San Pedro Cholula railway station recovery, Digi Mart USA News (San Pedro Cholula, Puebla, Mexico): A Milenio opinion column notes that the railway station in San Pedro Cholula, established in the 19th century, reached its peak in the following century before being closed in 1996 as a result of the privatization of Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México.
The column reports that the federally owned site was later occupied by a private individual who, in 2007, claimed it as his own along Avenida Morelos. There, he established a restaurant called “La vía,” followed by a bar and later one of the so-called convenience stores, with no action taken by the municipal, state or federal government to stop it.
According to the column, the properties once belonging to Ferronales are, or should be, overseen by the Servicio de Administración y Enajenación de Bienes (SAE), which should have determined whether permission for the occupation of the more than 1,000-square-meter lot was granted or denied.
On October 25, local lawmaker María Fernanda de la Barreda Angón submitted a motion urging the Instituto para Devolver al Pueblo lo Robado and the Secretaría de Infraestructura, Comunicaciones y Transportes to conduct a documentary review of the property history, administration, disincorporation, sale and transfer of the buildings linked to the former station, particularly transactions reported around 2000 and 2005.
The motion also calls on federal, state and municipal authorities to act to protect the heritage.
The column proposes recovering the site for cultural and social use in San Pedro and raises open questions about how long the requested review will take and who will support such efforts. It points to the Puebla railway museum as an example that such action is possible.
