Ferrosur

Ferrosur began operation on December 18, 1998.{{Harvnb|Murray|2003|p=39}} The original ownership group was the construction company Tribasa and Grupo Financiero Inbursa. Grupo Carso (like Inbursa, a Carlos Slim Helu company) bought out Tribasa in 1999.{{Harvnb|Murray|2003|p=38}} Grupo México, owner of Ferromex, acquired the railroad in November 2005 in a US$309 million stock transaction.FWN Select, "Grupo Mexico Buys Ferrosur Railway From Carso" (Nov. 25, 2005) The Mexican Federal Competition Commission (CFC) had rejected a proposed 2002 merger of Ferromex and Ferrosur amid opposition from Grupo Transportación Ferroviaria Mexicana (TFM).FWN Select, "Mexico's Antitrust Agency To Study Railway Merger" (November 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 railroad 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 Mexico'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|publisher=Reuters}} Grupo México continues to operate the two railways independently.{{Cite web |url=http://www.progressiverailroading.com/mow/article/Ferromex-increases-infrastructure-investment-to-prepare-for-growth--37646 |title=Ferromex increases infrastructure investment to prepare for growth |last=Foran |first=Pat |date=September 2013 |website=Progressive Railroading}}

File:FSRR FNM 04.jpg|"La Soledad" Bridge (February 23, 1909)

File:Ferrosur SD70ACe.png|Ferrosur EMD SD70ACe locomotive 4124, equipped with experimental sheet-metal awnings over the radiator air intakes

File:FSRR FBQ 01.jpg|{{MV|Bali Sea}} rail ferry transferring rail cars in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz

In May 2023, the Mexican Armed Forces occupied a portion of {{convert|127|km|mi}} of railways in Veracruz belonging to Ferrosur so that they could be used for the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, one of the government's most important megaprojects.{{cite journal|first=Alejandro|last=De la Rosa|title=Gobierno extenderá concesión de Ferrosur a cambio de tramos ferroviarios|journal=El Economista|date=2 June 2023|language=es|url=https://www.eleconomista.com.mx/empresas/Gobierno-extendera-concesion-de-Ferrosur-a-cambio-de-tramos-ferroviarios-20230602-0011.html|access-date=18 July 2023}} Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said that occurred "to avoid the risk of a future privatization of the railways and as a matter of national security and public interest."{{cite web |title=AMLO Seizes Rail Line From Mexican Billionaire Germán Larrea's Grupo Mexico |url=https://www.bloomberglinea.com/english/amlo-seizes-rail-line-from-mexican-billionaire-german-larreas-grupo-mexico/ |website=Bloomberg L.P |access-date=23 May 2023 |date=20 May 2023}}{{cite web |last1=Mahalingam |first1=Eugene |title=Obrador seizes rail line from billionaire poised to buy Banamex |url=https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2023/05/22/obrador-seizes-rail-line-from-billionaire-poised-to-buy-banamex |website=The Star |access-date=23 May 2023}}

The action was labeled as "unusual"{{cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/lopez-obrador-expropriates-stretch-of-mexican-railroad-92d3b271|title=Lopez Obrador Expropriates Stretch of Mexican Railroad|first=José|last=De Córdoba|date=19 May 2023|work=The Wall Street Journal|url-access=subscription|access-date=25 May 2023}} and was seen as an expropriation.{{cite web|url=https://www.bnamericas.com/en/news/amlo-turns-to-national-security-to-defend-rail-expropriation|title=AMLO turns to national security to defend rail expropriation|work=BN Americas|date=22 May 2023|access-date=25 May 2023|url-access=subscription}}{{cite web |last1=Staff |first1=M. N. D. |title=Government takes over Veracruz sections of Ferrosur railway |url=https://mexiconewsdaily.com/business/government-takes-over-veracruz-sections-of-ferrosur-railway/ |website=Mexico News Daily |access-date=23 May 2023 |date=22 May 2023}} Secretariat of the Interior Adán Augusto López Hernández said that the action had been discussed with Grupo México, and he called it a "temporary occupation,"{{cite web|url=https://www.elfinanciero.com.mx/nacional/2023/05/20/no-estamos-expropiando-nada-adan-augusto-sobre-toma-de-ferrosur/|title='No estamos expropiando nada': Adán Augusto sobre 'toma' de Ferrosur|trans-title=We are not expropriating anything': Adán Augusto on the 'seizure' of Ferrosur|language=es|date=20 May 2023|access-date=25 May 2023|work=El Financiero}}

