Ferrocarril Chihuahua al Pacífico

Bridge across the Río Fuerte at El Fuerte

El Chepe at terminal station, 8 February 2009

The Ferrocarril Chihuahua al Pacífico Template:Reporting mark (Template:Langx), commonly known as Chepe Express, (formerly as El Chepe), is a major rail line in northwest Mexico, linking the city of Chihuahua to Los Mochis and its port, Topolobampo.<ref> For a good but slightly dated guide to the railroad and the area, see Wampler, Joseph, "New Rails to Old Towns: The Region and Story of the Ferrocarriles Chihuahua al Pacifico," (1969, Berkeley, CA).</ref> It crosses the Sierra Madre Occidental, part of the range that in the United States is called the Rocky Mountains. There is no road covering the trajectory.

It runs Template:Convert, traversing the Copper Canyon, a rugged series of canyons that have led some to call this the most scenic railroad trip on the continent. It is both an important transportation system for locals and a draw for tourists.<ref name=Owen>Template:Cite web</ref>

The tracks pass over 37 bridges and through 86 tunnels, rising as high as Template:Convert above sea level near Divisadero (the continental divide), a popular lookout spot over the canyons.<ref name="Chepe">Template:Cite web</ref> Each one-way trip takes roughly 16 hours. The track also crosses over itself to gain elevation.

History

The concept of the railroad was officially recognized in 1880, when the president of Mexico, General Manuel González, granted a rail concession to Albert Kinsey Owen<ref name="Owen"/><ref>Topolobampo or Bust</ref> of the Utopia Socialist Colony of New Harmony, Indiana, United States, who was seeking to develop a socialist colony in Mexico. The railroad was actually built by Arthur Stilwell<ref name="work"/> as the Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway, starting about 1900.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

From 1910 to 1914, Mexico North Western Railway (sp. Ferrocarril del Noroeste) completed the Temosachic–Casas–Grandes line. Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway completed the Chihuahua–Ojinaga section.<ref name="chepe.mx/story"/> Enrique Creel's Chihuahua al Pacífico railroad completed the Chihuahua–Creel section.<ref name="chepe.mx/story"/>

In 1940, Mexico acquired the rights from Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway.<ref name="chepe.mx/story"/> In May 1952, Mexico took possession of a line operated by Mexican Northwestern Railway.<ref name="chepe.mx/story"/> In 1955, Mexico merged them as Ferrocarril Chihuahua al Pacifico, S.A. de C.V.<ref name="chepe.mx/story">Template:Cite web</ref>

Financial difficulties caused by the cost of building a railroad through rugged terrain delayed the project, and the ChP was not completed until 1961.<ref name="Owen"/><ref name="work"/>

The private rail franchise Ferromex took over the railroad from the Mexican government in 1998.<ref name="chepe.mx/story"/>

Schedule

In general, two different passenger trains run daily: Chepe Regional, a slower service with more stops for locals, with 16 stops at which boardings or disembarkations can be made at passenger request, and the other a luxury, Chepe Express, direct service for tourists, which is faster and more expensive.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> First-class trains are composed of two to three cars, each holding 64 passengers. Second-class trains have three or four cars, each holding 68 passengers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

There is also regular cargo service running between Topolobampo and Chihuahua that might be further increased and extended to connect with the Texas Pacifico Transportation Railroad at the Ojinaga Presidio Crossing into the United States as a part of the La Entrada al Pacifico.

On its way from Los Mochis to Chihuahua it runs through El Fuerte, Temoris, Bahuichivo, Posada Barrancas, Divisadero, and Creel, among others.

See also

• La Entrada al Pacífico
• List of Mexican railroads
• List of named passenger trains of Mexico

Further reading

• Template:Cite book

External links

• Template:In lang—Chepe Express (chepe.mx)
• Template:In lang—Chepe Express (chepe.mx)
• MEXLIST : Mexican railroad discussion and study group
• How to Visit Copper Canyon by Train
• Ferrocarril Chihuahua al Pacifico North America Railway Hall of Fame