revival

In 2017, the National Tourism Business Council announced that the route will join a group of tourist train routes known as the ''Ruta de Cortés'' (). There are plans to use $100 million to improve and maintain the pre-existing railroad infrastructure for the ''Ruta de Cortés''. On November 20, 2023, the government of

Andrés Manuel López Obrador Andrés Manuel López Obrador (; born 13 November 1953), also known by his initials AMLO, is a Mexican former politician, political scientist, public administrator and writer who served as the 65th president of Mexico from 2018 to 2024. He se ...

announced a decree to reactivate seven passenger train routes, including a route from Mexico City to Veracruz and

Coatzacoalcos Coatzacoalcos (; formerly known as Puerto México; ; Zapotec: ; Popoluca: ''Puertu'') is a major port city in the southern part of the Mexican state of Veracruz, mostly on the western side of the Coatzacoalcos River estuary, on the Bay of Ca ...

. On January 25, 2024, it was announced that the company

Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (Grupo CAF, ) is a Spanish publicly listed company which manufactures railway vehicles and equipment and buses through its Solaris Bus & Coach subsidiary. It is based in Beasain, Basque Autonomous Comm ...

, together with

Grupo México Grupo México is a Mexican conglomerate that operates through the following divisions: Mining (Minera Mexico), Transportation (Ferromex, GMxT), Infrastructure and Fundacion Grupo Mexico. Founded in 1978, Grupo México became a significant player ...

and

Canadian Pacific Kansas City Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited, Trade name, doing business as CPKC (known as Canadian Pacific Railway Limited until 2023), is a Canadian railway holding company. Through its primary operating railroad subsidiaries, Canadian Pacific Railw ...

, would carry out the analysis of the development of four passenger train routes in Mexico, including the Mexico City-Veracruz line. The other three lines being considered are the Mexico City-

Guanajuato Guanajuato, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guanajuato, is one of the 32 states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Guanajuato, 46 municipalities and its cap ...

(), a train connecting Mexico City's

Felipe Ángeles International Airport Felipe Ángeles International Airport , also known as Mexico City Felipe Ángeles International Airport or simply Mexico City-AIFA, is an international airport located in Zumpango, State of Mexico, north of Mexico City. Originally named Santa ...

with

Toluca Toluca , officially Toluca de Lerdo , is the States of Mexico, state capital of the State of Mexico as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. Toluca has a population of 910,608 as of the 2020 census. The city forms the core of the Grea ...

, and the Mexico City-

Querétaro Querétaro, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Querétaro, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Querétaro, 18 municipalities. Its capital city is Querétaro Cit ...

line.

References

External links

* {{PM20, FID=co/070783, TEXT=Documents and clippings about, NAME= Defunct railway companies of Mexico History of the State of Mexico History of Puebla History of Veracruz Transportation in Hidalgo Transportation in the State of Mexico Transportation in Mexico City Transportation in Puebla Transportation in Tlaxcala Transportation in Veracruz Railway companies established in 1867 1867 establishments in Mexico Railway lines opened in 1873 Railway companies disestablished in 1959