View source for Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México

{{Short description|Former state-owned railroad in Mexico}}
{{about|the nationalized system that existed from 1909 until the 1990s|the pre-1909 independent system|National Railroad of Mexico}}
{{italic title}}
{{more citations needed|date=February 2015}}
{{use mdy dates|date=November 2019}}
{{Infobox rail
|railroad_name     = Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México
|logo_filename     = NdeMU-S.png
|logo_size         = 200px
|logo_alt          =
|system_map        =
|map_size          =
|map_caption       =
|map_alt           =
|image             = File:Locomotora en tren de pasajeros, años 1960s.jpg
|image_size        = 300px
|image_caption     = An N de M passenger train at Mexico City in the 1960s, the [[Torre Insignia]] in the background, the locomotive in the picture (N de M #7020) is currently preserved at the National Museum of Mexican Railways in the city of Puebla, Mexico
|image_alt         =
|marks             = NDEM, NDM, NDMZ
|locale            = Mexico
|start_year        = {{Start date|1903}}
|end_year          = {{End date|2001}}
|predecessor_line  =
|successor_line    =
|gauge             = {{Railgauge|ussg|allk=on}}
|old_gauge         = {{Railgauge|3ft|lk=on}} Some lines
|electrification   =
|length            =
|hq_city           =
|website           = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} -->
|successor=[[CPKC]]}}
'''''Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México''''' (better known as '''N de M''' and after 1987 as '''Ferronales''' or '''FNM''') or '''''National Railways of Mexico''''' was Mexico's state owned [[railroad]] company from 1938 to 1998, and prior to 1938 (dating from the regime of [[Porfirio Díaz]]), a major railroad controlled by the government that linked [[Mexico City]] to the major cities of [[Ciudad Juárez]], [[Nuevo Laredo]] and [[Matamoros, Tamaulipas|Matamoros]] on the [[US-Mexico border|U.S. border]]. The first trains to Nuevo Laredo from Mexico City began operating in 1903.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.dartmouth.edu/~rtminsk/queretarotracks1.html| work=Querétaro, Qro.: a chronology of railroad development| title=Part 1: 1870-1907| author=Minsk, R. Todd| date=July 2003| access-date=March 7, 2009}}</ref>
==History==
[[File:Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México 1910.jpg|thumb|Share of the National Railways of Mexico, issued 9. May 1910]]
The beginnings of rail transport in Mexico date back to the concessions granted by [[Maximilian I of Mexico]], mostly to foreign companies, and continued by [[Benito Juárez]].
In 1898, [[José Yves Limantour]] proposed a system of concessions of the railway companies on the future lines to be built from 1900. That same year the [[Secretariat of Finance and Public Credit|Secretariat of the Treasury]] promulgated the first General Railway Law. This law established a system whereby concessions would be granted to companies to lay railway lines only when they satisfied the economic needs of the country and linked the interior of the Republic with its most important commercial ports.
The N de M company was created in 1903 during the tenure of [[Porfirio Díaz]], and it was through said company that most of the Mexican railway network was developed. In fact, before the [[Porfiriato]], only the Mexico City–Veracruz segment was in operation, since Gen. Díaz's greatest interest was to develop the country industrially, he had a special affinity for the railroad.
Pursuant to an agreement signed on February 29, 1908, N de M absorbed the Mexican Central Railroad (''[[Ferrocarril Central Mexicano]]'', first section from Mexico City to [[León, Guanajuato]], opened in 1882) in 1909, thus acquiring a second border gateway at [[Ciudad Juárez]] (adjacent to [[El Paso, Texas]]). This gave the Mexican federal government a 58% stake in N de M. The N de M was fully [[nationalize]]d by [[President of Mexico|President]] [[Lázaro Cárdenas del Río]] in 1938, and [[privatize]]d in 1994–98 by Presidents [[Carlos Salinas de Gortari]] and [[Ernesto Zedillo]]. Until 1987, N de M operated most railway trackage through the central and northeastern regions of the country. The ''[[Ferrocarril del Pacífico]]'' (or Pacific Railroad) and the [[Ferrocarril Chihuahua al Pacífico]] operated railroads in the northwest.
