A monument of civil engineering: the first Mexican railway

The Ferrocarril Mexicano was the first railway in Mexico, completed in 1873. It runs from Veracruz at sea level, for a distance of 425 km, climbing 2240 m to the Estación Buenavista in Mexico City. The most remarkable part of the track is the 203-km-long section between San Andrés Chalchicomula and Veracruz, with 23 stations, 39 bridges and 16 tunnels, climbing some 2300 m. By 1988 a 130 km part of this section was improved leaving three sections of track (56 km) now completely abandoned. After a historical and technical description of the construction phases, the paper discusses the structural and technical installations on the abandoned parts of the line and their importance for the history of construction. The need for reassessing, restoring and conserving these structures is emphasised. The abandoned sections have been conserved mainly due to public pressure. Now is the time to reinforce these initiatives by an international declaration and reutilisation programme.