Monday, February 10, 2025

Rail services reform bill passes Congress, ending decades of privatization

Mexico’s Congress has approved a rail reform bill to reestablish state control over railway services, particularly passenger rail service, clearing the way for President Claudia Sheinbaum to realize her ambitious rail development plans promising passenger train service throughout Mexico.

On Wednesday, the Senate unanimously passed the reforms to Article 28 of the Constitution 123-0, overturning Mexico’s railroad privatization laws enacted in the 1990s and declaring the railway system as a priority for national development. 

Two Mexican senators sitting at their desks on the Senate floor. One is smiling at looking at the other, who looks straight ahead as if watching proceedings.
Unlike many other controversial constitutional reforms the Congress has passed in recent months, the rail reform bill passed unanimously, though opposition senators warned that approval did not come with a blank check. (Cuartoscuro)

Because it is a constitutional reform, the bill now goes to state legislatures for ratification. At least 17 of Mexico’s 32 states must approve the reform for it to become law.

Sheinbaum championed the bill originally introduced in the Chamber of Deputies by her predecessor Andrés Manuel López Obrador, announcing during her campaign and again on Oct. 9 that she was preparing a public investment of 150 billion pesos (US $7.5 billion) to begin the construction of 3,000 kilometers of passenger train tracks during her six-year term.

On Sunday, Sheinbaum inaugurated the Mexico City-Querétaro train project which is in the preliminary studies stage. The president said construction on the 225-kilometer-long track would begin next year and should be operational by 2028.

After unanimously passing the reform bill through committee on Monday, deliberations moved to the floor of the Senate, where support for the revival of passenger services was notable. 

Although participants recognized that modernization of the railroad sector would improve and broaden cargo services while also allowing cargo companies holding concessions for freight rail services to apply for concessions to operate passenger services, the expected boost to the economy from tourism received considerable attention.

Sen. Saúl Monreal (Morena) said the reform would make cargo traffic more efficient, reduce transport costs, increase competitiveness in key sectors and generate more tourism. He also said rail traffic emits 70% less pollution than truck traffic.

Mexico's President Sheinbaum returning the salute of Mexican marines in unform line in a row, with one holding the Mexican flag in a stadium in Queretaro
One of President Sheinbaum’s campaign promises was to bring back passenger rail service across Mexico. This Sunday, she was in Querétaro to launch the Mexico City-Querétaro railway project, which will be built and run by the Defense Ministry. (Presidencia)

Other speakers praised the reform as a chance for the profound transformation of Mexico’s mobility infrastructure and the reactivation of local economies.

While supporting the reform, opposition senators cautioned that they would not grant Sheinbaum a blank check to carry out her rail development plans and insisted that environmental-impact studies for such projects should be mandatory. 

With reports from La Jornada and Infobae

7 COMMENTS

  1. I’d love to see the passenger service between Mexicali and CDMX restored. The old line featured refurbished sleeper cars from Amtrak and made an affordable, delightful way south for this young Californian. Jump on the train in Mexicali, enjoy the dining car and bar, wake up just coming into Tepic. We’d grab a bus down to San Blas ,Nayarit and enjoy body surfing and fine mariscos. What a memorable time!

  2. As one who loves travel by train, of course not in the US, but in Europe, it is a great way to travel! Especially being able to combine a buss and rail packet for a day! Go to Munich, Octoberfest, return barely able to walk (ok only once) take a bus from bahnhof to buss station 2 blocks from home. It was awesome. Munich to Vienna, 25 euros.

  3. Do not make the same mistake that you did on Tren Maya! Put the passenger stations IN TOWN! When people ride the train they want to arrive at and in their destination – not 15km out of town where they need to pay an additional, inflated taxi fare to get to their destination.

  4. I hope the muscle of the government leads to more efficient north-south rail freight transport. The highway between Mexico City and Monterrey is brutally overcrowded with trucks. Ferromex and KCSM can’t solve this problem on their own. I would like to know more about the freight aspects of the reform since nearly all coverage is focused on passenger rail (which is good too!).

  5. There is a proposal in place to have passenger rail service from Austin to Monterey. While still tentative, if it actually happens would provide a much needed transportation alternative. I do hope meaningful passenger rail service becomes a reality again in Mexico.

  6. A more robust cargo capability would do wonders for the country. Passenger trains, meh. They are romantic and all that, loved the Mexicali-DF train, but unless they are fast trains they are not practical nor competitive. Afraid that if private sector doesn’t find them profitable, the military will be brought in and costly subsidized passenger service will be the result.

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