In 1996, the Mexican federal government started the privatization of the railroads. Now the railroad system is operated by seven different companies; six private and one public.

      The Mexican railroad system was built and operated by the federal government up to 1996. At that time, the railroad system was in bad condition after decades of neglect and lack of investment, as the government was giving priority to the development of the road infrastructure and truck transportation industry. The existing infrastructure was almost the same as built under the Porfirio Diáz regime. In 1995 railroads carried only 12.4 percent of the cargo moved in Mexico, compared to 24 percent reached in the ‘70s.

      In 1995, the Mexican congress modified article 28 of the Mexican Constitution and several federal laws to allow the operation of the railroad system to domestic and foreign investors. In order to prevent monopolies, the government decided to divide the operation of the national railroad system into seven regions/routes. During 1996-1997, the federal government privatized the railroad system through a public bid process that granted concessions to six private corporations and let one route in the hands of a public owned company.

      As of March 2006, the Mexican cargo railroad system is operated by seven different corporations...

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