Baja California Railroad
García Station, Tijuana
Overview
HeadquartersAv. Ferrocarril #1, Col. Libertad Parte Baja
Tijuana, Baja California C.P. 22300
Dates of operation2010–
Other
Websitebajarr.com
Baja California Railroad
Legend
San Diego and
Imperial Valley Railroad
U.S.
Mexico
 Tijuana
García
Valle Redondo
Tecate
planned
Campo
Plaster City
Union Pacific
El Centro Subdivision
This diagram:

Baja California Railroad, Inc. (BJRR) is a class III railroad operating in the northwest of Baja California, interchanging with San Diego and Imperial Valley Railroad in San Ysidro, California. After rehabilitation efforts are completed on the Desert Line portion of the railroad, an interchange is also planned with the Union Pacific Railroad in Plaster City, California.

The railroad is managed by ADMICARGA (Administradora de la Vía Corta Tijuana-Tecate), a Baja California government entity. It does not connect to any other railroads in Mexico's rail system.

Operations

BJRR's biggest clients are Z Gas, North StarGas, Empacadora Rosarito, and Heineken Brewery in Tecate, which receives large amounts of grain and corn syrup imports.[1]

Other clients receive shipments such as borax, pig lard, lumber, steel, paper, and cattle feed.[2]

History

Operations began in 2012, using 71.48 kilometres (44.42 mi) of the former track of the Ferrocarril Tijuana y Tecate, which was constructed in 1910 by the San Diego & Arizona Railway from San Diego to El Centro. The BJRR is the technical operating and maintenance assistant of the rail line's Baja California segment under agreement from the railroad's operator, ADMICARGA.

In February 2013, the local Baja California directors of BJRR announced an investment of $20 million to upgrade the neglected track.[2] The first area to be developed was the first 20 kilometres (12 mi) from the border in Tijuana to El Florido as far as Matanuco. Work started in May 2013 with the building of the Tijuana railroad yard; the focus was on more track capacity, in conjunction with the upcoming San Ysidro Freight Rail Yard Improvement Project by SANDAG.

In June 2016, Baja California Railroad secured a 100-year lease with the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (SDMTS) to rehabilitate and operate an additional 112.75 kilometres (70.06 mi) of track in the United States between Campo, California and Plaster City, California. The line, with 57 bridges and 17 tunnels, will be rehabilitated in three phases: Phase 1, Campo to Jacumba Hot Springs, California; phase 2, Dos Cabezas (near Ocotillo Wells, California) to Plaster City; and phase 3, from Jacumba to Dos Cabezas.[3][non-primary source needed] The railroad paid SDMTS $1 million per year to retain its lease;[4] Baja California Railroad stopped paying SDMTS beginning in 2020, breaking its lease.[5]

Route and stations

Map of the line, with its four stations. B.C. stand for Baja California.

Tijuana Station

Tijuana Station is located immediately to the south of the US San Ysidro Port of Entry. The station is now in a 1,000-square-metre (11,000 sq ft) three-story building that contains new administrative offices, an operations and logistics control center, offices for ADMICARGA (the railroad's operator), customs control, a customs agency (broker), the Mexican Secretariat of Agriculture and Rural Development, and the State Committee of Vegetable Sanitation (CESV). There is also space for sixty-eight 60-foot (18 m) cars.[6] The original railway station, built in the late 1920s, will become a railway museum.[citation needed]

García Station

García Station is farther east, near La Mesa of Tijuana municipality. It has a 470-square-metre (5,100 sq ft) two-story building with a reception area and offices for customer service, administration, and logistics. Also, after renovations, the storage capacity was increased to 3,400 square metres (37,000 sq ft), of which 435 square metres (4,680 sq ft) is for cold storage.[7]

Tijuana-Tecate Tourist Train

In addition to freight trains, the Baja California Railroad's track is also used by the Tijuana-Tecate Tourist Train (Spanish: Tren Turístico Tijuana-Tecate).[8][9] This service consists of a round trip from García Station to Tecate.[8][9] Rolling stock consists of vintage Gallery Cars (described by The San Diego Union-Tribune as a "60-year old double decker train") hauled by one of the BJRR's locomotives.[10]

The tourist train has been active since at least 2009.[11] The train's operations were suspended from 2020 to 2023, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[10]

However, in December 2023, Marina del Pilar Ávila Olmeda, the Governor of Baja California, announced that the tourist train would return on January 27, 2024.[12][13] As promised, the train would run again on January 27[14][15] that year,[10] and another run, with a Valentine's Day theme, is scheduled to happen on February 17.[15][16]

References

  1. ^ Santillán, Roberto (October 4, 2015). "Promueve Baja Rail Road transporte de carga en tren". Diario Tijuana. Archived from the original on November 18, 2015. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  2. ^ a b Santillán, Roberto (October 11, 2015). "Aumentará competitividad de B.C. con obras de la vía corta". Diario Tijuana. Archived from the original on November 18, 2015. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  3. ^ "DESERT LINE | Baja Railroad". www.bajarr.com. Retrieved 2018-03-08.
  4. ^ Smith, Joshua Emerson (7 February 2019). "Baja Railroad's overhaul of MTS-owned Desert Line appears stuck in the sand". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  5. ^ Smith, James Emerson (13 November 2021). "San Diego MTS determined to rehab 'Impossible Railroad' despite latest setback in the desert". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  6. ^ Mondragón, Adán (August 30, 2015). "Buscan mejorar vía férrea de Tijuana-Tecate". El Mexicano. Archived from the original on July 10, 2018. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  7. ^ "Buscan mejorar vías del ferrocarril para aumentar competitividad mega región". El Tijuanense. August 31, 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-11-18. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  8. ^ a b "Tren Turístico Tijuana - Tecate | RETYS". retys.bajacalifornia.gob.mx. Government of Baja California. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  9. ^ a b "SIDURT Gobierno de Baja California". www.sidue.gob.mx. Federal government of Mexico. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  10. ^ a b c Tamayo, Alejandro; Mendoza, Alexandra (2 February 2024). "All aboard! The beloved Tijuana-Tecate tourist train returns". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  11. ^ Gonzalez, Omar Millan (3 October 2010). "Tijuana-to-Tecate rail tour has been picking up steam". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 12 February 2024. According to the railway administration [ie, ADMICARGA], from Oct. 24, 2009, to Aug. 21 of this year, the Tijuana-Tecate tourist train made 12 trips with a total of almost 4,000 passengers.
  12. ^ "Tijuana-Tecate Tourist Train Returns". Mexico Business. Retrieved 12 February 2024. ...Marina del Pilar Ávila, announced that the tourist train will start operations on Jan. 27, 2024.
  13. ^ "Baja California también tendrá su tren turístico, arrancará su recorrido de Tijuana a Tecate en enero del 2024". El Universal (in Spanish).
  14. ^ "Tren Turístico Tijuana-Tecate 27 Enero 2024". Facebook (in Spanish). ADMICARGA. 29 January 2024. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  15. ^ a b Caro, Jorge (27 January 2024). "EL TREN LLEGÓ CARGADO DE TURISTAS A TECATE 🚂". Facebook (in Spanish). Radar Tecate. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  16. ^ Mendoza, Alexandra (3 February 2024). "The Tijuana-Tecate tourist train is back. Hop aboard for music, history and that namesake beer". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
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