PASSENGER operations have begun on the 308km railway running across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec from Coatzacoalcos on the Atlantic coast and Salina Cruz on the Pacific coast of Mexico.

Freight operations began in September 2023 following an upgrade under the Isthmus of Tehuantepec Interoceanic Corridor (CIIT) project, which aims to provide a rail alternative to the Panama Canal for freight moving between the Atlantic and the Pacific.

According CIIT director general, Mr Raymundo Morales Ángeles, the upgraded railway known as Line Z can accommodate freight trains up to 65 wagons in length, as well as double-stack trains carrying up to 260 containers or 5200 tonnes.

Line Z is also expected to handle bulk traffic including grain, chemical products and petrochemicals.

The upgrade has included the renovation of four stations and the construction of two new stations. “We are operating trains with capacity for up 400 passengers in three classes,” Morales Ángeles says.

The price of a single journey from Coatzacoalcos to Salina Cruz starts at Pesos 457 ($US 26.83) in tourist class, rising to Pesos 608 in executive class and Pesos 1554 in VIP.

Services are initially operating once a day in each direction, departing from both Coatzacoalcos and Salina Cruz at 07.00 with a journey time of 7 hours. The number of trains is expected to increase as demand rises.

The CIIT project involves the upgrade of 1197km of railway in total. This includes the 328km Line FA from Coatzacoalcos to Palenque, which is due to open in March and will connect with the Mayan Train project.

Also being upgraded is the 459km Line K from Ixtepec to Ciudad Hidalgo on the border with Guatemala, which is due to enter service in July.

The project has included upgrading port facilities at Coatzacoalcos and Salina Cruz, as well as Dos Bocas on the Gulf of Mexico and Puerto Chiapas on the Pacific, which is served by Line K.

The upgraded Coatzacoalcos - Salina Cruz line, as well the ports in both cities, are managed by the state-owned Isthmus of Tehuantepec Railway, part of the Mexican Navy.

“The isthmus is being reborn with the passenger railway and its multimodal vocation which is driving economic growth and the development of the whole region,” says Mexico’s secretary of the navy, Admiral José Rafael Ojeda Durán.

“This is only the start of a new phase of equality, growth and prosperity for the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.”

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