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| Introduction
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Nearly all of Mexico's passenger trains have not run since January of 2000. Routes once popular with travelers, such as the Oaxaqueno, an overnight train from Mexico City to Oaxaca, no longer exist.
The passenger train system was slow. Scheduled times between cities were roughly twice that of buses, and the trains were often late. One of the reasons that the passenger rail system was ended is that Mexico has one of the world's best bus systems.
Below are descriptions of the remaining passenger trains. The Ferrocarril Chihuahua Pacifico through Copper Canyon is by far the most important of these. .
Of the few remaining passenger trains, the one with the most passengers is also the one of prime interest to visitors is the Ferrocarril Chihuahua Pacifico linking the inland city of Chihuahua and 408 miles of railroad tracks, 86 tunnels and 37 bridges.
Extensive
You can get to almost anywhere in Mexico by bus. In 1994, there were 841 Mexican bus companies with 43,850 buses according to the Iberoamerican
Business Information and Documentation Center. Today the number is probably similar. While there has been a consolidation of ownership, parent
companies, known as grupos, usually maintain the original companies. Some bus lines in remote areas may have a single bus or two and
only one route. Other companies have a large fleet of buses with an extensive network of routes.
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| Copper Canyon |
If you are going to Mexico for the first time and are expecting the chicken buses you've seen in movies, you will have a great deal of
difficulty finding them.
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| Tequila Express |
If you are going to Mexico for the first time and are expecting the chicken buses you've seen in movies, you will have a great deal of
difficulty finding them.
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| Expreso Maya |
If you are going to Mexico for the first time and are expecting the chicken buses you've seen in movies, you will have a great deal of
difficulty finding them.
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| Tren Escenico - Cuautla |
Retired in 1973, old steam engine No. 279 and its cars were later donated to the city of Cuautla. Mexico's only existing steam train now runs on a narrow gauge set of tracks connecting Cuatla's old railroad station, where there is a railroad museum, to nearby (15 kms.) Yecapixtla, the location of the Ex-convent of San Juan Bautista, a World Heritage Site. The Lonely Planet guide says that the trains operate every Saturday and Sunday around the city. According to the Trenecitos website, the train runs on the third Saturday of each month. ell have a great deal of
difficulty finding them On June 24, 1881, 200 people mostly soldiers, drown when a train ran off bridge near Cuautla. On May 3, 1913, the Zapatista destroyed a train running from Cuautla to Ozunmba. There's a lengthy posting with photos by a railroad buff who visited Cuautla.
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| Copper Canyon |
If you are going to Mexico for the first time and are expecting the chicken buses you've seen in movies, , According to the Trenecitos website, the train runs on the third Saturday of each month. every tou will have a great deal of
difficulty finding them.
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| Copper Canyon |
If you are going to Mexico for the first time and are expecting the chicken buses you've seen in movies, you will have a great deal of
difficulty finding them.
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| Tequilla Express |
Most cities have a single bus station. They will usually go by the name Central de Autobuses, Terminal de Autobuses or Camionera Central. In some places the station will have its own name, such as CAPU in Puebla. Don't worry. If you you ask a taxi driver to take you Central de Autobuses and it is known in that town as the Camionera Central, he will understand and may reply with a polite correction, “Si señor, a la Camionera Central.”
The counters of the various bus companies are often in one area of the bus station. Some larger bus stations are divided with first class buses in one area and second class in another. Guadalajara is divided into seven separate connected small terminals. Because of its size, Mexico City has four large stations, each named for a compass direction.
Some cities have not consolidated their bus stations into a single station. Oaxaca has grouped the bus companies into two stations, one for second class buses and another in a different area of the city for the higher classes. There are towns where each company or group of companies will have their own station. These may all be in the same area, but as in Cuernavaca, a taxi may be need to make a connection.
While I have experienced a few bus company employees who were rude or indifferent, the vast majority have been polite, knowable and eager to help with any questions. I have been told, “We have a bus leaving for there in a half hour. However, if you go over to that lady, her company has one leaving in 5 minutes.”
Taxis are normally lined up in front of bus stations. Ask for the price before entering the taxi. In larger stations, ticket booths inside the station sells tickets at fixed rates depending on the area you wish to be taken to. You then give the ticket to the driver of one of the official taxis lined up in the area set aside for them.
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