History
A century without passenger trains: from the Mexican Central to freight concessions
Between 1910 and 1997 the Bajío kept its railway but lost its passenger train. The line survived as freight infrastructure; people moved to buses and cars on the highway built beside it.
Origination and structuring of USD 5–50 million infrastructure projects across the Bajío.
Let's discuss your projectBajío Ventures · February 2026 · Rails of the Bajío, 2 of 6
Between 1910 and 1997 the Bajío kept its railway but lost its passenger train. The line survived as freight infrastructure; people moved to buses and cars on the highway built beside it.
The timeline
| Year | Event | Effect on the corridor |
|---|---|---|
| 1910–1920 | Revolution; lines damaged and neglected | Service degrades |
| 1929–1937 | Full nationalization of the network | Mexican Central absorbed |
| 1987 | Five regional railroads merged into Ferrocarriles Nacionales (FNM) | One state operator |
| 1991 | FNM runs a USD 552 million operating deficit, 37% of its budget; rail’s freight share falls to about 9% | Trucks win the corridor |
| 1996–1998 | Freight network split into concessions: KCS/TMM takes the Northeast (Mexico City–Monterrey–Laredo–Lázaro Cárdenas); Grupo México/Union Pacific take the Northwest (Ferromex, via Guadalajara and Manzanillo) | The Bajío becomes the meeting point of the two big freight systems |
| 1997 | FNM suspends passenger service during privatization | Last regular Mexico City–Bajío passenger trains stop |
Sources: Wikipedia — Rail transport in Mexico; the Mexico City–Guadalajara Tapatío express, which ran via Irapuato from 1888, ended in 1998 (Wikipedia — Tapatío).
Why freight won and passengers lost
The 1995 reform was designed for cargo. Concessionaires were paid for tonne-kilometres, not passengers, and a shared single track could not run fast trains between slow freight. The concessions worked on their own terms: the Bajío became the hinge of NAFTA manufacturing, with automotive plants in Silao, Celaya, Salamanca and Apaseo shipping north by rail through Laredo.
The false starts
Passenger rail kept returning as a plan. In 2006 the transport ministry proposed a 300 km/h Mexico City–Guadalajara line via Querétaro, Irapuato and León; nothing was built. In 2014 a Mexico City–Querétaro high-speed contract worth USD 3.75 billion was awarded to a consortium led by China Railway Construction Corporation and cancelled amid a corruption scandal; a 2015 retender was also revoked. In 2023 the government signed with CPKC to study a Mexico City–Querétaro passenger service (Wikipedia).
For investors: twenty years of announcements without construction taught the market to discount rail. Part 3 is about why 2025 is different: the money is in the federal budget and the works are physical.
In this series: 1. The Mexican Central Railway · 2. A century without passenger trains · 3. The new Mexico City–Querétaro–Irapuato train · 4. Guanajuato’s stake · 5. First trains (coming soon) · 6. Beyond Irapuato (coming soon)
Bajío Ventures is a Mexican energy infrastructure investment group based in Guanajuato. We originate and structure USD 5–50 million projects across the Bajío corridor.
Sources: Wikipedia — Rail transport in Mexico · Wikipedia — Tapatío (train)
Origination and structuring of USD 5–50 million infrastructure projects across the Bajío.
Let's discuss your projectThis article is also available in Spanish. Read in Spanish