On late May 2023, several newspapers erroneously stated that the government of Mexico had paid Grupo Mexico 7 billion pesos for the occupation of the railway, 2.5 billion pesos lower than Groupo Mexico had wanted.{{cite web |title=AMLO y Grupo México habrían llegado a un acuerdo por Ferrosur |url=https://www.yucatan.com.mx/mexico/2023/5/23/amlo-grupo-mexico-habrian-llegado-un-acuerdo-por-ferrosur-407252.html |website=www.yucatan.com.mx |date=24 May 2023 |access-date=11 June 2023 |language=spanish}}{{cite web |title=Acuerdan Gobierno y Grupo México pago de 7 mil mdp por vías de Ferrosur |url=https://planoinformativo.com/924042/acuerdan-gobierno-y-grupo-mexico-pago-de-7-mil-mdp-por-vias-de-ferrosur#:~:text=Las%20fuentes%20dijeron%20que%20de%20los%209.5%20mil,se%20den%20a%20conocer%20el%20día%20de%20mañana. |website=planoinformativo.com |access-date=11 June 2023 |date=24 May 2023}} However, López Obrador stated in a morning press conference on May 24 that sought to reach an agreement with Ferrosur not involving financial compensation. He wanted an agreement by which Ferrosur would pay a fee to use the occupied railways, and the Mexican Armed Forces would pay Ferrosur to use the railways heading to the port of Veracruz, in addition to a possible extension to a concession in exchange for the railways.{{cite journal|first=Carlos|last=Montesinos|title=AMLO niega acuerdo por 7 mil mdp con Germán Larrea, pero confirma negociaciones por Ferrosur|journal=Reporte Índigo|date=24 May 2023|language=es|url=https://www.reporteindigo.com/reporte/amlo-niega-acuerdo-por-7-mil-mdp-con-german-larrea-pero-confirma-negociaciones-por-ferrosur/|access-date=18 July 2023}} An agreement was ultimately reached on the night of May 31 by which, as López Obrador had intended, the concession granted to Ferrosur in 1998 for the railways, which included the occupied sections, was extended by eight years and so it remains in force until 2056. Ferrosur would cover a fee corresponding to the right of way, and the state-owned Ferrocarril del Istmo de Tehuantepec company would be responsible for the costs and spendings for the railway's operation, maintenance, and optimal safety conditions of the railways and for their optimal safety conditions.

Ferrosur operates the ports of Veracruz and Coatzacoalcos and SC Line between Veracruz and Mexico City. The line has numerous tunnels east of Acultzingo, including the longest one in Mexico. Ferrosur road locomotives are often seen coated in soot because they often pass through those tunnels.

• List of Mexican railroads
• Rail transport in Mexico
• CG Railway, which operates a train ferry connecting Ferrosur at the Port of Coatzacoalcos with Mobile, Alabama

{{reflist}}

• {{cite journal|last=Murray|first=Tom|title=U.S. railroading's new frontier|journal=Trains|volume=63|issue=11|date=November 2003|pages=28–41|issn=0041-0934}}

{{Commons category|Ferrosur}}

• {{Official website|ferrosur.com}}
• [http://mexlist.com MEXLIST - The group for Mexican railway information]

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Category:Privatized companies in Mexico

Category:Railway companies established in 1998

Category:Standard-gauge railways in Mexico

Category:Grupo México