The Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications, and Transportation (SICT) assured that railway projects will not be halted despite the imposition of steel tariffs by the United States.
Adriana Cardona, the agency’s general director of Railway Project Planning, assured that these types of actions will not impact the progress of these new projects.
“Not in the advance because the input has to be purchased, if there is an extra tax, that will have to be taken into account, but it has been varying quite a bit, we will see how it progresses,” he stated during his participation in Dialogues with Engineers held by the College of Civil Engineers of Mexico (CICM) .
It’s worth remembering that Maite Ramos, general director of Alstom Mexico , stated at the time that this tariff policy would result in a $250 million increase in the cost of projects carried out in the railway sector.
“If they continue, it would cost us to complete the projects we have already signed, worth around $250 million. That would be the impact. We face a challenge, and that challenge is to foster belonging and value, and I think it’s much more important to develop a productive chain, Mexican companies, and talent,” he said.
Similarly, the Mexican Association of Railways (AMF) anticipated that the application of tariffs on steel and aluminum will have an impact on the sector, mainly on cross-border movement , for passenger train inputs, and for supplies.
Cardona recalled that the current administration plans to build more than 3,000 kilometers of new tracks for passenger and freight trains, divided into four stages.
Elizabeth Olvera López, from the Railway Project Planning Department, announced that they will make changes to industry regulations in response to the new passenger and freight trains.
“This type of coexistence is being planned. Currently, the speed limit is up to 177 kilometers per hour, and since we operate at speeds above this limit, we have to update this rule. We are also updating the rules and issuing new regulations in parallel,” he stated.
Reyes Juárez del Ángel, Vice President of Planning and Foresight at CICM, reiterated that new projects must have a long-term vision with well-articulated objectives.
“These are projects that must be completed in operational phases and not necessarily adhere to a time constraint that sometimes leads to poor decisions on specific sections. It’s no use burying 500 billion pesos if they don’t meet the goals. We’re planning to complete 3,000 kilometers in six years, but rather to ensure that it’s a service that’s worthwhile,” he said.
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