Mexico opened a new rail route to passengers for the second week in a row.
The Interoceanic Railroad, a 188-mile track that links Salina Cruz on the Pacific Coast and Coatzacoalcos on the Gulf of Mexico, started operating on Friday. It is the centerpiece of the $2.8 billion Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, a project that also entails the construction of several industrial parks, modernized roadways, and port development at both ends.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who oversaw the building of the contentious Maya Train line that began operation last week [see “Long delays, late trains mark start of Maya Train service,” According to report has advocated for the rail route and corridor. The Interoceanic Corridor and the Maya train will be connected by a branch line that is expected to be finished the following year.
According to Mexico News Daily, López Obrador announced the line’s opening at a function in Salina Cruz before embarking on what was anticipated to be an eight-hour journey to Coatzacoalcos on the inaugural train.
Although there will be passenger service along the line, its main goal is to give freighters an alternative to shipping through the Panama Canal. A later time will mark the start of freight service.
According to report , López Obador stated on Friday that “all the Asian countries are very interested because Panama is at capacity.”
According to López Obrador, the effort to create the corridor will be managed and secured by the Mexican Navy. The Maya Train serves a similar purpose for the army.
Over the whole length of the 10-station line, tourist class tickets cost about $27, executive class tickets cost $36 and first class tickets cost $91. A combination of US and UK passenger equipment is used on trains [see “Passenger equipment from Britain, US heads to Mexico,”]. There are no more tickets available for this year.
Ferrosur’s operating concession was extended by the government for eight years elsewhere as compensation for the seizure of a 79-mile segment of the Interoceanic route, which includes a line that was taken from Grupo Mexico’s rail operation in May [see “Mexican government announces deal with Grupo Mexico…”]. López Obrador later made this announcement.