Mexican President Confirms Passenger Rail Revival
Mexico’s President, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, has announced that the Mexican government’s budget for 2025 includes funding for the consolidation of passenger and freight trains, with $7.6 billion allocated for rail Infrastructure.
Andrés Lajous Loaeza, head of Mexico’s Railway Transport Regulatory Agency (ARTF), says that in the coming years, the government aims to build 1,864 miles (3,000 kilometers) of railway tracks that will allow for the operation of passenger trains, while it is also a priority to strengthen rail freight services. He said that the government may grant allocations to public companies or concessions to private individuals.
Sheinbaum has switched spending on future rail projects from the Ministry of Defense, which will continue to be responsible for existing schemes, to the Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications and Transport.
Sheinbaum says resources have been allocated for strategic projects such as the introduction of passenger trains from Mexico City to Querétaro and from Mexico City via Felipe Angeles International Airport to Pachuca, and to launch freight services on the recently-completed Mayan Train network.
“Trains are coming to Querétaro, Pachuca, Guadalajara, Irapuato, and to the north, to Nuevo Laredo,” she said Nov. 22.
Lajous Loaeza says the 140-mile (225-kilometer) journey from Mexico City to Querétaro will take 1 hour and 40 minutes while the 65-mile (105-kilometer) trip from Mexico City to Pachuca will take 1 hour and 20 minutes.
The budget announcement follows the approval on Oct. 29 by two thirds of the Congresses of Mexico’s Federative Entities of a change in the law to allow the state to regain the right to provide passenger services on the rail network. The former Mexican National Railways withdrew all long-distance passenger services in 1997 as part of the privatization process and the awarding of freight concessions.
Lajous Loaeza says the introduction of passenger services will allow for a reduction in travel time, greater safety, a better quality of life, and a reduction in the carbon footprint. The government is also prioritizing the reintroduction of services to isolated communities.
