President Andrés Manuel López Obrador published this Monday, November 20, in the Official Gazette of the Federation, the decree that threatens to put the Armed forces in the service of passenger trains and declares the provision of the public rail transport service for people as a “priority area” for national development.
“DECREE that declares the provision of public passenger rail transport service in the Mexican Railway System a priority area for national development,” it states.
The regulation of the public rail transportation service for cargo and passengers, as well as the implementation of this decree, will be in charge of the Secretariat of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation and the Railway Transport Regulatory Agency.
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“That it is in the interest of the Government of Mexico to promote the implementation of passenger railways that improve the quality of life, well-being and mobility of people by virtue of the fact that it represents: (I) economical public transportation; (II) less polluting public transport (especially considering that this can be modernized to become electric transport); (III) safer public transport; and (IV) the best alternative to increase the mobility of the population in the main cities.”
-The provision of public passenger rail transport service in the Mexican Railway System is declared a priority area for national development.
-On the concessioned general railway communication routes, preference will be given to the provision of the public passenger railway service and the public freight railway transport service will be respected in terms of the provisions of the respective concession.
-The concessionaires of the public freight rail transportation service will be the first to be invited to present projects for the implementation of the passenger rail service, within their general rail communication routes that were granted to them in concession. Interested parties must submit their proposals to the Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation no later than January 15, 2024.
-In the event that the concessionaires of the public freight rail transport service do not present viable proposals in terms of investment, construction time, modernization of roads to provide passenger service or do not express their interest and acceptance within the period established in the previous clause. , the Federal Government, through the Secretariat of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation, may grant assignment titles to the Secretariat of National Defense or the Secretariat of the Navy, which already operate the Maya Train and the Isthmus of Tehuantepec Train, or where appropriate, to individuals who present proposals and are interested in providing the rail passenger transport service in terms of the provisions of the Regulatory Law of Railway Services and its Regulations.
“That the railway since its birth in the world in 1769 has played a fundamental role in the socioeconomic progress of nations, without our country being the exception;
“That the railroad in Mexico was crucial in the development of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it promoted the integration of the national territory, reduced distances and facilitated the movement of people and goods. Likewise, its construction allowed the exploitation of resources in remote areas, stimulated agriculture and mining, and favored the establishment of new towns and economic growth. That in 2023, it will be 150 years since the installation of the first passenger railway in Mexico, started by President Benito Juárez García and completed by President Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada from Mexico to Veracruz.
“Later, the railway network connected Mexico with international markets, mainly with the United States of America, which increased trade and foreign investment;
“Because it is a strategic industry, in 1937, President Lázaro Cárdenas specified the stewardship of the State in the operation and provision of the public freight and passenger railway service.”
He states that “it was truly a disgrace that President Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León, a continuator of the Salinas policy, privatized the railways in Mexico.”
He adds that at the end of the nineties, the Federal Government, through the then Ministry of Communications and Transportation, granted concessions to the trunk roads that run to the north of the country and the short roads to the southeast, maintaining under its control only the Isthmus of Tehuantepec Railway: “That is to say, 17,484 kilometers of track were essentially delivered to two companies with different names and the passenger train service was cancelled.”
The first seven routes that will be concessioned will be:
1.- Mexico-Veracruz-Coatzacoalcos Train
2.- AIFA-Pachuca Interurban Train
3.- Mexico-Querétaro-León-Aguascalientes Train
4.- Manzanillo-Colima-Guadalajara-Irapuato Train
5.- Mexico-San Luis Potosí-Monterrey-Nuevo Laredo
6.- Mexico-Querétaro-Guadalajara-Tepic-Mazatlán-Nogales
7.- Aguascalientes-Chihuahua-Juarez City
2023-11-21 07:26:35
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