Recapping RailtecMéxico: a few capex details
The significance of ceremony reverberates at RailtecMéxico, and nowhere was that more apparent this year than the post-ribbon-cutting, exhibit hall parade of dignitaries that kicked off the event, held Jan. 27-29 in Monterrey, Mexico. (The event was presented by Asociacion Mexicana de Empresas Ferrocarrileras A.C. and co-sponsored by Progressive Railroading.) As they do every year, the VIPs visited selected booths (including Kansas City Southern de México S.A. de C.V., Ferrocarril Mexicano S.A. de C.V. and the Port of Mexico) and stayed just long enough to let the more than two dozen photographers and a handful of videographers record the moment for posterity.
Also part of the Railtec ritual: the unveiling of the railroads’ spending plans for the year ahead. In short: The railroads plan to invest in infrastructure (as opposed to rail cars and locomotives) in 2008 and, with respect to the two major roads, continue to pursue their intermodal-growth dreams. A few highlights of their presented (via translation) plans:
• Kansas City Southern de México S.A. de C.V. (KCSM) has set aside $251 million for 2008, said Transportation Director Oscar del Cueto. The railroad will invest more than $100 million in track maintenance, capacity improvement and commercial projects, including the replacement of 232,000 ties and 50 miles of rail, according to a Jan. 29 press release. To boost capacity, KCSM will extend sidings at Tarentan and San Miguel Allende, and double-track a line from Rojas to Ramos Arizpe. The railroad also intends to complete preliminary engineering and environment impact studies of proposed “international” crossings at Nuevo Laredo (“the most important commercial trading point for Mexico,” del Cueto said) and Matamoros, and work with Mexican and U.S. officials to obtain “as soon as possible” authority for a new international bridge in Nuevo Laredo. KCSM also will continue to work with state of Tamaulipas officials to develop a new international bridge in Matamoros. … On the mechanical side, KCSM will spend more than $100 million, with plans to purchase 35 new locomotives and 600 new freight cars, as well as upgrade existing cars and locomotives. … Meanwhile, the railroad plans to push ahead with the Lazaro Cardenas-North America International Intermodal Corridor by accelerating intermodal terminal construction at Palm Island, a facility designed to complement the new Hutchison Port Holdings Terminal facility that opened in November. KCSM also is just about ready to select a “strategic development partner” for MEGAMEX, a logistics center slated to be developed in the Valley of Mexico.
• Ferrocarril Mexicano S.A. de C.V. (Ferromex) will spend $182.2 million this year, but none of it on new locomotives after acquiring 40 AC units in 2007. Instead, the railroad will focus on infrastructure upkeep and intermodal/automotive terminal development, said Juan Manuel Soler, director of maintenance/operations resources. Work will include installing 125 miles of new rail and 263,000 ties (wood and concrete); rehabbing 38 bridges; extending or building 30 sidings; aligning 730 track miles; and installing 2 WILD detectors, 11 DOAs and11 hot-box detectors. … On the intermodal/automotive front, Ferromex expects to continue planning/developing terminals, including facilities in such strategic locations as Ciudad Juarez, Tabalaopa, Culiacán and Viborillas, with yard expansions scheduled for facilities in Manzanillo, Bojay, Empalme and Guadalajara, Ferromex’s operations center. … Mechanically speaking, the railroad won’t be buying power (as mentioned) or rail cars, but it will overhaul 43 locomotives.
• Ferrosur S.A. de C.V. has budgeted $42.6 million. Operations Director Hugo Gomez didn’t delineate the peso/dollar allocation, saying only that the railroad planned to invest in “main track capacity,” in part by rehabilitating track (no kilometer amount given); extending 11 sidings and building four new ones; rehabbing 49 bridges; and building a new yard just outside the Port of Vera Cruz, and “continuing work” on infrastructure at the ports of Coatzacoalcos and Tierra Blanca. The railroad also plans to “implement hot box detectors” (no total provided) and “relieve rail friction” by installing Pandrol® “e” Clips on 25 5-degree-or-higher curves, Gomez said, adding that Ferrosur installed 35 “e” Clips in 2007.
• Ferrocarril del Istmo de Tehuantepec S.A. de C.V. (Ferroistmo) could spend up to $25 million, mostly to rebuild (per Mexican government dictates) the former Chiapas-Mayab S.A. de C.V., which was ravaged by Hurricane Stan in October 2005. The work could include rebuilding 28 bridges, many of which had been completely washed away — or, as in one instance, “the water raised it up 7.4 meters and we have to correct it,” said Operations Director Gustavo Baca.
• Ferrocarril y Terminal del Valle de Mexico (Ferrovalle) will invest $18.1 million, said Operations Director Antelmo Melgarejo Guzmán. The breakdown: $9.1 million for locomotive maintenance and repair; $5.6 million on infrastructure, primarily rail rehab work; $2.3 million on “signals,” as Guzmán simply put it; and $1.1 million for (mostly) equipment for the Pantaco intermodal facility.
