Mexico: Railway duopoly fights bill to open market

Two companies that hold a duopoly over Mexico’s rail freight industry are set to launch legal action against government plans to introduce legislation that would reportedly break an agreement that gave exclusivity to the companies for another 14 years.

Grupo Mexico’s Ferromex and Ferrosur, and Kansas City Southern de Mexico, almost exclusively run the nation’s freight rail industry. In efforts to introduce new competition, reports say Congress’s lower house has overwhelmingly cleared a bill that introduces new reforms to the market. The legislation would require operators to share lines with rivals, among other policies.

But the companies that dominate the market argue that the legislation violates and earlier agreement that protected exclusive control for the next 14 years; the firms are reportedly considering legal action against the government should it pass the bill.

The Senate must approve the bill before it progresses.

Full Content: MSN

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