CANCÚN, Mexico — Ticket sales for the Maya Train passenger rail operation have been halted barely three weeks after service was inaugurated between Cancun and Palenque on Jan. 1, the Cancún Sun reports, following “significant technical issues” on Friday, Jan. 19. Operations have been stopped indefinitely while workers perform inspections to determine the cause of […]
Zone & Region: Mexico
Mexico receive proposal from five companies to run passenger trains
MEXICO CITY – Mexico’s Transport Ministry this week said it has received five proposals from interested parties to participate in a project to boost passenger service on railroads being developed across the country, Reuters reported. The ministry did not identify which companies had expressed interest, but Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) told Reuters it had filed […]
Mexico planning new passenger route
TIJUANA, Mexico – With the Tren Maya (Maya Train) rail project in Mexico’s Quintana Roo and the Yucatan set for completion next month, Mexico is planning to build another passenger rail line. The Cabo Sun reports that the President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, has set his sights on a new project: building a passenger […]
Second section of Maya Train route opens; new fare structure announced
CANCÚN, Mexico — The second section of Mexico’s Maya Train was launched on the last day of 2023, with public, albeit it “soft-launch” service, beginning on Monday, Jan. 1. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador inaugurated the Cancun-Palenque segment on Dec. 31, accompanied by officials including Cancún’s mayor and the governor of the state of […]
Grupo Mexico Transportes takes stake in G&W’s CG Railway ferry service
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Genesee & Wyoming has a new partner in its CG Railway joint venture, which ferries freight cars across the Gulf of Mexico between Mobile, Ala., and Coatzacoalcos, Mexico. Grupo Mexico Transportes will purchase SEACOR Holdings’ 60% stake in CGR pending regulatory approval, G&W announced today. G&W initially formed a joint venture with […]
Maya Train suspension is for equipment testing, Mexico’s president says
MEXICO CITY — Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador defended the sudden shutdown of Maya Train operations at a Friday press conference, saying the suspension of operation on the existing portion of the looping 965-mile route was necessary for ongoing tests of track and equipment. Trains on the 298-mile segment between Cancún and Campeche, which […]
Maya Train suspends operations for four days
CANCUN, Mexico — Mexico’s two-week-old Maya Train abruptly announced it was temporarily suspending service for four days on Thursday, announcing the move on social media less than an hour before the suspension took effect. A post on the social media site X, posted at 10:15 a.m., said that the suspension was effective at 11 a.m. […]
Mexico launches Interoceanic Train service
SALINA CRUZ, Mexico — For the second straight week, Mexico has inaugurated passenger service on a new rail line. On Friday, operations began for the Interoceanic Railroad, a 188-mile route connecting Coatzacoalcos, on the Gulf of Mexico, with Salina Cruz, on the Pacific Coast. It is the key piece of the Interoceanic Corridor of the […]
Two U.S.-Mexico rail crossings in Texas to be shut down because of migrant surge
EL PASO, Texas — U.S. officials are halting freight train operations across the U.S.-Mexico border at two locations because of a surge in migrant traffic, the El Paso Times reports. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency will temporarily suspend the freight crossings at Eagle Pass and El Paso — the No. 2 and No. […]
Long delays, late trains mark start of Maya Train service
CANCÚN, Mexico — Long delays and unfinished facilities marked the first day of regular operations of Mexico’s Maya Train Saturday, a day after President Andrés Manuel López Obrador inaugurated the service with a trip on the 298-mile initial segment between Campeche and Cancun. The Associated Press reports departure delays of up to 5 hours for […]
First portion of Mexico’s Maya Train set to begin operation
CANCÚN, Mexico — The first section of Mexico’s Tren Maya, or Maya Train — a tourism project on the country’s southeastern tip championed by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador — is slated to open today (Friday, Dec. 15), just five years after it was announced and years ahead of initial projections. But the project remains […]
Mexican government seeks passenger service on seven lines
MEXICO CITY — The Mexican government has identified seven routes where it seeks the establishment of passenger rail service under a decree issued Monday, an edict that will require the companies holding the nation’s freight concessions to operate those services or accommodate government-operated trains. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obardor announced his plan to issue […]