The Mexico-Querétaro train, which will have an investment of more than 144 billion pesos, will use a diesel-electric transmission system, so it will be a hybrid train and will run on a double-track railway line for the transport of passengers and cargo.

According to the Environmental Impact Statement, this project, which will have a length of 230.34 kilometers (km), will build a double track for freight trains in some sections and a single track in others.

These units will run on the concessioned right-of-way, however, he warns that it will be necessary to acquire new ones in certain sections to guarantee the functionality and safety of the project.

“The project will be developed on an area of ​​1,069.9876 hectares (ha), of which 463.7819 ha correspond to the existing right of way and 606.2156 ha correspond to new affected areas,” states the document released by the Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat) .

The Mexico-Querétaro train will depart from the Buenavista station of the Suburban train, and will require an investment of 144 billion 99 million 779 thousand pesos , of which 10% will be allocated to prevention, mitigation and compensation measures.  It should be noted that the announced amount is 92% higher than what was previously stated by the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP) , which was 75 billion pesos.

The journey time will be one hour and 50 minutes. It will have three stations, the aforementioned and Tula de Allende, San Juan del Río and Santiago de Querétaro, and the work program is planned for 30 months.

Likewise, by transporting a greater number of passengers and cargo in a single journey , the demand for road transport will decrease, which will also contribute to the reduction of global emissions.

The agency also said that the route was designed to avoid significant fragmentation of habitats and includes specific measures such as the construction of wildlife crossings and programs for the rescue and relocation of fauna and flora.

He also highlights that, taking advantage of the Mexico City-Querétaro railway axis, the aim will be to build multimodal transport terminals using the existing infrastructure to consolidate the urban centers located along it.

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From January to October 2024, the Mexican Railway System (SFM) transported 111.86 million tons , representing an increase of 1.5% compared to the same period in 2023, a growth led by Ferromex .

According to the document Pulse of the Mexican Railway System Operational as of October from the Railway Transport Regulatory Agency (ARTF) , of the total cargo, 31.6 million tons corresponded to national traffic and 80.2 million tons to international traffic, of the latter, 61.3 million tons were imported and 18.8 million tons were exported.

“Compared to the period from January to October 2023, domestic traffic grew by 1.4%, international traffic grew by 1.5%, imports rose by 2.7%, and exports decreased by 2.2%,” ARTF stated.

As regards companies, Ferromex continues to lead the way with a movement of 53.30 million tonnes , 47.6% of the total, which represented an increase of 2.4% year-on-year.

While Ferrosur reported a decrease of 8.3% due to the fact that it only mobilized 12.07 million tons compared to the same period in 2023.

The ARTF reported that, from January to October 2024, of the 111.86 million tons, 53.80 million were industrial products , 32.01 million tons of agricultural products, 14.37 million tons of petroleum products and their derivatives, while mineral products were 6.14 million tons and the remainder corresponds to forestry, inorganic and animal derivatives products, which together transported 5.54 million tons.

“Compared to the period January-October 2023, the product groups that showed the greatest increase were: Animal derivatives (10.50%), Agricultural (8.37%), and Petroleum and its derivatives (8.18%). The product groups that showed the greatest decreases were: Minerals (-20.61%) and Inorganic (-11.49%),” he explained.

The main participating states by product group are the following:

Agricultural product group:

• Chihuahua with 20.76%.
• Tamaulipas with 26.41%.

Group of animal derived products:

• Tamaulipas with 27.47%.
• Coahuila de Zaragoza with 36.98%.

Forest products group:

• Tamaulipas with 72.02%.
• Veracruz with 12.64%.

Industrial product group:

• Tamaulipas with 25.50%.
• Coahuila de Zaragoza with 14.96%.

Inorganic products group

• Coahuila de Zaragoza with 26.47%.
• Mexico with 23.56%.

Mineral product group

• Colima with 50.73%.
• Sonora with 18.67%.

Group of petroleum and its derivatives

• Tamaulipas with 30.75%.
• Veracruz with 21.40%.

ARTF stated that at the end of the first 10 months of last year, total cargo was transported via 1.29 million loaded cars, only 0.09% more than in 2023.

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Therefore, public policies and private investments in these sectors are essential to ensure that Mexico remains a first-class manufacturing and export center.

Furthermore, the constant improvement of logistics infrastructure will allow the country not only to maintain its leadership in traditional sectors , but also to explore new opportunities derived from nearshoring and market diversification, according to the specialists.

At the panel on Innovative Strategies in Infrastructure, Logistics and Customs at the 30th Foreign Trade Congress  of the  Mexican Business Council for Foreign Trade, Investment and Technology (Comce) , the panelists agreed that customs, highways, railroads, international bridges and well-equipped industrial parks are the pillars on which the country’s competitiveness in global trade is built.

Miguel Cos Nesbitt, president of the  Confederation of Customs Agents Associations of the Mexican Republic (CAAAREM) , highlighted the importance of the Mexican customs system in the equation that leads to success in Mexican international trade.

He pointed out that the country’s 50 customs offices represent 40.7% of domestic trade and generate 30% of national revenue , so their role is fundamental to Mexico’s economic development.

“The Mexican customs system has been key to positioning us as the world’s ninth largest exporter, allowing high-quality products to quickly reach our main trading partners, such as the United States and Canada,” said Cos Nesbitt.

On the other hand, the Mexican railway sector is another key aspect of the logistics infrastructure, which is why Oscar del Cueto, president of Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) , highlighted the impact of multi-million dollar investments in the Mexican railway system.

According to del Cueto, more than five billion dollars (mdd) have been allocated to the modernization of tracks and the expansion of railway capacity in the country.

“Railways are an economical, ecological and increasingly competitive means of transport for Mexico. We not only transport large volumes of goods, but also refrigerated products, which increases our competitiveness in the global market,” he said.

He said that the railway is crucial not only for heavy and non-perishable products , but also for diversifying trade, with 36% of cargo in Mexico moved by train, which represents a significant change in the country’s logistics.

Likewise, the development of well-located industrial parks with state-of-the-art infrastructure has also been one of the priorities for the growth of Mexico’s foreign trade, said Jorge Avalos Carpinteyro, president of the Mexican Association of Private Industrial Parks (AMPIP) .

He said that investments in energy infrastructure, telecommunications, renewable energy and electric mobility within industrial parks are crucial for the competitiveness of the Mexican market.

Additionally, international bridge infrastructure has also been key to modernizing cross-border trade, which is why Luis Bazán, general manager of the Pharr International Bridge , highlighted the importance of improvements to the bridges connecting Mexico and the United States.

“Investments in our bridge infrastructure allow for more agile transit of goods and reduce waiting times, which is essential to maintaining competitiveness in cross-border trade,” said Bazán.

The Pharr-Reynosa Bridge , one of the main crossing points between both countries, has undergone improvements that allow for a greater flow of goods, both manufactured and perishable.

These infrastructure investments, combined with improvements at nearby ports such as the Port of Brownsville, as well as infrastructure improvements on the Mexican side , strengthen Mexico’s connectivity with its trading partners in North America.

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