In 1987, President [[Miguel de la Madrid]] merged the N de M and the country's five existing regional rail operators into the wider Ferronales (FMN) parastatal organization.
In 1995, due to FNM's serious financial difficulties, the Mexican government announced that FNM would be [[Rail transport in Mexico#Privatization|privatized and divided into four main systems]]. As part of the restructuring for privatization, FNM suspended passenger rail service in 1997, and the new arrangements applied from 1998; by then FNM ceased to be the operator and administrator of most of its major railway routes. The companies were [[Kansas City Southern de Mexico]], [[Ferromex]], [[Ferrosur]], and (owned jointly by the three companies) [[Ferrocarril y Terminal del Valle de México]] or Ferrovalle which operates railroads and terminals in and around Mexico City.
It was not until June 4, 2001, during [[Vicente Fox]]'s presidency that FNM as an organization was officially extinguished, as confirmed by a publication in Mexican Official's Gazette. FNM will continue to exist legally as a state-owned [[Shell corporation|shell entity]] under [[liquidation]] (as ''Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México en Liquidación'') until the conclusion of the liquidation process.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://dof.gob.mx/nota_detalle.php?codigo=763792&fecha=04/06/2001|title=DOF - Diario Oficial de la Federación|website=dof.gob.mx|access-date=2016-10-21}}</ref>
As of {{CURRENTYEAR}}, ''FNM en Liquidación'' still owns some lines (23% of which are [[shortline railroad]]s) where concessions cannot be granted or are considered to be of importance for the national economy, such as the [[Tren Interoceánico|Trans-Istmico]], which goes from [[Salina Cruz]], [[Oaxaca (state)|Oaxaca]] to [[Coatzacoalcos]], [[Veracruz (state)|Veracruz]], although their direct operations are through [[Tren Interoceánico|Ferrocarril del Istmo de Tehuantepec]]. Since 2012, FNM en Liquidación as well as its associated liquidation process and settlement of existing liabilities has been headed by an undersecretariat of the [[Secretariat of Communications and Transportation (Mexico)|Secretariat of Communications and Transportation]] (SCT).<ref>{{cite web|title=Ferrocariles Nacionales de México en Liquidación |author=Ferrocariles Nacionales de México |date=November 20, 2020 |access-date=September 20, 2021|url=https://www.gob.mx/indep/acciones-y-programas/ferrocarriles-nacionales-de-mexico-en-liquidacion}}</ref>
===Locomotives===
[[File:NdeM 8129 (27443005081).jpg|thumb|right|N de M [[ALCO C424]] 8129 leads a train in Esperanza in 1966]]
During the days of [[steam locomotives]], N de M was best known for operating ''[[4-8-4|Niágara]]'' class locomotives, which took their name from the [[New York Central Railroad]] [[New York Central Niagara|locomotives of the same wheel configuration]]. It was also the home of several {{Track gauge|3ft}} narrow gauge systems that used steam, both nationally and regionally.<ref>{{cite book| last=Best| first=Gerald M.| title=Mexican Narrow Gauge| year=1968| publisher=Howell-North}}</ref>{{page needed|date=November 2019}} N de M was one of the few railroads outside the US to purchase new diesel locomotives from [[Baldwin Locomotive Works]]: the only three "Baldwin E-units" ever built ([[Baldwin DR-6|DR-6-4-2000]]), the [[Baldwin DR-12-8-1500/2|DR-12-8-1500/2]] and the [[Baldwin AS-616|AS-616]].  Two of the three DR-6-4-2000 locomotives had been on major railroads in the United States on a demonstration tour in 1945.  N de M bought them in August 1945 and ordered a third in August 1946. All three consistently broke down and were retired soon after their factory warranties expired and were scrapped in September 1957.  They do not appear on the 1958 N de M locomotive roster, and sat for years in the scrapyard at [[San Luis Potosí]].  Notes in the FNM archives in Puebla, Mexico describe how one of these locomotives had a wheel disintegrate at high speed, and also how the Centipede locomotives were delivered in 1948 with parts missing.
