Mexican Trains - Mexico

I started traveling Mexican trains consistently in 1989 within a year after a company called Mexico Research put out their first, & last comprehensive schedule of Ferrocarriles Nacionales De Mexico..."Train Times in Mexico."

First edition - August 1, 1988. This 75 page schedule with its 70 routes served me well in the decade since. I simply had to open the book to its weblike map detailing the network of passenger routes

servicing all parts of the country...including 10 points along the U.S. border to go along with its l0 international port destinations on the two coasts...take note of the train number along the route I wished to follow, & then go to that schedule in the book.

There I would find the departure & arrival times for every stop on each class of service. Armed with this schedule I was able to follow the tracks from coast to coast, & up & down both sides of the continental divide from the U.S. Border to that of Guatemala.

Though this schedule was a decade old when I popped 45 pesos for a

Mexico City to San Miguel Allende train this past March 1998, it still was accurate in predicting the stops, & continued to serve me well with its kilometer readings...When I travel long distances via ground transportation I follow my travels & plot my future on a

map also. Using the kilometer readings in the schedule it's easy to pinpoint my location as they are frequently physically displayed all along the routes.

As for the rest of the schedule such as train numbers, services

offered, special star trains, sleeping, dining & lounge cars...well they are irrelevant now, with maybe the exception of services offered...they still sell beer. Tecate has lost its monopoly on this

concession though & they now sell bottled Carta Blanca for 7 pesos & canned Modelo at 10...but dig to the bottom of the ice chest yourself in order to get a cold one.

On this route they also sold some sandwiches which I declined. I waited to see what the conductors were going to do for sustenance. I didn't see them scarfying up on any of those tasty looking ham & cheese sandwiches one of their own was hawking up & down the aisle. And they didn't mob any of the food vendors hawking their fare on the platforms during the short stops either. But a couple of hours into the trip I did see the conductors help aboard two matronly women who had with them some covered baskets. After two or three of the conductors were treated to hot meals from those baskets I placed

my order for more of the same...a full on, full course meal...choice of entree with rice, beans, salsa & tortillas. Then the two women were off to peddle their delicious meals to the rest of the train before jumping off at another stop a few klicks up the line.

I call that great service & it was fantastic food, but obviously the

train management is not entitled to any bows. In truth, there's nothing great about the train for which Ferrocarriles Nacionales de Mexico can take credit except for maybe the smoothness of the tracks. Back when the train service was good...white table cloth dining cars & overstuffed sofas in the lounge cars...the rocking & rolling made walking about an amusing adventure. Now with NAFTA, a lot of money has been expended in upgrading the tracks for freight...at least I think that to be the number one reason. But whatever the determination the ride is noticeably more smoother on some routes.

While the train tracks have improved, the number & routes of the

passenger trains more closely resemble the service record's decline. Case in point would be Mexico City's schedule for March 1998. They have now only 8 scheduled departures to 5 different destinations, with three of those routes being suspended indefinitely. With those three

suspensions there are only five scheduled departures per day compared with 5 dailies just to Oaxaca a few years ago. And then of those 5 remaining, only three are day time trips...my main reason absent a sleeping car...for taking surface transportation. Did I mention sleeping car?...well they have been a thing of the past for two

years...no mas...todomente...After two years I'm still in mourning.

I've always loved traveling on trains, but to climb between clean

sheets on a comfortable bed aboard one of them gives me an almost sinful feeling. I know it gives me sinful thoughts. One of my favorite routes aboard one of the Ferrocarriles sleeping cars was the Veracruz line. From Mexico City it would allow me to come to

life in the morning with the train going at a leisurely pace through the plush landscape outside of Veracruz. But if I can't get a sleeper car I ain't traveling at night, & I'm tired of Veracruz anyway...good Carnival...lousy beach to sleep it off in the morning. Mazatlan has both, plus easier access.

Physical security is no problem on board the passenger trains of any

class service. I never met anyone in person who has ever been assaulted. Though I did get a couple of first hand stories of stolen baggage aboard second class trains. In any case, there isn't much room for crime aboard the trains now as the drug war police are well

represented on all forms of transportation...there's also drug dogs on the buses, ferries & around major events.

I don't know if it was just because the week I was traveling this

train was during that interim period where Clinton had just certified Mexico as being on the right side of the drug war; & congress, wanting to make hay, was holding up its certification pending more speech making. But in any case the Mexicans government was doing all that it

could to show how tough they could be in stopping, searching & interrogating as many people as many times as possible. They did a hell of a job with the numbers game on that point, but if their efforts were to capture the United States attention it was all in vain, because it was at the same time that Clinton was being attacked on the zipper thing again...& that's all the elephant people seemed wanted to talk about at the time.

Therefore, almost all the inconvenience & trouble caused by the Mexican authorities with guns went unnoticed....except by us on the train. A 5 hour trip was extended another hour & a half as three different stops were extended by inspections & interrogations. Dogs, PGR, Military & Migration were involved & micro inspections of baggage were conducted. Nobody, including the conductors were happy with these delays. Also, no one voiced any complaint to the armed authorities...but they did to me & each other. They were equally pissed at the U.S. & their own government for these invasive & time consuming searches...same opinions as voiced to me on the buses.

As with a lot of things there is usually more than one reason for

actions such as these by the Mexican government. Although I feel co-operation to get favored trading partner status intensified their drug searches, I was further enlightened on the issue when I read in a Mexico City paper that the police are having a record property seizure

year...drug prosecution being the impetus. Like the U.S.A. there's no burden of proof needed for this action in Mexico either & the different law enforcement agencies, army included, are well aware of the lucrative & easily obtainable bounties.

Many of the routes are still enjoyable however, & unlike Amtrak you

can go stand in the vestibule, hang your head out & breath the fresh...sometimes too fresh...air. This can be a dangerous proposition however as the bushes along side the tracks are usually

only trimmed by the passing trains themselves. And then there are often times where there isn't more than 8 inches of clearance in the tunnels. But the vestibules are also a great place to suck up a beer & get some dialogue going with the locals & any gringos that might be along. On this trip the gringos were represented by a family of 3 from Colorado, a French backpacker, & a Cuban American from Miami. The Cuban was a rather suspicious character who claimed that he had been robbed by the police before boarding the train. Had no papers & played like he couldn't speak Spanish when questioned by the first authorities who boarded the train.. I knew he spoke Spanish but it

was not my business...just made sure I kept my distance from him during the next two searches.

Even with the decline of the train system in Mexico, & the upgrade of

the buses & roads I still lean towards the train. Trains many times offer vistas that aren't visible from the roads, are usually substantially lower in price than even a second class bus ticket & are pedestrian friendly. I appreciate all of those attributes, but

what I really love about them is the sense of history they have within them & the suggestion of romance...even without the sleepers.

Mexico City Departures