The construction of the Saltillo-Nuevo Laredo passenger train will be put out to tender and begin in 2025 , and it will begin operating a year later.
According to the project’s technical sheet, a 341.27-kilometer railway line will be built. This section will begin on the current track in Saltillo and continue through Arteaga, Santa Catarina, Monterrey, San Nicolás de los Garza, Salinas Victoria, Villaldama, Lampazos de Naranjo, Anáhuac and Nuevo Laredo.
It will have a section of double or single track (with extended sides) without electrification , as well as viaducts and embankments to overcome obstacles in the existing infrastructure, complex topography, crossings with ravines and mountainous areas (resolved with bridges, viaducts and tunnels).
Furthermore, it will be operated by trains that will run at a speed of 160-200 kilometers/hour.
Jesús Esteva Medina, head of the Secretariat of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation (SICT) , explained that of the total number of roads for this project, 280 kilometers will be in Nuevo León territory.
It is worth mentioning that 10 billion pesos were allocated to this project in the Federal Expenditure Budget (PEF) for next year.
Esteva Medina highlighted that this train is part of the federal government’s implementation strategy that will take place in four stages: the first will be two sections that are already in the study process, where in the first third of 2025 the construction of the AIFA-Pachuca train and the Mexico-Querétaro train will begin, which will be in charge of the Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena).
He said that for the second stage, another thousand kilometers are planned for the Querétaro-San Luis Potosí, Mazatlán-Los Mochis, and Irapuato-Guadalajara routes.
While the third stage includes Guaymas-Hermosillo, Guadalajara-Tepic, San Luis Potosí-Saltillo and Los Mochis-Guaymas. The fourth stage includes the Tepic-Mazatlán and Hermosillo-Nogales routes.
He commented that in 2025 the sections on the AIFA-Pachuca and Mexico-Querétaro routes will begin, so in the middle of that year the tenders for the Saltillo-Nuevo Laredo route will begin, as well as Querétaro-Irapuato, which will be tendered directly by the SICT, through the Railway Transport Regulatory Agency (ARTF) .
He recalled that during the current administration, more than three thousand kilometers will be built on the AIFA-Pachuca, Mexico-Nogales and Mexico-Nuevo Laredo routes, so the 2025 budget includes 157 billion pesos for these and other projects.
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