Ferromex

{{Infobox rail

| railroad_name = Grupo Mexico Transporte Ferromex

| logo = Ferromex logo.png

| system_map = Ferromex-map.png

| map_caption = Ferromex system map (own rails in blue, trackage rights in green)

| image = Ferromex 4036.JPG

| image_caption = FXE 4036, an EMD SD70ACe, in Tepic, Nayarit

| marks = FXE

| locale = Mexico

| parent_company = {{Unbulleted list|Grupo México (74%)|Union Pacific (26%)}}

| start_year = 1998

| end_year = present

| predecessor_line = Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México

| gauge = {{Track gauge|sg|allk=on}}

| length = {{cvt|7500|mi|km|order=flip}}

| hq_city = Mexico City{{cite web|url=http://www.gmexico.com/templates/aboutus/en-au05.asp|title=Grupo México, About us, Offices|access-date=2009-03-02|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081205070659/http://www.gmexico.com/templates/aboutus/en-au05.asp|archive-date=December 5, 2008}}

| website = [https://www.ferromex.com.mx/index-eng.jsp Ferromex]

}}

Ferromex {{reporting mark|FXE}} (syllabic abbreviation of Ferrocarril Mexicano, 'Mexican Railway') is a private rail consortium that operates the largest (by mileage) railway in Mexico with combined mileage (Ferromex + Ferrosur) of {{convert|7500|mi|order=flip}} and is often classed with North American Class I railroads.

Description

Ferromex began operating on February 19, 1998, following the privatization of most of the government-owned railways by Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León. Ferromex operates more than {{convert|9610|km|sp=us}} of track and interconnects five major inland Mexican cities, five cities along the border with the United States, four seaports on the Pacific Ocean, and one more on the Gulf of Mexico. Grupo México owns 74%{{cite web|url=https://www.railjournal.com/financial/grupo-mexico-mulls-sale-of-rail-business-stake/|title=Grupo Mexico mulls sale of rail business stake|language=en|website=International Railway Journal|last=Barrow|first=Keith|date=February 5, 2015}} and Union Pacific Corporation owns 26% of the company.{{cite web|url=https://www.up.com/aboutup/community/inside_track/union-pacific-de-mexico-it-220511.htm|title=For 30 Years, We Are Union Pacific de Mexico|language=en|website=Union Pacific|last=Garcia|first=Beto Vargas|date=May 11, 2022}} The Ferromex system operates 9,610 km of Ferromex tracks plus {{convert|2654|km|sp=us}} of Ferrosur tracks.

Passenger services

Ferromex hosts the Ferrocarril Chihuahua al Pacífico "ChePe" railroad, a tourist line that runs through the Copper Canyon. Ferromex also operates the Tequila Express, which runs from Guadalajara to a tequila distillery in Amatitán.

Merger with Ferrosur

In November 2005, Grupo México, the majority owner of Ferromex, purchased Infraestructura y Transportes Ferroviarios, the parent company of Ferrosur, another of Mexico's Class I railroads, in a {{US$|309 million}} stock transaction.FWN Select, "Grupo Mexico Buys Ferrosur Railway From Carso" (Nov. 25, 2005){{cite magazine|date=March 2006|title=Abandonments & Acquisitions|magazine=Trains Magazine|page=15|volume=66|issue=3|issn=0041-0934}} The Mexican Federal Competition Commission (CFC) had rejected a proposed 2002 merger of Ferromex and Ferrosur amid opposition from Ferromex competitor Grupo Transportación Ferroviaria Mexicana (TFM).FWN Select, "Mexico's Antitrust Agency To Study Railway Merger" (Nov. 28, 2005)

Following the November 2005 purchase of Ferrosur by Grupo México, Kansas City Southern de México (KCSM), successor to TFM, petitioned the Mexican government to block the merger of Ferrosur and Ferromex. The CFC rejected the merger in June 2006 and stated that the merger would have led to excessive concentration in the railway industry to the detriment of consumers and competing shippers.FWN Select, "Mexico's Antitrust Commission Rejects Rail Merger Appeal" (Nov. 15, 2006) However, in March 2011, a tribunal ruled in Grupo México's favor, and the merger was permitted.{{cite news|title=Mexican Tribunal OKs Grupo Mexico Railroad merger|url=https://af.reuters.com/article/metalsNews/idAFN2821457620110328|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110401045144/http://af.reuters.com/article/metalsNews/idAFN2821457620110328|url-status=dead|archive-date=2011-04-01|date=2011-03-28|work=Reuters}}

Rolling stock

In January 2011, Ferromex ordered 44 new SD70ACe locomotives from EMD, its first order since 2006.{{cite web|url=http://www.railwaygazette.com/nc/news/single-view/view/emd-wins-two-sd70ace-orders.html|access-date=2011-02-13|title=Railway Gazette: EMD wins two SD70ACe orders|archive-date=2011-02-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110218021807/http://www.railwaygazette.com/nc/news/single-view/view/emd-wins-two-sd70ace-orders.html|url-status=dead}}

File:FXE4050 CPEmerson.jpg|FXE 4050 in Winnipeg, Manitoba on the CPKC Railway's Emerson Subdivision

File:FerromexCarInBoltonON.png|A Ferromex-branded autorack owned by TTX Company in Bolton, Ontario

Other

Grupo México Transportes, with Fundación Grupo México, operates Dr. Vagón, a hospital train that offers free, complete healthcare for hard to reach communities in Mexico.{{Cite web |url=https://www.ferromex.com.mx/quienes-somos-eng/responsabilidad-social.jsp |title=Responsabilidad-social |access-date=2023-04-12 |archive-date=2023-04-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230412161451/https://www.ferromex.com.mx/quienes-somos-eng/responsabilidad-social.jsp |url-status=live }}[https://www.fundaciongrupomexico.org/programas/Paginas/Salud.aspx Dr. Vagon]