Ferrosur
Map of the Ferrosur network in southern Mexico
A Ferrosur train in Veracruz, led by FSRR 4400, a GE AC4400CW
Overview
Parent companyGrupo México
Reporting markFSRR
LocaleSoutheastern Mexico
Dates of operation1998–present
PredecessorFerrocarriles Nacionales de México
SuccessorFerromex (subsidiary)
Technical
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Length2,654 km (1,649 mi)
Other
Websiteferrosur.com

The Ferrocarril del Sureste (reporting mark FSRR) (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 Mexico's railways. Ferrosur won the concession to operate the southeastern railway. This includes the line between Mexico City and Mexico's busiest Gulf of Mexico/Atlantic Ocean port at Veracruz. Grupo México has owned the company since 2005 and there are long-delayed plans to merge it with the company's other railway, Ferromex.

History

Ferrosur began operation on December 18, 1998.[1] 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.[2] Grupo México, owner of Ferromex, acquired the railroad in November 2005 in a US$309 million stock transaction.[3] The Mexican Federal Competition Commission (CFC) had rejected a proposed 2002 merger of Ferromex and Ferrosur amid opposition from Grupo Transportación Ferroviaria Mexicana (TFM).[4]

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 stating that the merger would have led to excessive concentration in the railroad industry to the detriment of consumers and competing shippers.[5] However, in March 2011, a tribunal ruled in Grupo Mexico's favor, and the merger was permitted.[6] Grupo México continues to operate the two railways independently.[7]

Government occupation of railways

In May 2023, the Mexican Armed Forces occupied a portion of 127 kilometres (79 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.[8] About it, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the president of Mexico, said it occurred "to avoid the risk of a future privatization of the railways and as a matter of national security and public interest".[9][10][11] The action was labeled as "unusual"[12] and it was seen as an expropriation act.[9][13] Adán Augusto López Hernández, secretary of the Interior, said that the action was previously discussed with Grupo México and he called it a "temporary occupation".[14]

On late May 2023, several newspapers erroneously stated that the government of Mexico paid Grupo Mexico 7 billion pesos for the railway it seized, 2.5 billion pesos lower than what Groupo Mexico wanted for the occupation of the railways.[15][16] This, however, was not true, as López Obrador stated on a morning press conference on May 24. He sought to reach an agreement with Ferrosur which did not involve financial compensation. Instead, he sought to reach an agreement by which Ferrosur would have to pay a fee to use the occupied railways, while 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.[17] An agreement was ultimately reached on the night of May 31, by which, as López Obrador intended, the concession granted to Ferrosur in 1998 for the railways (which included the occupied sections) was extended by eight years, so that it remains in force until 2056. Ferrosur would cover a fee corresponding to the right of way, while the state-owned Ferrocarril del Istmo de Tehuantepec company would be responsible for the costs and spendings for the operation and maintenance of the railways and for their optimal safety conditions.[8]

Territory

Ferrosur operates the ports of Veracruz and Coatzacoalcos and the line SC between Veracruz and Mexico City. This line has numerous tunnels east of Acultzingo including the longest in Mexico. Ferrosur road locomotives are often seen coated in soot from passing numerously times through these tunnels.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Murray 2003, p. 39
  2. ↑ Murray 2003, p. 38
  3. ↑ FWN Select, "Grupo Mexico Buys Ferrosur Railway From Carso" (Nov. 25, 2005)
  4. ↑ FWN Select, "Mexico's Antitrust Agency To Study Railway Merger" (November 28, 2005)
  5. ↑ FWN Select, "Mexico's Antitrust Commission Rejects Rail Merger Appeal" (Nov. 15, 2006)
  6. ↑ "Mexican Tribunal OKs Grupo Mexico Railroad merger". Reuters. 2011-03-28. Archived from the original on 2011-04-01.
  7. ↑ Foran, Pat (September 2013). "Ferromex increases infrastructure investment to prepare for growth". Progressive Railroading.
  8. 1 2 De la Rosa, Alejandro (2 June 2023). "Gobierno extenderá concesión de Ferrosur a cambio de tramos ferroviarios". El Economista (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  9. 1 2 "AMLO turns to national security to defend rail expropriation". BN Americas. 22 May 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  10. ↑ "AMLO Seizes Rail Line From Mexican Billionaire Germán Larrea's Grupo Mexico". Bloomberg L.P. 20 May 2023. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  11. ↑ Mahalingam, Eugene. "Obrador seizes rail line from billionaire poised to buy Banamex". The Star. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  12. ↑ De Córdoba, José (19 May 2023). "Lopez Obrador Expropriates Stretch of Mexican Railroad". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  13. ↑ Staff, M. N. D. (22 May 2023). "Government takes over Veracruz sections of Ferrosur railway". Mexico News Daily. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  14. ↑ "'No estamos expropiando nada': Adán Augusto sobre 'toma' de Ferrosur" [We are not expropriating anything': Adán Augusto on the 'seizure' of Ferrosur]. El Financiero (in Spanish). 20 May 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  15. ↑ "AMLO y Grupo México habrían llegado a un acuerdo por Ferrosur". www.yucatan.com.mx (in Spanish). 24 May 2023. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  16. ↑ "Acuerdan Gobierno y Grupo México pago de 7 mil mdp por vías de Ferrosur". planoinformativo.com. 24 May 2023. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  17. ↑ Montesinos, Carlos (24 May 2023). "AMLO niega acuerdo por 7 mil mdp con Germán Larrea, pero confirma negociaciones por Ferrosur". Reporte Índigo (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 July 2023.

References

  • Murray, Tom (November 2003). "U.S. railroading's new frontier". Trains. 63 (11): 28–41. ISSN 0041-0934.
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