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 Map of the Ferrosur network in southern Mexico | |
 A Ferrosur train inVeracruz, led by FSRR 4400, aGE AC4400CW | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Parent company | Grupo México |
| Reporting mark | FSRR |
| Locale | SoutheasternMexico |
| Dates of operation | 1998–present |
| Predecessor | Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México |
| Successor | Ferromex (subsidiary) |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)standard gauge |
| Length | 2,654 km (1,649 mi) |
| Other | |
| Website | ferrosur |
TheFerrocarril del Sureste (reporting markFSRR) (English: "Southeastern Railway"), commonly known by thesyllabic abbreviationFerrosur, is arailway that serves the southeastern regions ofMexico. The company was formed in 1998, following the privatization of Mexico's railways. Ferrosur won the concession to operate the southeastern railway, which includes the line betweenMexico City and Mexico's busiestGulf of Mexico/Atlantic Ocean port atVeracruz.Grupo México has owned the company since 2005. There are long-delayed plans to merge it with the company's other railway,Ferromex.
Ferrosur began operation on December 18, 1998.[1] The original ownership group was the construction companyTribasa andGrupo Financiero Inbursa.Grupo Carso (like Inbursa, aCarlos Slim Helu company) bought out Tribasa in 1999.[2] Grupo México, owner ofFerromex, 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 fromGrupo 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 and stated 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]
In May 2023, theMexican Armed Forces occupied a portion of 127 kilometres (79 mi) of railways in Veracruz belonging to Ferrosur so that they could be used for theInteroceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, one of the government's most importantmegaprojects.[8]Mexican PresidentAndrés Manuel López Obrador said that occurred "to avoid the risk of a futureprivatization of the railways and as a matter of national security and public interest."[9][10][11]
The action was labeled as "unusual"[12] and was seen as anexpropriation.[9][13]Secretariat of the InteriorAdán Augusto López Hernández said that the action had been 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 had paid Grupo Mexico 7 billion pesos for the occupation of the railway, 2.5 billion pesos lower than Groupo Mexico had wanted.[15][16] 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 theMexican Armed Forces would pay Ferrosur to use the railways heading to theport 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 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.[8]
Ferrosur operates the ports ofVeracruz and Coatzacoalcos and SC Line between Veracruz and Mexico City. The line has numerous tunnels east ofAcultzingo, including the longest one in Mexico. Ferrosur road locomotives are often seen coated in soot because they often pass through those tunnels.
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