Given the congestion and accident rates on Mexico’s highways, it is necessary to increase freight movement by rail , with intermodal transport being the best alternative, according to Carlos Martner, coordinator of Integrated Transport and Logistics at the Mexican Transportation Institute (IMT) .
During his participation in the XXV National Meeting of Land Transportation , organized by the Mexican Association of Land Transportation Engineering (AMIVTAC) , the specialist stated that land freight transport is considered unfeasible in the medium and long term, due to congestion in the main highway corridors that results in delays, higher maintenance costs and increased pollution.
“ The railway has to participate much more in the movement of cargo flows in the country and it certainly has the potential to do so, and in this perspective what stands out is intermodal transport, which is characterized, above all, by transporting containers by rail from both ports and land borders, as well as domestic flows in inland terminals,” he stressed.
He explained that actions are needed to transition to digitized intermodal transport and achieve real-time synchronization to promote a more balanced national freight transport network, with lower costs, polluting emissions and accidents .
He explained that since the late 1990s, intermodal transport has registered significant growth, although since 2011 it has slowed to a rate of 4.2%; however, it represents a tenth of the freight flows by rail, so “it still has a huge opportunity for growth.”
The specialist specified that the cross-border segment moved more than one million TEUs (20-foot containers) in 2025 , with an average annual growth rate of 5.1% between 2019 and 2025. Meanwhile, maritime intermodal registered a minimal increase of 0.34% in the same period; while domestic intermodal moved 209,000 TEUs last year, with an average annual growth rate of 12.1% in 2019-2025.
“It is in this segment where we believe there are very large opportunities to shift cargo from trucks to intermodal flows and origin-destination pairs that we have identified as having potential, but policies and a governance mechanism are required to make this modal shift happen; for years we have made estimates of the potential of intermodal transport in Mexico, projections and not much has happened,” he stated.
Similarly, Martner said that part of the challenge in carrying out the transition to intermodal is ” the absence of a governance framework capable of managing a large-scale interconnected logistics ecosystem.”
“If we ignore current trends, intermodal transport will continue to grow, but it will never be enough to counter the greater growth in road transport. There also need to be relatively simple policy actions that would help stimulate this mode of transport in some way, for example, creating specific protocols to immediately address blockages on railway lines ,” he stated.
He also considered that it is necessary to facilitate and standardize customs processes, and to digitize procedures and documents .
“In the case of intermodal transport, documents are required that are not required for road transport, such as Annex 29 of Foreign Trade, which has no use and yet affects and discourages the use of this mode of transport,” he argued.
In addition to establishing incentives for the use of less polluting transport , as well as controls on weights and dimensions for freight transport, “we see that the regulations are quite generous with this mode, and everything is detrimental to stimulating competition with intermodal transport,” he concluded.
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