Government Might Restart Mexico-Queretaro High-Speed Train
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Government Might Restart Mexico-Queretaro High-Speed Train

Photo by:   Daniel Abadia
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Fernando Mares By Fernando Mares | Journalist & Industry Analyst - Tue, 01/24/2023 - 15:55

President López Obrador said his government does not rule out restarting the Mexico-Queretaro rail link, a project started and abandoned by the Peña Nieto administration. The railway could become yet another, infrastructure development that López Obrador restarted.

The Mexico-Queretaro high-speed train project, announced in 2014, was to travel along a 210km railway at 300km/h. At that time, the contract was granted to the China-based consortium China Railway Construction Company (CRCC). However, the tender had to be canceled after an inquiry revealed that Angelica Rivera, at that time Peña Nieto’s wife, bought a house constructed by Grupo Higa, a government contractor involved in Teya, which was a local partner of CRCC. The transaction was therefore labeled as an act of corruption.

López Obrador said it would be a good idea to restart the project as Federal Highway 57 between the cities is saturated and plagued by frequent car crashes. “We do not rule out the railway. I have already been talking with SICT because there are two [potential] lines. One involves a freight concession and must be reviewed, not to suspend it, but to see how the service is being provided,” López Obrador said.

López Obrador highlighted that the project has only half of the Right of Way and said the government will analyze whether the project is viable. According to the Governor of Queretaro, Mauricio Kuri, the project should be financed by federal funds since the state does not have the economic nor the legal capacity to develop a railway on this scale. He also suggested that if the project is unviable, it would be possible to expand Federal Highway 57 as it has 15m left on each side.

The Mexico-Queretaro high-speed train was included in the first stage of the 2020-2024 National Infrastructure Program (PNI) in October 2020. All the projects included were to be financed by the private sector. However, the government never launched the tender, even though the construction was set to start in 2021.

In 2022, TMSourcing reported its intention to link the Bajio Train project with the Mexico-Queretaro Train. The company envisioned a 12-station route between Mexico City and Guanajuato with a 40,000 passenger/d capacity.  According to the company, the initial stage would require US$4 million, though US$2.5 billion would be needed to construct the full project.
 

Photo by:   Daniel Abadia

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