The federal government announced that construction will begin this weekend on the Maya freight train in Yucatán and the Mexico-Querétaro train.
“On Saturday, we’ll signal the start of the train to Progreso , the Maya Train freight line that runs from the current line to Progreso, in Yucatán. On Sunday, we’ll go to Querétaro because we’ll also signal the start of the Mexico-Querétaro Train, which is already beginning construction under the direction of the Ministry of National Defense,” explained Claudia Sheinbaum, President of Mexico.
For its part, the Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation (SICT) reported that the new passenger rail projects will connect more than 49 million people.
The proposed National Railway Plan will provide better connections for residents of the six metropolitan areas, 11 municipal metropolises, and 19 metropolitan areas through which the new rail routes will operate.
“The significance of the national railway project will be a key driver for regional economic development, with the potential to generate up to one million jobs in the country, significantly improving the population’s quality of life,” according to the initiative submitted by the Federal Executive to Congress.
It is worth mentioning that the Railway Transport Regulatory Agency (ARTF) detailed through the National Railway Plan that this year it began construction of more than three thousand kilometers of passenger tracks , which will connect Mexico City with Nuevo Laredo and Nogales.
In the first phase, four routes are planned: Mexico City-Pachuca, Mexico City-Querétaro, Querétaro-Irapuato, and Saltillo-Nuevo Laredo.
To this end, the right to use railways to provide public passenger transport services will be reinstated. “Since the sector was granted a concession in 1997, it has focused on freight services.”
“Under the current government, we seek to continue and accelerate the implementation of public passenger rail services, tripling the number of operational kilometers recovered between 2018 and 2024,” the initiative highlights.
Among the benefits, SICT noted, are reduced travel time between towns , greater safety on journeys, improved quality of life for the population, and a reduced carbon footprint.
It’s worth remembering that construction of the Mexico-Pachuca train began last March. The next steps will be the Querétaro-Irapuato train and the Saltillo-Nuevo Laredo train, which will begin in July. These four routes in the first package will total approximately 786 km.
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