In [[Acámbaro]], [[Guanajuato]], N de M operated one of the few facilities in Latin America that was capable of constructing and doing complete rebuilds of steam locomotives, thus with rare exceptions (as with the ''Niagaras''), most of N de M steam motive power was purchased used and rebuilt there. Portions of the facility and a preserved [[2-8-0]] steam locomotive remain as part of [[Acambaro's municipal railway museum]].<ref>[http://sic.gob.mx/ficha.php?table=museo&table_id=1056 Museo Local de Acámbaro Dr. Luis Mota Maciel]</ref>
==Notable named passenger trains of the N de M ==
Named trains usually bore names related to the destination, for example, ''El Purépecha'' referred to the [[Purépecha people]]s of western [[Michoacán]].
*''[[Mexican Railway#The Jarocho|El Jarocho]]'' - [[Mexico City]] - [[Veracruz, Veracruz]].
*''[[Águila Azteca (train)|Águila Azteca]]'' - [[Mexico City]] - [[Monterrey]] - [[Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas|Nuevo Laredo]], with the addition name, the ''[[Texas Eagle (MP train)|Texas Eagle]]'' for continued service to [[San Antonio]] and [[St. Louis]] and connections to [[Amtrak]] for continued service to [[Chicago]]
*''El Azteca'' - [[Mexico City]] - [[Querétaro City|Querétaro]] - [[León, Guanajuato|León]] - [[Aguascalientes City|Aguascalientes]] - [[El Paso, Texas]]
*''La Estrella del Sur'' - [[Mexico City]] - [[Puebla (city)|Puebla]] - [[Oaxaca City|Oaxaca de Juárez]]
*''[[Regiomontano (train)|El Regiomontano]]'' - [[Mexico City]] - [[Monterrey]] - [[Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas|Nuevo Laredo]]
*''El Fronterizo'' - [[Mexico City]] - [[Chihuahua, Chihuahua|Chihuahua]] - [[Ciudad Juárez]] - [[El Paso, Texas]]; as #7/8, it had connections to [[Southern Pacific Railroad]] connections to [[Los Angeles]]
*''El Nocturno'' - [[Mexico City]] - [[Toluca]] - [[Morelia]] - [[Uruapan]]
*''El Oaxaqueño'' - [[Mexico City]] - [[Puebla (city)|Puebla]] - [[Oaxaca City|Oaxaca de Juárez]]
*''El Purépecha'' - [[Mexico City]] - [[Morelia]] - [[Uruapan]] - [[Lázaro Cárdenas, Michoacán|Lázaro Cárdenas]] ([[Michoacán]])
*''[[Tapatío (train)|El Tapatío]]'' - [[Mexico City]] - [[Guadalajara, Jalisco|Guadalajara]]
*''El Rápido de la Frontera'' ([[Diesel multiple unit|railcar service]]) [[Chihuahua, Chihuahua|Chihuahua]] - [[Ciudad Juárez]] - with nearby connections to the north in [[El Paso]]
*''El Hidalguense'' - [[Mexico City]] - [[Pachuca, Hidalgo]]
The ''[[Águila Azteca (train)|Águila Azteca]]''/''[[Texas Eagle (MP train)|Texas Eagle]]'' service was in conjunction with the [[Missouri Pacific]] railroad. Later with [[Amtrak]], connections could be made in Laredo with Amtrak's ''[[Inter-American (train)|Inter-American]].'' Besides connections in Ciudad Juarez and Nuevo Laredo, there were connections to trains in the United States in [[Guadalajara]], [[Piedras Negras, Coahuila|Piedras Negras]] and [[Matamoros, Coahuila|Matamoros]]. To the south there were connections to [[Guatemala]] in [[Ciudad Hidalgo, Chiapas|Ciudad Hidalgo]].<ref>{{cite book| title=Official Guide of the Railways| date=June 1961| page=958}}</ref>
Other passenger service was provided between Mexico City and: [[Cuernavaca, Morelos]]; [[Tampico, Tamaulipas]]; and [[Guanajuato, Guanajuato]]
[[Buenavista railway station (old)|Buenavista railway station]] in Mexico City served as the terminal and after 2005, it was renovated and serves as the southern end of the electric [[Tren Suburbano]] line. Photos of Buenavista often prominently feature a pyramid-like tower, the [[Torre Insignia]]. The building housed the headquarters of [[Banobras]], but currently is unoccupied and it has been renovated. A preserved Niagara steam locomotive and GE boxcab can be viewed at the Museum of Electricity at Chapultepec, Mexico City. Many more preserved Mexican steam, diesel and electric locomotives can be viewed at the FNM museum in Puebla, Mexico.
