Mexico advances construction of four passenger‑rail routes

Mexico's federal government has begun construction on four major passenger‑rail corridors. The Monterrey‑Nuevo Laredo segment entered the field‑work phase, with open‑pit drilling, geotechnical studies and the fabrication of about 30,000 tonnes of steel for an elevated viaduct. Parallel work includes the CDMX‑Pachuca line (57 km, double‑track, up to 130 km/h), the CDMX‑Querétaro line (226 km, up to 200 km/h), the Querétaro‑Irapuato corridor (currently in licitation) and the Saltillo‑Monterrey‑Nuevo Laredo corridor (396 km, up to 200 km/h). President Claudia Sheinbaum said the CDMX‑Pachuca and CDMX‑Querétaro routes aim to open in 2027, and that 28.45 million m² of right‑of‑way has been cleared. The project, overseen by the Agencia Reguladora del Transporte Ferroviario (ARTF) and the Agencia de Trenes y Transporte Público Integrado (ATTRAPI), has an estimated budget of 750 billion pesos and has created roughly 11,000 jobs. The first AIFA‑Pachuca electric train, built in China, will arrive in Mexico on 25 July, and the first diesel‑electric unit for the northern network is set to begin fabrication in Ciudad Sahagún this month.