With the certainty that the freight railway must be the logistical backbone of the country and that the passenger trains must return to operating, the Secretariat of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation (Sicom) reported that there are six works and related projects that are underway, four are about to start, while five more are under study.

Las 15 works as a whole will imply an unprecedented public-private investment of 672,000 millions of pesos, which will add 4,413 km on the national rail network. Only the six ongoing projects represent 56% from the investment.

Works to be done include: construction of new roads, road rehabilitation and modernization (in some cargo it is intended to add passenger service) and the strengthening of logistics through greater connectivity.

The completion of the Mexico-Toluca intercity train, the mayan train, the extension of the suburban train from the Lechería station to the Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA), the rehabilitation of the Tehuantepec Isthmus Railway (and connecting lines) and the bypasses of Celaya and Monterrey are projects in progress, others are about to start and in the pre-investment studies section there are, for example: the Monterrey-San Antonio train and the Mexico-Querétaro-León.

Contrary to what happened in previous years, where the SICT had control of all railway projects in Mexico, during the government of the 4T it was decided to commission the National Fund for the Promotion of Tourism (Fonatur) the mayan train, the works of the corridor of the Isthmus to the Secretary of the Navy and the passenger trains to some states.

Even military engineers built the terminal station for the suburban train and a section of the track that leaves the Santa Lucia airport., Mexico state.

After the distribution of new responsibilities in the railway field, as a pillar of the country's economic progress, the dependence (through the Undersecretary of Infrastructure) it only offers its technical opinion in most of the projects and in two it has direct influence.

In the work program of the SICT corresponding to the 2022 It is detailed that a budget of 2,657 millions of pesos, of which 1,000 million pesos are to continue with the Mexico-Toluca train and the rest for the expansion of the train that will arrive at the new airport.

The CMIC wants to participate

In the railway works that are underway there is a presence of large companies, National and international, as ICA, CICSA Operator, Mota Engil, Aldesem Constructions, GAMI, China Communications Construction Company, the Peninsular Construction Company or OHLA and its subsidiary Constructora de Proyectos Viales de México, there is interest in generating benefits among SMEs as well.

Last June first, the president of the Mexican Chamber of the Construction Industry (CMIC), Francisco Solares, invited to its facilities the head of the General Directorate of Railway and Multimodal Development of the SICT, Manuel Gomez, to learn live about the projects. The businessman was struck by the diversity of dependencies that currently develop trains.

At the meeting, a collaboration agreement was also signed with which it will seek to share information on the works and see the possibility of considering the experience of its members., since the lack of public investment has the businessmen of the sector in a difficult moment.

For his part, the president of TMSourcing and chairman of the board of Ameriko Railways, Infrastructure and Real Estate Adolfo González, who is promoting the Mexico-Querétaro-León train from the private sector, expressed his satisfaction with the new impetus for the railway sector.

“Passenger trains in Mexico today have the opportunity to use unused rights of way, acquired last century, and more of 26,000 km of roads that today are owned by the federal government using 21st century technology. If the appropriate models for capturing capital gains are used, the benefit for Mexicans from the use of trains will directly improve the quality of life and services of the communities”, he pointed.

Railway projects under study:

  • Ramos Arizpe-Derramadero (Coahuila), private investment, with a length of 54 km and an estimated cost of 10,000 mdp.
  • Monterey-San Antonio (New Lion, Texas, EU), private investment, a trace of 480 km and an estimated cost of 60,000 mdp.
  • Mexico-Queretaro-Leon (CDMX, Querétaro, Guanajuato), private investment, a trace of 420 km and an estimated cost of 44,000 mdp.
  • Durango-Mazatlan (Durango, Sinaloa), private investment, a trace of 360 km and an estimated cost of 100,000 mdp.
  • Guadalajara-Aguascalientes (Jalisco, Aguascaliente), private investment, a trace of 260 km and an estimated cost of 20,000 mdp.

    Fountain: The Economist