The railway sector faces various challenges such as the digitization of customs processes, blockades, theft, and training, said Vianey de la Mora, general director of the Mexican Association of Railways (AMF) , who also said that having a “level playing field” with road transport “is a great challenge for us,” due to the lack of equity in regulation .

“As everyone knows, the concessionaire has to maintain its tracks, undergo all the necessary inspections and certifications to keep its cars in good condition, and so everything has to be very carefully controlled. They can’t overload their cars, they have to travel at specific speeds when they reach urban areas. In other words, there is someone very precisely controlling the railroad, but what about trucking? It doesn’t have all that,” he stated during his participation in the Dialogue with Engineers event of the College of Civil Engineers of Mexico (CICM) .

In this regard, he said that the private sector “could provide support,” since the railway is also betting on intermodality, which “is the future of freight and if we don’t understand this today, it will be very complicated. We rely on ports and trucks, but they must be measured in the same way.”

Vianey de la Mora mentioned that currently various customs processes are done manually , similar to road transport, however, for the train it causes delays.

“From the association, we have been primarily supporting freight concessionaires by holding numerous meetings with the Tax Administration  Service  (  SAT)  and the National Customs Agency of Mexico (ANAM)  to explain why they cannot operate under the same regulations as trucking companies. Some trials and scenarios have already been conducted, and progress is being made,” he stated.

Regarding the blockades, he asserted that ” it is historically a problem for the railway ; if it’s not teachers or farmers, it’s anyone, but then there are always blockades on the tracks, because they’ve seen that it’s a formula that can work to get their needs met, and that creates many problems for us in terms of transportation because it impacts, yes, the railway, but also the country’s economy.”

In that regard, the concessionaires, together with the AMF, created a protocol that was delivered to the Railway Transport Regulatory Agency (ARTF) to deal with this type of act.

Regarding training and succession, he explained that there are initiatives to bring students closer to the freight railway , to important logistics centers such as Monterrey or Guadalajara, to carry out this training and even hire them.

Regarding theft and vandalism, he said they have also provided ARTF with a map of the areas with the highest number of incidents , and this data is then sent to the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection. “They are taking certain precautions, and we are collaborating closely with them to help reduce these problems.”

Regarding passenger rail projects, Vianey de la Mora stated that there are also four major challenges: technology, regulation, general coordination, and training .

“Do we have the capacity today to face such a large project? Do we have all the specialists for it? That is the important work of the association, and many companies are preparing to do everything. There are many companies that, since the start of the Maya Train, the railway systems of Line 1 and in Monterrey, have been preparing new generations to train them. They already have them trained, they hire juniors and put them with these great technological gurus,” he said.

In that regard, he specified that planning is important to carry out projects in the sector .

Juan Carlos Miranda Hernández, coordinator of the CICM’s Railway Subcommittee, added that one of the challenges for the sector is to increase its participation in freight transport .

He noted that Mexico ranks 66th in the Logistics Performance Index, and is the 15th largest economy in the world, and indicated that the railway currently accounts for 25 percent of freight transport.

“Without public policies, that 25% could remain stagnant. Surely the contribution of the southeast to the national market can help raise the figure, but more focused actions are needed to achieve this “level playing field” with trucking and to break down the barriers that prevent us from being sufficiently competitive,” he stressed.

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El cargo Blockades, robberies, and a “level playing field” with trucking are among the challenges facing the railroad. apareció primero en T21.

“As everyone knows, the concessionaire has to maintain its tracks, undergo all the necessary inspections and certifications to keep its cars in good condition, and so everything has to be very carefully controlled. They can’t overload their cars, they have to travel at specific speeds when they reach urban areas. In other words, there is someone very precisely controlling the railroad, but what about trucking? It doesn’t have all that,” he stated during his participation in the Dialogue with Engineers event of the College of Civil Engineers of Mexico (CICM) .

