MEXICO CITY — Construction of two passenger rail lines — Mexico City-Querétaro and Mexico City-Pachuca — will begin in April, the Mexican government’s Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications, and Transportation (SICT) announced this week.
The announcement confirmed a portion of plans announced in November by President Claudia Sheinbaum, who had previously said three routes would see construction begin in April. Those projects are part of a 157 billion peso ($7.59 billion at current rates) budget for rail projects in 2025 [see “Mexico budgets $7.8 billion …,” Trains News Wire, Dec. 3, 2024].
In a press release, the ministry said the goal is to have both lines in operation in 2027. Bidding rules for both projects will be published before April. Bids on two other projects, Querétaro-Irapuato and Saltillo-Nuevo Laredo, will be put out in June and July.
The project calls for dedicated passenger-only lines of one or two tracks. The news site Infobae reports that Sheinbaum, in a Jan. 29 press conference, said this would require land acquisition in some locations, while the existing federal right-of-way is broad enough in others to accommodate the additional track. “There, we will have to talk to the concessionaires only to agree that there is no effect on the freight train,” she said.
They’ll have it up and running before Amtrak has one piece of new LD equipment or route expansion.
No effect on freight RRs? Of course, there will some positive effects with the transport of construction materials and equipment.
Best face on it: stuff gets built faster and cheaper in Mexio than in America. (Let’s hope it’s so.)
Not-so-good face on it: Won’t happen at that price or in that time frame.
I think the former. The key words is federal right of way is wide enough and probably why they pick these routes to begin with. Like Brightline to Orlando and onto Tampa and Brightline West is the advantage of having existing uninterrupted right of way & building in the 110-125 mph range.