Central American National Railway

 

Central American National Railway

Intermodal train pulled by F40PH locomotives in FNCA colors.
Overview
Headquarters	San Salvador, Central America
Reporting mark	FNCA
Locale	Central America
Dates of operation	1992–present
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Length	2,700 miles (4,300 km)

The Central American National Railway (Spanish: Ferrocarril Nacional Centroamericano, FNCA), formerly known as the Southern Railway (Ferrocarril del Sur or Ferrosur), is a private consortium that operates the railroad network in the Federation of Central America. As of 2021 there are 2,700 miles of track in Central America owned by FNCA, and intercity passenger trains operating between the country's major cities, including Sonsonate, San Salvador, Guatemala City, Managua, and Tegucigalpa.

Historically the countries of Central America had very limited rail infrastructure. Western investors, such as the United Fruit Company, built railroads in the region to support their operations during the early 20th century. After decades of under-funding and little maintenance, most of the network fell into a state of disrepair and minimal use by the time of the Central American crisis in the early 1980s. The wars of that time devastated what was left. The 1990s saw a period of reconstruction and increased investment from Anglo-American countries as the newly formed Federation of Central America became more integrated with the North American market. As part of this effort, a new company, the Southern Railway (Ferrosur) was established for the purpose of upgrading and rebuilding the rail infrastructure in the country, with Sierra's Royal Pacific Railroad, Brazoria's Santa Fe Railway, and the United Commonwealth's Continental Rail owning most of the stock. In 2006 the Central American government purchased the majority of the stock and the company was renamed Central American National Railway.

Passenger service

An FNCA passenger train outside of Guatemala City.