In this regard, he said that the private sector “could provide support,” since the railway is also betting on intermodality, which “is the future of freight and if we don’t understand this today, it will be very complicated. We rely on ports and trucks, but they must be measured in the same way.”

Vianey de la Mora mentioned that currently various customs processes are done manually , similar to road transport, however, for the train it causes delays.

“From the association, we have been primarily supporting freight concessionaires by holding numerous meetings with the Tax Administration  Service  (  SAT)  and the National Customs Agency of Mexico (ANAM)  to explain why they cannot operate under the same regulations as trucking companies. Some trials and scenarios have already been conducted, and progress is being made,” he stated.

Regarding the blockades, he asserted that ” it is historically a problem for the railway ; if it’s not teachers or farmers, it’s anyone, but then there are always blockades on the tracks, because they’ve seen that it’s a formula that can work to get their needs met, and that creates many problems for us in terms of transportation because it impacts, yes, the railway, but also the country’s economy.”

Regarding training and succession, he explained that there are initiatives to bring students closer to the freight railway , to important logistics centers such as Monterrey or Guadalajara, to carry out this training and even hire them.

Regarding theft and vandalism, he said they have also provided ARTF with a map of the areas with the highest number of incidents , and this data is then sent to the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection. “They are taking certain precautions, and we are collaborating closely with them to help reduce these problems.”

Regarding passenger rail projects, Vianey de la Mora stated that there are also four major challenges: technology, regulation, general coordination, and training .

“Do we have the capacity today to face such a large project? Do we have all the specialists for it? That is the important work of the association, and many companies are preparing to do everything. There are many companies that, since the start of the Maya Train, the railway systems of Line 1 and in Monterrey, have been preparing new generations to train them. They already have them trained, they hire juniors and put them with these great technological gurus,” he said.

In that regard, he specified that planning is important to carry out projects in the sector .

Juan Carlos Miranda Hernández, coordinator of the CICM’s Railway Subcommittee, added that one of the challenges for the sector is to increase its participation in freight transport .

He noted that Mexico ranks 66th in the Logistics Performance Index, and is the 15th largest economy in the world, and indicated that the railway currently accounts for 25 percent of freight transport.

“Without public policies, that 25% could remain stagnant. Surely the contribution of the southeast to the national market can help raise the figure, but more focused actions are needed to achieve this “level playing field” with trucking and to break down the barriers that prevent us from being sufficiently competitive,” he stressed.

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El cargo Blockades, robberies, and a “level playing field” with trucking are among the challenges facing the railroad. apareció primero en T21.

In a global environment marked by protectionist policies and trade tensions, North America’s rail system is undergoing an unprecedented transformation. The steel wheels, traditionally considered a stable link in transportation, are becoming the engine of logistical integration that is redefining the map of continental trade. Mergers, strategic alliances, and new intermodal products are now the instruments of a phenomenon that is propelling rail to regain prominence in the era of nearshoring .

 “The rail sector is experiencing a moment like few others,” says Francisco Fabila, president of the Mexican Association of Railroads (AMF). “We are seeing mergers, those that have already been completed, those that have been announced; however, it is not just about mergers but about all these synergies where new products are being announced, such as intermodal services, where a container, through strategic partnerships in North America, is transferred from one railroad to another, and another, and another.”

For Fabila, the key lies in interoperability: in making it possible for different companies, systems and terminals to act as a single network, capable of moving cargo continuously across three countries.

“This value proposition, which is being advertised more and more, refers to the work being done by the railways to create developments and new opportunities to increase cargo volume,” he points out.

The dynamism of cross-border rail transport between Mexico, the United States, and Canada confirms this trend. It is the only segment that has reported sustained growth, despite political and trade uncertainties. “Considering all the current discussions—tariffs or not, protectionist policies—the numbers and volume clearly demonstrate that we are growing,” Fabila emphasizes.

To continue reading this text, we invite you to review the T21 magazine in its November 2025 edition;  just click here to go to the electronic version.

El cargo Rails in fusion: the new power of the train in North America apareció primero en T21.