==In popular culture==
*In 1999, sound artist and musician [[Chris Watson (musician)|Chris Watson]] worked as an audio recorder for the BBC riding the "Ghost Train" in the fourth episode of the fourth season of the television documentary series ''[[Great Railway Journeys]]''. Having spent between five weeks and a month on the journey, Watson used to the [[field recording]]s for his 2011 album ''[[El Tren Fantasma]]''.<ref name="Currin 2011">{{cite web|last1=Currin|first1=Grayson|last2=Masters|first2=Marc|title=Turning the World Into Art|url=http://pitchfork.com/features/the-out-door/8692-field-recording/|work=[[Pitchfork Media|Pitchfork]]|date=21 October 2011|access-date=16 August 2016}}</ref><ref name="Pescovitz 2011">{{cite web|last=Pescovitz|first=David|title=El Tren Fantasma: ambient recording of a ghostly train journey|url=http://boingboing.net/2011/11/04/el-tren-fantasma-ambient-recor.html|work=[[Boing Boing]]|date=4 November 2011|access-date=16 August 2016}}</ref><ref name="Turner 2011">{{cite web|last=Turner|first=Luke|title=Chris Watson |url=http://thequietus.com/articles/07512-chris-watson-el-tren-fantasma-review|work=[[The Quietus]]|date=2 December 2011|access-date=16 August 2016}}</ref>
*In 2016, a fictional character named Carlos introduced in the ''[[Thomas & Friends]]'' movie ''[[Thomas & Friends: The Great Race|The Great Race]]'' was based on the preserved ex-Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México 2-8-0 steam locomotive No.903.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://metro.co.uk/2016/04/06/thomas-friends-the-great-race-unveils-diverse-train-line-up-5798197/| title=Thomas & Friends The Great Race unveils diverse train line-up| date=April 6, 2016| access-date=7 September 2016}}</ref>
==See also==
*[[List of Mexican railroads]]
*[[Mexico City-Querétaro electric passenger train]]
== References ==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
{{commons category|Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México|position=left}}
* [https://www.gob.mx/indep/acciones-y-programas/ferrocarriles-nacionales-de-mexico-en-liquidacion Official website of Ferrocariles Nacionales de México en Liquidación]
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[[Category:Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México| ]]
[[Category:Defunct railway companies of Mexico]]
[[Category:Government-owned companies of Mexico]]
[[Category:Privatized companies in Mexico]]
[[Category:Railway companies established in 1903]]<!--Porfirio Díaz era-->
[[Category:1998 disestablishments in Mexico]]
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[[Category:Railway lines opened in 1903]]<!--Porfirio Díaz era-->
[[Category:Railway companies established in 1938]]<!--nationalized era-->
[[Category:Railway lines opened in 1938]]<!--nationalized era-->
[[Category:Railway companies disestablished in 1998]]
[[Category:Mexican companies established in 1903]]
[[Category:Mexican companies established in 1938]]