The Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications and Transport (SICT) insisted that the existing right-of-way will be used for the new passenger trains, where a new infrastructure will be built for their operations, so the last option would be to share the track.
Adriana Cardona, general director of SICT, said that this can be done due to the modifications made to Article 28 of the Constitution.
“This constitutional reform means that we can use the existing right of way that freight trains have. The last option would really be to share, but what has been worked on is to have an additional track,” he said.
The above, he explained, is due to the fact that passenger trains have a different function than freight trains , since the former seek to have a precise itinerary and, on the contrary, “the priority of freight trains is not to move the largest volume of goods.”
He also mentioned that the construction of this type of passenger transport increases the economic impact, as well as connectivity, reduced road congestion, faster travel, greater security, and a reduction in the carbon footprint, to name a few.
During his participation in the railway discussion: Train experiences in Mexico , he insisted that with a dedicated track there will be better connection times and no service interruptions .
Adriana Cardona reiterated that the new passenger trains will be built in stages, with the first AIFA-Pachuca, Mexico-Querétaro, Saltillo-Nuevo León and Querétaro-Irapuato trains having the greatest demand from users.
However, he explained that the San Luis Potosí-Saltillo section will be one of those that will have some complexities due to the orography.
He specified that within the preliminary analysis they have carried out, it is expected that the trains will have one of the three alternative stations: terminal station, intermediate station and a stop, depending on the demand.
“This is to meet each need, we are focusing on the transfer time rather than on the speed itself, we are considering speeds between 160 km/hour and 200 km/hour and that allows us to have more room on the curves, because at higher speeds you need longer curves,” he explained.
He recalled that the AIFA-Pachuca train will be the first to begin construction next March, followed a month later by the Mexico-Querétaro train, and the Querétaro-Irapuato and Saltillo-Nuevo Laredo trains in July of this year.
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