Riviera Maya, Q.R. — Cargo will be a fundamental component in the financial success of the Maya Train says the company’s’ director. On its own as a passenger train, it is not profitable.
General Óscar David Lozano Águila, General Director of Tren Maya, acknowledges that passenger operations alone are not profitable and that it is urgent to complement that service with freight transportation.
“Freight operation is a fundamental component which is why we need to recover the infrastructure that already exists with the Isthmus of Tehuantepec Railway,” he said. Lozano Águila acknowledged that passenger operation alone is not profitable and that freight operations are necessary to reach its estimated break-even point by 2030.
“No company anywhere in the world that serves passengers on a rail system is profitable. That’s a reality and a fact, that’s why the Mexican government is committed to supplementing passenger transport.
“To achieve the break-even point, we need freight. It’s a fundamental component, which is why we need to restore the freight infrastructure that already exists with the Isthmus of Tehuantepec Railway. We are working intensively to carry out this project,” he explained.
Last month, President Claudia Sheinbaum launched construction of the freight infrastructure for the Maya Train which will allow this rail system to transport passengers and goods with the goal of strengthening the development of southeastern Mexico.
“We’re giving the green light for the Maya Train to become not just a passenger train, but a freight train. How important is this? Well, freight transports different types of goods and passenger trains transport people.
“So, since it’s also a freight train, it will allow all of southeastern Mexico to achieve even more development than what has been achieved with the Maya Train, which is primarily a tourism development.”
“The freight train will provide enormous potential for transporting what is produced elsewhere in the country or here in the southeast, in the most efficient way possible,” Sheinbaum said during the April 20 announcement.
She said that “the details of the Maya Train are being finalized, especially related to the archaeological sites and part of the overhead lines that are being completed. And at the same time, the Maya Freight Train is already under construction heading toward Progreso.”
Brigadier General Alejandro Gómez Vargas, head of the Maya Train’s Coordination, Delivery and Reception Center, said that the cargo service will begin in 2026 and will be incorporated into the Port of Progreso.
“We’re going to gradually develop cargo capacity, but by September 2024 we’ll have everything we need. We’re interested in boosting the cargo coming through the Trans-Isthmian corridor, and if we can join forces with the Isthmus of Tehuantepec Railway, we’ll surely generate business for the rest of the companies,” he said.
Gómez Vargas announced that this project will have four multimodal terminals in Palenque, Progreso, Cancun and Chetumal, as well as the same number of yards in Escárcega, Pomunch, Valladolid and Xpujil, and a rail operations center in Poxilá.
“For the service, the plan is to have 12 road locomotives, seven yard locomotives and 550 cars. This infrastructure will constitute a robust freight transportation system that will generate development and increase employment in the communities that are integrated into the Mayan Train route,” he stated.
Gómez Vargas said when the Maya Train begins cargo operations, they will transfer cargo in Bacalá, a municipality adjacent to Palenque. The completed freight train project will move fuel, steel, cement, grains, perishables and automobiles.
