Spotlight: Mexico’s 2020-24 railway agenda

Aside from the US$6.7bn Maya train and the US$1bn Tehuantepec isthmus rail corridor, Mexico’s government has six other railway projects confirmed for the current term until 2025 and five more proposals on the table.

The six that have been confirmed are included in the first stage of the 2020-24 national infrastructure program (PNI) that the government and private sector presented in November. Projects on which construction has not yet started are expected to do so during the next three years. 

Meanwhile, state governments and federal agencies are working on at least five proposals for which construction could begin in the next four years, as they have caught the attention of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s (AMLO) administration, even though financing is not secured.

BNamericas takes a look at the railway panorama for the next four years.

UNDERWAY

The most important projects are the Maya train, a 1,500km rail system that will connect five states in the southeast, and the Tehuantepec isthmus rail corridor, a 300km line that will connect the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. 

Both lines will transport cargo and passengers and rehabilitation works on the existing rails for both lines began this year. While the inter-oceanic corridor is expected to begin operations in 2023, the Maya train will have its seven stretches completed by 2024, according to government estimates. 

The AMLO administration is also working on the US$5bn Mexico-Toluca interurban train, a passenger railway that was left uncompleted by former president Enrique Peña Nieto and which AMLO pledged to finish. 

Having received 20bn pesos (US$891mn) from the private sector under the first stage of the PNI, works on the line resumed in December. Officials aim to have the first of five stretches of the 58km line, which will run between Zinacatepec municipality in Mexico state and Observatorio metro station in Mexico City, ready by 2021 and the entire route by 2022.

The government also expects to complete two new metro lines for two of the country's biggest cities this year. 

One is the US$2bn metro line No. 3 in Guadalajara, Jalisco state and the other is the US$523mn metro line No. 3 in Monterrey, Nuevo León state. Both entered their final construction stage this year and will begin operations soon. 

Project	Status	Capex	Start date
Maya train	Under construction	US$6.7bn	2020
Tehuantepec isthmus rail corridor	Under construction	US$1bn	2020
Mexico-Toluca interurban train	Under construction	US$5bn	2015
Guadalajara metro line No. 3	Under construction	US$2bn	2014
Monterrey city metro line No. 3	Under construction	US$523mn	2013

CONFIRMED

When the government presented the first stage of the PNI, it included six railway projects on the list of 147 works that required combined investments of 859bn pesos from the private sector.

One of these railway projects is the Mexico-Toluca interurban train, while three projects involve the expansion of two passenger train lines and two involve the construction of rail systems in the north.

The Mexico City-Mexico state suburban train will receive two expansions, increasing the length of the line, which connects Buenavista station in the capital with Cuautitlán in northern Mexico state. 

One expansion will add 50km to the line towards the north, from Cuautitlán to Huehuetoca municipality, with an investment of 5.8bn pesos. Works are planned for 2021 but it is still unclear how many stations this expansion will add. 

The second will add a 23km branch from Lechería station in Mexico state to Nextlalpan municipality, where the Felipe Ángeles international airport (AIFA) is being built. The confirmed investment is 10bn pesos and construction will start in 2023.

For that year the expansion of Mexico City’s metro line A, between La Paz station and Chalco in the southeast of the city, is also set to begin. The confirmed investment is 5.9bn pesos.

The new rail projects also include the new 13bn-peso García-Monterrey airport light rail corridor in Nuevo León state and the 10.2bn-peso Baja California coastal train. 

Construction on the García-Monterrey airport light rail corridor will start in 2021, according to the PNI, and it will run 62km between Monterrey international airport and García municipality, stopping at 27 stations across six municipalities.

A construction plan for the Baja California coastal train has not been presented, but authorities aimed to build the line along the main beaches of Playas de Rosarito municipality and connecting with the port of Ensenada. The project has been planned for 2023.

Project	Status	Capex	Start date
Cuautitlán-Huehuetoca suburban train expansion	Awaiting construction	5.8bn pesos	2021
Suburban train expansion Lechería - AIFA (Phase I)	Awaiting construction	10bn pesos	2023
Mexico City metro line A extension	Awaiting construction	5.9bn pesos	2023
García-Monterrey airport light rail corridor	Awaiting construction	13bn pesos	2021
Baja California coastal train	Awaiting construction	10.2bn pesos	2023

PROPOSALS 

Other proposals on the table have not been confirmed because of a lack of funding or planning. However, states and the federal government have not ruled out taking them on.

The most advanced projects – and those most likely to be added to the government’s portfolio this term – include the Guanajuato-Querétaro and Tijuana-Tecate interurban trains. 

In early June the transport and communications ministry (SCT) transferred 26mn pesos to Guanajuato state to begin the pre-investment studies for the Guanajuato-Querétaro interurban train. The state will provide another 26mn pesos to complete the studies.

The objective would be to connect Apaseo el Alto, Celaya, Irapuato, León, Salamanca and Silao with Querétaro city, but other options have also been proposed.

Meanwhile, in May Baja California governor Jaime Bonilla presented a plan to build the 28km, 2.8bn-peso Tijuana-Tecate interurban train that is expected to be tendered in August, according to state authorities.

The line would have seven intermediate stations and two terminals, connecting the San Ysidro-Tijuana land port of entry with Ejido Maclovio Rojas municipality in Tijuana city. 

And other proposals that are up in the air are the Mexico state-Querétaro high-speed rail link, which has been under negotiation since last year, the US$155mn Veracruz light rail system, for which a cost-benefit analysis is being concluded, and the US$2bn Cancún-Tulum tourist train that Quintana Roo state’s strategic project agency Agepro added to its portfolio last year. 

The latter, however, could become unnecessary as the fifth stretch of the Maya train, which will be tendered in August, will connect the cities. 

Construction for the Guanajuato-Querétaro interurban line could also open up an opportunity to add more branches that would extend the train to Aguascalientes and Jalisco states, according to members of the Centro-Bajío-Occidente alliance (ACBO).

Project	Status	Capex	Start date
Guanajuato-Querétaro interurban train	Pre-investment studies	N/A	N/A
Tijuana-Tecate interurban train	Early stage	N/A	2021
Mexico state-Querétaro high-speed rail link	Planning stage	N/A	N/A
Veracruz light rail	Cost-benefit analysis	US$155mn	N/A
Cancún-Tulum tourist train	Early stage	US$2bn	N/A