Mexican Railway
{{Short description|Former railroad company in Mexico}}
{{Expand Spanish|topic=transp|Ferrocarril México-Veracruz|date=September 2020}}
{{Infobox rail
| name = Mexican Railway
| other_name = Ferrocarril México–Veracruz
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| system_map = File:Mexican Railway.jpg
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| map_caption = Map of the Mexican Railway network in 1912
| image = File:Un monumento emblemático de la ciudad Apizaco es la maquinita.JPG
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| caption = A Mexican Railway No. 212 on display at the La Maquinita roundabout in Apizaco, January 17, 2008.
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| marks = FCM
| locale = Southeastern Mexico
| start_year = {{Start date|1873}}
| end_year = {{End date|1959}}
| predecessor_line = Imperial Mexican Railway
| successor_line = Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México
| gauge = {{Track gauge|ussg|allk=on}}
| old_gauge =
| electrification = Partially, {{cvt|103|km|mi}}, between Esperanza and Paso del Macho
| length = {{convert|679.8|km}}
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| notrack = 1
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The Mexican Railway (Ferrocarril Mexicano) {{reporting mark|FCM}} 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 project, it was renamed in July 1867 after the Second French Empire withdrew from Mexico.Pan-American Magazine and New World Review, [https://books.google.com/books?id=KqtoAAAAMAAJ&q=%22imperial+mexican+railway%22 1923], p. 28
History
{{stack|File:HistoricalRailMapMexico.jpg File:FERROSUR 4400 NORTE.jpg}}
The main line from Mexico City to Veracruz was dedicated on January 1, 1873, by President Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada; branches connected {{ill|Ometusco|es|Axapusco}} to Pachuca and Apizaco to Puebla.Fred Wilbur Powell, [https://books.google.com/books?id=nj8aAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA102 The Railroads of Mexico], Stratford Company (Boston), 1921, pp. 102-103Manual of Statistics Company (New York), [https://books.google.com/books?id=nzA5AAAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA195 The Manual of Statistics: Stock Exchange Hand-Book], 1908, pp. 195-196 The {{convert|103|km|mi|sp=us}} between Esperanza and Paso del Macho were electrically operated beginning in the 1920s.[https://books.google.com/books?id=hRU6AQAAMAAJ&dq=mexican+railway+electrified&pg=PA390 Railway Electrical Engineer Vol 13 Number 11, pp 390-391]Official Guide of the Railways, June 1954, pg 1191
The Mexican Railway remained independent of the government-owned Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México (National Railways of Mexico) until the government gained control in June 1946 and merged the property in March 1959.Tothill Press, Directory of Railway Officials & Year Book, 1961–1962, p. 272 Following privatization in the 1990s, Ferrosur acquired the lines of the former Mexican Railway.
Passenger services
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'' =
{{El Jarocho}}
Many passenger trains of the Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México were named after the city they connected Mexico City's Buenavista station with. Therefore, the Jarocho (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 {{ill|El Jarocho|lt=Jarocho|es|El Jarocho}} operated as part of the N de M until 18 August 1999.{{cite web |title=El tiempo parece detenido en la vieja estación ferrocarrilera |url=https://www.jornada.com.mx/2000/12/18/048n1con.html |website=www.jornada.com.mx |access-date=30 August 2024 |language=es-MX}}
= 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 ({{Lang|en|Cortés Route}}). There are plans to use $100 million to improve and maintain the pre-existing railroad infrastructure for the Ruta de Cortés.{{cite web |title=El regreso del tren de pasajeros de CDMX a Veracruz |url=https://www.cityexpress.com/blog/tren-pasajeros-cdmx-veracruz |website=CityExpress |access-date=30 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230612022412/https://www.cityexpress.com/blog/tren-pasajeros-cdmx-veracruz |archive-date=12 June 2023 |language=es |url-status=usurped}}{{cite web |title=Avanza el proyecto de tren turístico Veracruz-Ciudad de México |url=https://www.expreso.info/noticias/transporte/84269_avanza_el_proyecto_de_tren_turistico_veracruz_ciudad_de_mexico |website=Expreso |access-date=30 August 2024 |language=es}}{{cite web |title=Ruta de Cortés, otra línea de tren que conectaría a Puebla con la CDMX y Veracruz |url=https://www.eluniversalpuebla.com.mx/estado/ruta-de-cortes-otra-linea-de-tren-que-conectaria-puebla-con-la-cdmx-y-veracruz |website=El Universal Puebla |access-date=30 August 2024 |language=es}}
On November 20, 2023, the government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced a decree to reactivate seven passenger train routes, including a route from Mexico City to Veracruz and Coatzacoalcos.{{cite web |title=AMLO publica decreto para crear más trenes de pasajeros: Estas son las 7 rutas propuestas |url=https://www.elfinanciero.com.mx/nacional/2023/11/20/amlo-publica-decreto-para-crear-mas-trenes-de-pasajeros-estas-son-las-7-rutas-propuestas/ |website=El Financiero |access-date=30 August 2024 |language=es |date=20 November 2023}}
On January 25, 2024, it was announced that the company Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles, together with Grupo México and Canadian Pacific Kansas City, would carry out the analysis of the development of four passenger train routes in Mexico, including the Mexico City–Veracruz line.{{cite web |last1=Valadez |first1=Roberto |title=CAF analiza con Grupo México y CPCK desarrollar trenes de pasajeros |url=https://www.milenio.com/negocios/caf-analiza-con-grupo-mexico-y-cpck-desarrollar-trenes-de-pasajeros |website=Milenio |access-date=30 August 2024 |date=25 January 2024}}{{cite web |title=Analiza CAF México participar en trenes de pasajeros |url=https://www.eldiariodechihuahua.mx/economia/analiza-caf-mexico-participar-en-trenes-de-pasajeros-20240125-2145341.html |website=El Diario de Chihuahua |access-date=30 August 2024 |language=es-MX}} The other three lines being considered are the Mexico City–Guanajuato {{ill|Bajío Train|es|Ferrocarril en México#Tren del Bajío}} ({{langx|es|Tren del Bajío}}), a train connecting Mexico City's Felipe Ángeles International Airport with Toluca, and the Mexico City-Querétaro line.
References
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External links
- {{PM20|FID=co/070783|TEXT=Documents and clippings about|NAME=}}
Category:Defunct railway companies of Mexico
Category:History of the State of Mexico
Category:Transportation in Hidalgo
Category:Transportation in the State of Mexico
Category:Transportation in Mexico City
Category:Transportation in Puebla
Category:Transportation in Tlaxcala
Category:Transportation in Veracruz
Category:1867 establishments in Mexico
Category:1959 disestablishments in Mexico
Category:Railway lines opened in 1873