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Mexico New Rail Infrastructure Projects

Mexico Fast-Tracks New Rail Infrastructure Projects

With projects like Tren Maya and the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (CIIT), rail infrastructure development held a very prominent role in the administration of former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador. In 2024, new Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced ambitious plans to continue developing rail infrastructure projects in the country. The priority rail projects mentioned in her “100 Steps for Transformation” plan, which lists the main commitments of her administration, include both passenger and freight rail projects.

Passenger Rail Projects:

  • México City-Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA)-Pachuca passenger train
  • México–San Luis Potosí–Monterrey–Nuevo Laredo passenger train
  • México–Querétaro–Guadalajara–Tepic–Mazatlán–Nogales passenger train

These three new passenger trains entail the construction of more than 3,000 km (approximately 1,864 miles) of new rail lines, which will be built in four different phases.

Cargo Rail Projects:

  • Incorporating freight operations into Tren Maya
  • Completing the rail line connecting Dos Bocas Refinery with Roberto Ayala station (and CIIT network)
  • Completing Line K (part of the CIIT network) from Ixtepec to the City of Hidalgo, Chiapas
  • Various feasibility studies

The new government aims to duplicate the amount of cargo that moves by rail for distances over 400 km.

Ongoing & upcoming works 
The Mexican Army’s Corps of Engineers has kicked off construction in:

  • The México City (AIFA)-Pachuca line (light train); started March 2025; when completed in August 2026, it will serve 80,000 passengers daily
  • The Mexico-Querétaro tranche of the Mexico-Nogales passenger train line; started April 2025; aims to serve 6 million passengers/ year when completed

Construction of two other tranches will be publicly tendered in May 2025 and will start construction in July 2025, namely: 

  • The Querétaro-Irapuato tranche of the Mexico-Nogales passenger train line  
  • The Saltillo-Nuevo Laredo section of the Mexico-Nuevo Laredo passenger train

NOTE: For more information about the rail tranches to be built (divided by phase) and their location, please go to:  https://www.proyectosmexico.gob.mx/proyecto_inversion/servicio-publico-ferroviario-de-pasajeros/ (Section:  Geolocalización).

Opportunities for U.S. companies include—but are not limited to—the following:

  • Project planning/project management
  • Feasibility studies
  • Supply of passenger rolling stock
  • Supply of freight rolling stock (locomotives, gondolas, tank cars, hopper cars, etc.)
  • Train control and signaling systems
  • Rail welding equipment (particularly electric/flash-butt welding)
  • Other rail infrastructure equipment (turnouts, fasteners, etc.)
  • Level crossing equipment

For more information on these projects, please contact Commercial Specialist Diana Leon at diana.leon@trade.gov.