Mexico readies decree to add passenger services to freight rail concessions

Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced he will soon publish a decree to add passenger transport services to freight rail concessions.

In his Wednesday morning press conference, López Obrador said the document will be published in the official gazette on November 20 – the anniversary of the Mexican revolution. 

Months ago, the president said he would ask the holders of freight rail concessions to offer passenger services. 

“We want to be able to travel from Cancún to Mexico City by train, from there to Guadalajara, Nayarit, Sinaloa, Sonora, to the [US] border,” he said on Wednesday.

López Obrador added that the concessionaires had been notified of the intention and their responses are expected in January.

“We will give preference to those who already have the cargo concessions to transform the railways, modernize them, electrify them, and we will offer them the chance to commit [to this plan] in a reasonable time period,” he said. “I believe that we will have an answer in January if there is interest or not and it gives us time to make decisions.”