Speed blamed for fatal derailment in Mexico

Aerial view of passenger train derailment

MEXICO CITY — The train involved in a fatal derailment in Mexico on Dec. 28 was traveling at excessive speed, the federal Attorney General’s Office said Tuesday (Jan. 27) in its initial report on the accident that killed 14 passengers. The Interoceanic Train was traveling at 65 kilometers per hour (40 mph), 15 kph (9.3 […]

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Trans-isthmus railway remains closed following fatal derailment

Map of Mexico's FIT (Ferrocarril del Istmo de Tehuantepec)

NIZANDA, Mexico — Eleven days after a derailment that killed 14 people, two lines of Mexico’s Ferrocarril del Istmo de Tehuantepec remain closed, with no estimate when they will reopen. Along with the trans-isthmus railway’s Z Line, where the Interoceanic Train derailed on Dec. 28, an additional route known as the K Line also remains […]

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Fourteenth person dies from Mexican derailment

Aerial view of passenger train derailment

OAXACA, Mexico — A 73-year-old woman died Thursday (Jan. 1) from injuries suffered in Sunday’s derailment of the Interoceanic Train, the Mexican Navy announced, raising the accident’s death toll to 14. The Dec. 28 derailment on the trans-isthmus service between Salina Cruz and Coatzacoalcos saw one locomotive and four cars of the northbound train derail, […]

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Investigation begins into fatal Interoceanic Train crash

Aerial view of passenger train derailment

MEXICO CITY — A government investigation into the cause of Sunday’s fatal derailment of Mexico’s Interoceanic Train has begun, with President Claudia Sheinbaum ordering the federal Attorney General’s Office to lead that inquiry,  according to the news site Quinto Poder (Fifth Estate). Thirteen people were killed when the train derailed Sunday morning near Nizanda in […]

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Alstom to build 47 passenger trains for new Mexican routes

Illustration of multiple-unit passenger train

Alstom will build 47 new diesel multiple-unit passenger trains for use on passenger routes under construction in Mexico, the company has announced. The order of 33 long-haul and 14 short-haul trainsets will be built for the Mexico City-Querétaro-Irapuato and Saltillo-Monterrey-Nuevo Laredo corridors under a Dec. 15 decision by the Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications, and Transportation. […]

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FRA steps up enforcement of language proficiency for cross-border train crews

WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration has clarified and stepped up enforcement of requirements that cross-border train crews demonstrate English proficiency, the Department of Transportation announced today (Dec. 19). The actions come after inspectors encountered Mexican crews at Texas gateways who appeared to have difficulty interpreting track bulletins and communicating safety requirements in English. In […]

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Mexico begins work on passenger line to Nuevo Laredo

Map showing planned passenger rail projects in Mexico

MEXICO CITY — Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Friday (Nov. 7) announced the start of the country’s latest major rail project, the Gulf of Mexico Train, a planned passenger route linking Nuevo Laredo at the U.S. border to the cities of Saltillo and Monterrey. Groundbreaking was held Friday in Nuevo Laredo for the first phase […]

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First freight facilities for Mexico’s Maya Train approved

White and green passenger train

CANCÚN, Mexico — The Mexican government has approved construction of the first freight terminal for the Maya Train, which aims to begin operating freight service to go with its passenger trains in 2026. The Ministry of Environmental and Natural Resources (Semarnat) approved the environmental impact report for development of the 261-hectare (645-acre) site near Cancún, […]

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Mexico, Guatemala, Belize to study cross-border rail connections

Front of British-built passenger train

MEXICO CITY — Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize plan to create a working group to study the creation of rail connections between the three nations, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Monday. The plans were announced following a Friday, Aug. 15, meeting between Sheinbuam, Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo and Belizean Prime Minister John Briceño. The business news […]

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