Mexico City - To meet the growing demand for rail transport generated mainly by the automotive and energy industries, Kansas City Southern de Mexico (KCSM) and Ferromex are spending almost $100 million USD for the acquisition of newer, more powerful, and faster locomotives.

According to data reported by the Transport Division of Grupo Mexico, Ferromex and Ferrosur, the company has invested $80.7 million USD in thirty-four 2015 model Electromotive Diesel 4300 horsepower trains.

The country's second-largest rail company, KCSM, has purchased 25 locomotives of the same model and, as part of the company's 2013-2018 investment plan, another twenty-five 2015 trains with 4400 horsepower from General Electric.

Grupo México also expects to invest heavily in railway infrastructure during 2015. Ferromex and Ferrosur, which together operate 9,800 kilometers of track, saw their cargo volumes increase by 5.6% during the first six months of 2015 so they'll be investing back in the railroad, according to Ferromex Chief Executive Officer Rogelio Velez. "And we will be very aggressive in our investments," he said earlier this year.

Kansas City Southern de México, which operates 3,600 kilometers of track in Mexico, anticipates investing $1.3 billion by 2018. This year alone they are spending $16 million on locomotives, maintenance and order guarantees.

When Mexico privatized its freight railroads in 1997, they were handling 18% of the country's freight traffic, according to ProgressiveRailroading. Now that figure is 27%.

"We know the railroads should handle over 30 percent of the freight," Velez says, noting that U.S. freight railroads carry more than 40 percent. "We still have a lot of opportunity for railroad business in Mexico," he added.

Ferromex and Kansas City have exclusive use of their rail lines until 2027.