With the aim of preventing any type of accident or injury during the construction of passenger trains and the risk involved with the operation of freight trains, the Railway Transport Regulatory Agency (ARTF) is preparing a decree to establish the guidelines that construction companies and concessionaires must follow as minimum safety measures.
Currently there is no regulatory framework that establishes such actions, mainly for the personnel of construction companies, who are left exposed, noted the ARTF, which indicated that the execution time of the projects themselves may be extended.
“The lack of regulation not only endangers lives, but also causes delays, disruptions, and cascading effects within transportation activities. Today we face a double problem: insufficient protection and training for those involved in the construction of our infrastructure, as well as the impact on the efficient operation of railway projects,” the organization stated.
According to the document Guidelines for safety in passenger train works coexisting with freight trains , it will be possible to implement and operate the minimum safety measures for the people involved in each of the construction processes, generating tangible and immediate benefits not only for them, but also for the operation and functioning of these tracks.
ARTF specified that the regulatory proposal will generate costs, by establishing training and specific requirements that construction companies must meet, which range from 28,000 to 45,000 pesos per person as established in working meetings by concessionaires such as Ferromex , and training entities such as Calidad Mexicana en Desarrollo Ferroviario .
Furthermore, it is estimated that approximately 10 to 15 people per company would be affected, with costs ranging from 45,000 to 2,700,000 pesos . Meanwhile, the costs of hospitalization for minor injuries, including surgery and rehabilitation sessions, would amount to 98,558 pesos. Similarly, the costs associated with the worker’s death could be at least 1,666,650 pesos.
“Between 2016 and September 2025, 1,199 accidents resulting in death or injury were reported. It is estimated that 16 of these involved railway personnel—with an estimated monthly salary—and the cost amounts to 1,576,928 pesos for injuries and 26,666,400 pesos for deaths. Therefore, the benefits outweigh the costs generated from the implementation of these guidelines,” he explained.
However, ARTF stressed that the objective is to preserve and guarantee the safety of the railway service, as well as the construction of passenger trains through the personnel who operate or assist in compliance.
“By establishing the technical and administrative bases that guarantee its purpose, the functions that the security personnel must fulfill in passenger train works coexisting with freight trains will be set, as well as the process that must be followed to train and designate individuals as Security Coordination Personnel, and the basic security measures that are mandatory for the company or person responsible for the construction and all personnel participating in the works,” he specified.
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