International Railroad Discussion > Mexican State Blames Railways in Migrant Crimes (AP)

Mexican State Blames Railways in Migrant Crimes

VERACRUZ, Mexico — Prosecutors in southern Mexico have filed a criminal complaint alleging railway companies or their employees have been complicit in crimes committed against migrants who ride their trains.

Luis Angel Bravo, the attorney general of the Gulf coast state of Veracruz, said he filed a complaint with federal prosecutors against Ferrosur, a Mexican rail line, and a subsidiary of the U.S. railway Kansas City Southern.

Migrants from Central America hop aboard trains in the southern states of Oaxaca and Veracruz to reach the U.S. border, but they are frequently beaten, robbed or kidnapped by criminal gangs once aboard.

Bravo said Monday that he filed the complaint after migrants claimed the trains make unscheduled stops that allow criminals to climb aboard.

"The operating personnel of the railway companies aid, abet and help in the commission of various crimes, like robbery, injury, human trafficking and extortion," Bravo's office said in a statement.

More from:
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2014/04/01/world/americas/ap-lt-mexico-railway-migrants.html?ref=aponline

========================================================

Later in the article, a spokesperson for a migrants organization suggested that the railroads will simply become more vigilant about tossing migrants off of the train prior to departing.....


-j

Obviously, all of the railroads should be abandoned and converted into hiking and biking trails.

Trains are an "attractive nuisance" and all these curious people just can't help themselves in being lured into trespassing and, later, being killed or maimed.

The safest course is to just stop running all those dangerous trains. Hiking and biking trails are more "user friendly" to the general public.

Or maybe they should run passenger trains....

Dave

Back when they used to run passenger trains (prior to the early 90's), there were first and second class trains running in every direction. The second class trains (segundas) ran on a very slooooow schedule, stopping at every little town along the way, often comprised of a few old passenger cars, non-air-conditioned, with externally opening windows and rarely with enough power to light up the interiors.

What was amazing was the price - it was really cheap (around ~10-20$, probably less) to travel the distance from Nogales to Guadalajara. It wasn't a method for most tourists to travel as they were hot and crowded - but they certainly appeared to serve a niche in the travel market and always seemed to be crammed full of migrants moving both north and south.

(Of course, people riding freights is an old story and not any better today than back when passenger trains where running).

-j