BnamericasPublished: Thursday, May 21, 2026
Traffic / Cargo National Infrastructure Plan (Mexico) Railway Operator Tenders Production
The Mexican government plans to build at least 2,377km of new railway lines for passenger and freight services during President Claudia Sheinbaum's six-year term, in a program that seeks to restore public railway investment and expand the national rail network.
The plan already totals more than 169 billion (bn) pesos (US$9.7bn) in infrastructure, rolling stock and railway supplies contracts, although the number of kilometers is lower than the initial goal of 3,000km announced by the president at the start of her administration.
During Wednesday’s presidential conference, Sheinbaum compared the new rail push with previous administrations.
"(Felipe) Calderón 65 kilometers and concessioned, (Enrique) Peña 187 kilometers, Andrés Manuel López Obrador 1,736 km. We want to do more than that, we are going to build at least 2,377 km of public lines, they are public trains," said Claudia Sheinbaum.
The director of the Integrated Public Transport and Trains Agency (ATTRAPI), Andrés Lajous, emphasized that the program seeks to recover public railway investment and expand both regional passenger transport and freight infrastructure.
"What we are doing (...) is precisely that collective effort (...) to be able to provide a public service that will substantially improve the lives of more and more people," said Lajous.
Railway contracts
The largest committed amount corresponds to the Saltillo-Monterrey-Nuevo Laredo corridor, with an estimated investment of 105.633bn pesos for the construction of 396km of track, 13 stations, maintenance bases, workshops, rail yards and operating systems.
The project has 90% of the contracts awarded and includes 23 active work fronts over 177km intervened.
The second most important contract corresponds to the Querétaro-Irapuato section, where the government committed 36.319 million (mn) pesos to build 108km of double track, five stations, a maintenance base, a workshop and depot, and two refueling areas.
Lajous explained that in this section more than 870 people are already working with 163 pieces of machinery and that the executive studies for stations and viaducts are continuing.
"All the work being done on the right-of-way where the freight concessioned line is located is being carried out with the intention of being able to have a passenger service that is agile, fast and safe, but at the same time not affecting freight operations," said the head of ATTRAPI.
The government also awarded 26.018bn pesos for train manufacturing. The package includes 15 electric trains for the AIFA-Pachuca corridor and 47 diesel-electric trains for the Mexico City-Irapuato and Saltillo-Nuevo Laredo routes.
"In June we will already be starting the manufacture of the 47 diesel-electric trains," said Lajous.
According to ATTRAPI, the trains for the AIFA-Pachuca route are already progressing in mock-up manufacturing, assembly of the first bogie, and construction of the first railcar body. The first trainset will arrive in September 2026.
For the northern routes, the first train for the Mexico City-Querétaro section will arrive in June 2027, while the first convoy for Saltillo-Nuevo Laredo will be delivered around December of that year.
In addition, there is a contract for 2.071bn pesos to purchase 88.559t of RE115 HB 310 railway rail.
"We currently have a contract for 88.559 tonnes of rail, of which: 55% has already been manufactured, one part is in maritime transit (35%) and the other is already in national territory," said Lajous.
More than 4,400t of rail have already been unloaded in railway yards in Saltillo, and deliveries for the Querétaro-Irapuato corridor will begin soon.
New corridors and physical progress
The federal railway program also includes projects in basic engineering for an additional 1,326km for the Irapuato-Guadalajara routes, Querétaro-San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí-Saltillo and Mazatlán-Los Mochis.
In parallel, the Ministry of Defense is developing the Mexico City-Pachuca and Mexico City-Querétaro sections, which show physical progress of 34.8% and 15.2%, respectively.
The Mexico City-Pachuca corridor includes 58km of double electrified track, four stations, four stops, two electrical complexes and a maintenance base.
The Mexico City-Querétaro route covers 232km of double track, six stations and 14 active work fronts, in addition to 22,910 jobs created.
Ricardo Vallejo, commander of the "Felipe Ángeles" Engineers Group, said that 31.000 direct jobs are currently being generated weekly on the railway works throughout the country, of which 6.000 correspond to women.
Regarding the Maya freight train, Vallejo specified that it is nearly 50% complete, has eight work fronts and has created 13.703 jobs.
Right-of-way release progresses
The federal government also reported progress in the release of rights of way to speed up railway works.
By May, 27.2 million m2 and 2,452 properties had been cleared in 54 municipalities across eight states.
The greatest progress corresponds to the AIFA-Pachuca section, with 98% of land released, followed by Saltillo-Nuevo Laredo, with 89%; Querétaro-Irapuato, with 88%; and Mexico City-Querétaro, with 80%.
The government is also working with 123 ejidos and communities and has held 86 assemblies with more than 4,500 participants to negotiate land acquisition. So far, 864 plots have been acquired, including 79 for common use.
Vallejo noted that the release of right-of-way is key to expanding construction fronts and accelerating railway development.
"The Defense Ministry will continue to participate actively, together with state agencies, in securing the rights of way that will allow the technical studies to be carried out and later bring in machinery to open more construction fronts," the commander stated.
The military officer added that the government is working in a coordinated manner with railway concessionaires, authorities, and communities to avoid operational and social disruptions during the works.
"We are working with all organizations, public and private. We have learned to work as a team," Vallejo said.
(The original version of this content was written in Spanish)