• Linea Coahuila Durango S.A. de C.V. was scheduled to present but didn’t.
Also part of the Railtec ritual: the unveiling of the railroads’ spending plans for the year ahead. In short: The railroads plan to invest in infrastructure (as opposed to rail cars and locomotives) in 2008 and, with respect to the two major roads, continue to pursue their intermodal-growth dreams. A few highlights of their presented (via translation) plans:
• Kansas City Southern de México S.A. de C.V. (KCSM) has set aside $251 million for 2008, said Transportation Director Oscar del Cueto. The railroad will invest more than $100 million in track maintenance, capacity improvement and commercial projects, including the replacement of 232,000 ties and 50 miles of rail, according to a Jan. 29 press release. To boost capacity, KCSM will extend sidings at Tarentan and San Miguel Allende, and double-track a line from Rojas to Ramos Arizpe. The railroad also intends to complete preliminary engineering and environment impact studies of proposed “international” crossings at Nuevo Laredo (“the most important commercial trading point for Mexico,” del Cueto said) and Matamoros, and work with Mexican and U.S. officials to obtain “as soon as possible” authority for a new international bridge in Nuevo Laredo. KCSM also will continue to work with state of Tamaulipas officials to develop a new international bridge in Matamoros. … On the mechanical side, KCSM will spend more than $100 million, with plans to purchase 35 new locomotives and 600 new freight cars, as well as upgrade existing cars and locomotives. … Meanwhile, the railroad plans to push ahead with the Lazaro Cardenas-North America International Intermodal Corridor by accelerating intermodal terminal construction at Palm Island, a facility designed to complement the new Hutchison Port Holdings Terminal facility that opened in November. KCSM also is just about ready to select a “strategic development partner” for MEGAMEX, a logistics center slated to be developed in the Valley of Mexico.
• Ferrocarril Mexicano S.A. de C.V. (Ferromex) will spend $182.2 million this year, but none of it on new locomotives after acquiring 40 AC units in 2007. Instead, the railroad will focus on infrastructure upkeep and intermodal/automotive terminal development, said Juan Manuel Soler, director of maintenance/operations resources. Work will include installing 125 miles of new rail and 263,000 ties (wood and concrete); rehabbing 38 bridges; extending or building 30 sidings; aligning 730 track miles; and installing 2 WILD detectors, 11 DOAs and11 hot-box detectors. … On the intermodal/automotive front, Ferromex expects to continue planning/developing terminals, including facilities in such strategic locations as Ciudad Juarez, Tabalaopa, Culiacán and Viborillas, with yard expansions scheduled for facilities in Manzanillo, Bojay, Empalme and Guadalajara, Ferromex’s operations center. … Mechanically speaking, the railroad won’t be buying power (as mentioned) or rail cars, but it will overhaul 43 locomotives.
• Ferrosur S.A. de C.V. has budgeted $42.6 million. Operations Director Hugo Gomez didn’t delineate the peso/dollar allocation, saying only that the railroad planned to invest in “main track capacity,” in part by rehabilitating track (no kilometer amount given); extending 11 sidings and building four new ones; rehabbing 49 bridges; and building a new yard just outside the Port of Vera Cruz, and “continuing work” on infrastructure at the ports of Coatzacoalcos and Tierra Blanca. The railroad also plans to “implement hot box detectors” (no total provided) and “relieve rail friction” by installing Pandrol® “e” Clips on 25 5-degree-or-higher curves, Gomez said, adding that Ferrosur installed 35 “e” Clips in 2007.
• Ferrocarril del Istmo de Tehuantepec S.A. de C.V. (Ferroistmo) could spend up to $25 million, mostly to rebuild (per Mexican government dictates) the former Chiapas-Mayab S.A. de C.V., which was ravaged by Hurricane Stan in October 2005. The work could include rebuilding 28 bridges, many of which had been completely washed away — or, as in one instance, “the water raised it up 7.4 meters and we have to correct it,” said Operations Director Gustavo Baca.
• Ferrocarril y Terminal del Valle de Mexico (Ferrovalle) will invest $18.1 million, said Operations Director Antelmo Melgarejo Guzmán. The breakdown: $9.1 million for locomotive maintenance and repair; $5.6 million on infrastructure, primarily rail rehab work; $2.3 million on “signals,” as Guzmán simply put it; and $1.1 million for (mostly) equipment for the Pantaco intermodal facility.
• Linea Coahuila Durango S.A. de C.V. was scheduled to present but didn’t.
Posted by: 
Pat Foran | Date posted: 2/12/2008 3:00:00 PM
