The Railway Transport Regulatory Agency (ARTF) of the Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications, and Transportation (SICT) reports that the construction of the Querétaro-Irapuato and Saltillo-Nuevo Laredo passenger train routes, which will begin in July, will be carried out through strategic construction “fronts.”
The Querétaro-Irapuato route, 107.8 kilometers (km), will be divided into four segments for construction: the 30.7 km Apaseo El Grande/Querétaro section, where work will begin; the 1.8 km Irapuato station; the 46.9 km Irapuato/Cortázar station; and the 28.4 km Cortázar/Apaseo El Grande station.
When operations begin, a demand of 4 million trips per year is estimated, a figure that will be specified once the studies are completed.
The 393.9-km Saltillo-Monterrey-Nuevo Laredo stretch will have six construction fronts: Unión San Javier-Arroyo El Sauz, 99.9 km long, where construction will begin; Derramadero-Ramos Arizpe, 54.1 km long; Ramos Arizpe-Santa Catarina, 63.25 km long; Monterrey-Joyas Anáhuac, 19.4 km long; Joyas Anáhuac-Unión San Javier, 23.8 km long; and Arroyo El Sauz-Nuevo Laredo, 133.5 km long.
According to preliminary figures, once in operation, this section will have a demand for 5.5 million trips annually, which will be supported by the studies received by the ARTF.
Lajous Loaeza, head of the ARTF, explained that the calls for bids for both sections, Querétaro-Irapuato and Saltillo-Nuevo Laredo, have already been published. These calls were announced through the SICT (Spanish Confederation of Transport Companies), headed by Jesús Antonio Esteva Medina, and the ARTF.
“The objective is for construction companies to submit their proposals to win the construction contracts for these sections,” he emphasized.
Both passenger rail routes include a final Executive Project, which will be delivered to the winning train bidders during the construction phase.
This section also includes topographic surveys, geotechnical studies, and the specific and final technical specifications for materials, construction processes, and rail systems.
Then comes the Construction Phase, which includes environmental mitigation, preliminary, drainage, and auxiliary works, earthworks, as well as special structures such as viaducts and bridges, and the track superstructure.
Once construction of the Saltillo-Nuevo Laredo and Querétaro-Irapuato routes is completed, the Testing and Commissioning Phase will begin. This phase will include static and dynamic testing of the road, structural verification and load testing, review of drainage and geotechnical systems, as well as final adjustments and system integration; and, finally, documentation and final delivery.
According to the schedule, work will begin the fourth week of July, following the decision.
It should be noted that these two routes are part of a first phase that will begin this year, along with the Mexico City-AIFA-Pachuca and Mexico City-Querétaro routes—which began in March and April, respectively. Together, they total 774 km.
Source: gob
