CPKC, Grupo México Submit Proposals for Passenger Rail Routes

Grupo México and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) sent the Mexican government their proposals to participate in the federal government’s initiative to restart passenger services in existing railways across the country, reports the Ministry of Infrastructure, Communication and Transportation (SICT). 

SICT has received five proposals from interested parties, the ministry reported in a press release on Jan. 16. SICT did not disclose which companies expressed interest in participating but noted that these proposals were being analyzed. 

During the president’s morning press conference on Jan. 18, 2024, Minister of Infrastructure Jorge Nuño disclosed that some of the companies expressing interest in the project are CPKC and Ferrosur, a subsidiary of Grupo México. "They outlined the routes for us. We are analyzing the documents. All of them were positive. We are just asking them for some clarifications," says Nuño. He adds that the federal government will disclose further details next week. 

According to Nuño, the presented proposals covered the Bajio-central area, including the routes: Mexico-Queretaro, Queretaro-Leon, and Leon-Aguascalientes. Additionally, there was a proposal for the route from Queretaro to San Luis Potosi. Nuño also mentioned a connection to Guadalajara without mentioning with which destination this route would connect. 

Nuño did not specify whether these routes have a set start date for development, only mentioning that the government is preparing an analysis before proceeding with their construction. “However, it is very interesting that [these companies] are answering. Over 18,000km of right-of-way will be used for passenger trains. It will connect the entire country again in the future; it is a significant advancement,” says President López Obrador. 

On Nov. 20, 2023, López Obrador issued a decree to promote passenger service using existing freight rail tracks, as reported by MBN. This decree focuses on the modernization of 17,484km of railway infrastructure. In the initial stage, the government invited railway concessionaires, such as CPKC, Ferromex, Ferrosur, and Ferrovalle, to present proposals for passenger services. 

The government also met with concessionaires to define seven viable routes to develop. These routes were Mexico-Veracruz-Coatzacoalcos, Interurban AIFA-Pachuca, Mexico-Queretaro-Leon-Aguascalientes, Manzanillo-Colima-Guadalajara-Irapuato, Mexico-San Luis Potosi-Monterrey-Nuevo Laredo, Mexico-Queretaro-Guadalajara-Tepic-Mazatlan-Nogales, and Aguascalientes-Chihuahua-Ciudad Juarez, as reported by MBN.