NATIONAL MEXICAN RAILWAYS:A LIBERALIZATION HISTORY
SARA SANTAMARIA ARRIBAS
The public company National Mexican Railways haven't belonged to the State and now are in private hands divided in three enterprises, transaction which has supposed to the mexican Ejecutive entries around 2,300 millions of dollars. Only the called short lines that are the 23% of the journeys are still public.
The first mexican railway line was built in 1867 and joined the cities Mexico D.F and Veracruz. Some years later, in 1907, was borned the alliance Mexican Railways, sector which was expropiated in 1927 by the president Lazaro Cardenas, moment in which was instituted the company National Mexican Railways that was constituited as an enterprise dependent on the State. Since then the railway (transport which carries the 20% of the merchandise in this country) has been managed by the Government and has enlarged its rails along all the country until reaching the number of 26,000 kilometres of rails.
Engine M420TR 531, from the Pacific Railway.
Was the year 1995 when the Government showed to the Parliament a proposal for changing the article 28th of the Constitution that kept to the State the exclusiveness of exploitation of the railways. Few time later was written the called Statutory Law of Railway Service which stablished the entrance of the private sector in this field of the transport. In this law was said that a foreign enterprise couldn't have more than the 49% of a private company. Later, the Ministry of Communications and Transport wrote the basic rules of the liberalization process and, in the middle of 1996, opened the first line to tender.
Engine 461 circulating across Nayarit State.
The old railway system was divided in three big regions. In June of 1997, the companies Kansas City, Southern Industries and Mexican Railway Transportation obtained the company of the North-West zone, with 3,960 kilometres of rails, that it cost 1,000 millions of dollars (160,000 millions of pesetas). Some months later were Mexico Group and Union Pacific who got the line North Pacific, with 6,200 kilometres of line, it cost 400 millions of dollars. And at the end, South-East Railway, with 2,200 kilomtres of rails, was sold to the mexican group Tribasa for 290 millions of dollars, who, in his turn, sold it last July and then was sold another time to Frisco, filial of the mexican holding Carso.
Nowadays, the liberalization of the National Mexican Railways is just finished, transaction which has supposed to the State entries around 2,300 millions of dollars (368,000 millions of pesetas), money that is used by the Government to create a fund of 1,500 millions of dollars to guarantee the retirements of his workers (since the begining of the liberalization of this sector, 58,000 employments have just been retired). In the other side, have been given 27 millions of dollars for the liquidation of works and are still pending 17,000 labour actions that the public enterprise must pay if loses the judgements.
Super 7-30C(MP) 15020 at Guadalajara station, Jalisco.
Although the company will completly disappear in five or ten years, during that years will be finished of selling the 70 millions of square metres and the 5,000 railways that has still, must be transacted the consequent administrative proceedings, also the liquidation process, the sale of the assets and payment of liabilities.
With all of this will finish the history of the National Mexican Railways, a company which started in 1927 when this kind of transport was the most used for those travellers that ventured to go to other places by that train with unconfortable seats and full waggons, and now, when this century finishes, the high speed train or the plane travel long distances, before unthinkable, and in a few time, won't depend on the State and will start a new journey in private hands, when the theme of the liberalization is now the order of the day.
