Jorge Nuño, head of the SICT, said that the passenger train projects to Querétato and Veracruz are the ones that have made the most progress, so construction would begin before the end of the six-year term.
Due to their long planning time and technical feasibility, the passenger trains to Querétaro and Veracruz are the ones most likely to begin construction before the end of the six-year term, stated Jorge Nuño Lara, Secretary of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation (SICT).
In an interview with Ciro Gómez Leyva Por la Mañana, the official commented that there has been interest from the concessionaires of the freight railway system that operate in the country such as Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) and Grupo México Transportes (GMXT) to operate passenger train systems on the freight transport right-of-way.
“I see (the passenger train) from Mexico-Veracruz and Mexico-Querétaro very close because they are ones that we have seen a little longer, for several months now,” commented Nuño Lara.
Once the decree is published, the railway system concessionaire companies have a deadline of January 14 to present their financial and construction proposals to the federal government. In the event that they do not do so or do not comply with the requirements, the Armed Forces would be in charge of the routes.
However, the head of the SICT trusted that by the first half of January, the railway companies will have their proposals ready.
“I don’t think it will take long to do a detailed analysis; we are already doing it with them, we are already calling them to go together to see how they are developing the business plan in such a way that we arrive on January 14 with the questions answered “he noted.
Among the plans of the federal Executive, it seeks to reactivate at least seven passenger train routes such as:
Mexico-Veracruz-Coatzacoalcos train.
AIFA-Pachuca Interurban Train.
Train Mexico–Querétaro–León–Aguascalientes.
Train Manzanillo–Colima–Guadalajara–Irapuato.
Mexico–San Luis Potosí–Monterrey–Nuevo Laredo.
Mexico–Querétaro–Guadalajara–Tepic–Mazatlán–Nogales.
Aguascalientes–Chihuahua–Ciudad Juárez.
According to the federal government, this ordinance seeks to promote the development of passenger train systems that improve the quality of life by bringing the population closer to affordable, less polluting and safer public transportation that triggers mobility between the most populated cities in the country.
So far, CPKC and GMXT have openly expressed their interest in participating in government plans to implement these passenger systems in the right of way they have concessions for cargo.
Nationalism revives with the passenger railway
Yesterday, within the framework of the anniversary of the Mexican Revolution and under the motto that this armed movement was built on the railroads, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador published the decree that revives passenger trains in Mexico.
In the text, published in the Official Gazette of the Federation (DOF), the provision of public passenger rail transport service in the Mexican Railway System was declared as a priority area for national development.
For this reason, it is established that on the railways concessioned in the country, preference will be given to passenger service, while cargo activities will be respected.
In accordance with the third article of the decree, the current concessionaires will be the first to be called to present projects in order to provide passenger train service on the tracks they already have under their management. The deadline will be January 15, 2024.
If an agreement is not reached, the federal government opens the possibility of delivering the concessions to the Armed Forces (National Defense or the Navy) or to other individuals who are interested in operating these routes.
Source: Radio Formula
