Sonora-Baja California

Company History: The S-BC was built (by various agencies of the Mexican government) in stages between 1923 and 1947 between Mexicali, Baja-California and a connection with the Southern Pacific of Mexico (later the Pacifico) in Benjamin Hill, Sonora. The name Ferrocarril Sonora-Baja California was adopted in 1948. The S-BC had a curious mix of North American, German and British built rolling stock. Much of the passenger coach fleet followed German practice (with the exception of the couplers and brakes of course) and the rail diesel car fleet was built in Britain with Rolls Royce engines which fared poorly in the harsh desert. Later, quality secondhand passenger equipment was acquired from American railroads. In 1970, the Mexican government bought the Tijuana & Tacate Railway which was the Mexican portion of the San Diego & Arizona Eastern. Although it didn’t connect with the S-BC, the government assigned ownership to them anyway. SD&AE continued to run the trains on that line. In 1987, the S-BC, along with the other regional, government owned railroads, was merged into a new and larger National Railways of Mexico, better known as FNM.

Successor/Parent History: Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México, (better known as N de M) was Mexico's state owned railroad company from 1938 to 1998, and prior to 1938 (dating from the regime of Porfirio Diaz) a major railroad controlled by the government that linked Mexico City to the major cities of Nuevo Laredo and Ciudad Juarez on the U.S. border. The first trains to Nuevo Laredo from Mexico City began operating in 1903.

N de M absorbed the Mexican Central Railroad (Ferrocarril Central Mexicano, first section from Mexico City to Leon, Guanajuato, opened in 1882) in 1909, thus acquiring a second border gateway at Ciudad Juarez (adjacent to El Paso, Texas). The N de M was nationalized by President Lazaro Cardenas del Rio in 1938, and privatized 60 years later by President Ernesto Zedillo. N de M operated most railway trackage through the central and northeastern regions of the republic.

In 1995, the Mexican government announced that the FNM would be 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. The companies were Kansas City Southern de Mexico, Ferromex, Ferrosur, and (owned jointly by the three companies) Ferrocarril y Terminal del Valle de Mexico or Ferrovalle which operates railroads and terminals in and around Mexico City.

As of 2006, the remaining parts of NdeM are in the process of liquidation.

Brief History: Mexico is a country between the U.S. and Central America that's known for its Pacific and Gulf of Mexico beaches and its diverse landscape of mountains, deserts and jungles. Ancient ruins such as Teotihuacán and the Mayan city of Chichén Itzá are scattered throughout the country, as are Spanish colonial-era towns. In capital Mexico City, upscale shops, renowned museums and gourmet restaurants cater to modern life.