Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, the virtual president-elect of Mexico, announced yesterday the flagship project of her next government to build three new passenger train lines to connect the main cities of the country.
Sheinbaum announced the three projects: the Mexico-Querétaro-Guadalajara Train, the AIFA-Pachuca Train and the Mexico-San Luis Potosí-Monterrey-Nuevo Laredo Train.
“Our goal is (to make) trains similar to the Mayan Train to the north,” explained the future president in reference to the flagship megaproject of the current Government in the Mexican southeast.
Sheinbaum detailed that the first line will depart from the Mexican capital towards the city of Guadalajara, Jalisco, passing through the states of Querétaro and Guanajuato.
Regarding the Mexico-Querétaro-Guadalajara Train, it would first comprise 581 km, and could be extended to Nogales, Sonora. According to estimates, this project would be ready in April 2029.
Regarding passenger train routes, it proposes continuing with railway development taking advantage of existing rights of way, seeking a mixed operation and interoperability scheme that benefits users and concessionaires of the sector, as well as evaluating the use of 18 thousand kilometers of railroad tracks privatized by Ernesto Zedillo, which are:
Mexico – Querétaro – León – Aguascalientes Train
Mexico – Querétaro – Guadalajara Train
Mexico – San Luis Potosí – Monterrey – Nuevo Laredo Train
Mexico – Puebla – Veracruz Train
And in a second stage:
Manzanillo – Colima – Guadalajara – Irapuato Train
Mexico – Querétaro – Guadalajara – Tepic – Mazatlán – Nogales Train
Aguascalientes-Chihuahua-Ciudad Juárez Train
How much would the Guadalajara-CDMX Train run?
There are about 530 kilometers between Guadalajara and Mexico City, but the project considers 581. Simply put, if the future train reaches a speed of 160 kilometers per hour, the journey between the metropolises would take just over 3 hours and 40 minutes, with a maximum speed. However, the stops at the 13 stations that are contemplated so far in the project that was announced yesterday must be considered, as well as the average speed.
Even so, it means a reduction in the journey between Guadalajara and Mexico City that currently exists by traveling by car or bus, which takes between 6 and 8 hours; and the hour by plane, plus the time taken in transfers to the airport and waiting for the flight.
In her program “100 steps for transformation”, presented last March when she was running for the presidency of the country, the then candidate unveiled her proposals for the second level of the Fourth Transformation, which are divided into several areas, including freight and passenger rail infrastructure.
Source: informador
