Work is now underway on the first of six sections of the new passenger line linking Saltillo to Nuevo Laredo.
Construction began on November 7 for the 133.5-kilometre Arroyo El Sauz-Nuevo Laredo section of the new 393.9-kilometre Gulf of Mexico line from Saltillo via Monterrey to Nuevo Laredo on the US border.
The new single-track line will be exclusively for use by passenger services and will be constructed alongside the existing Mexico City-Queretaro-Saltillo-Monterrey-Nuevo Laredo freight line in Kansas City (CPKC).
The new line will have 2.5 km traffic loops every 20 km, as well as crossings to allow CPKC freight trains to reach freight sidings and stations. There will be three new stations in Nuevo Laredo, Anahuac and Lampazos de Naranjo. The line will have 52 railway bridges and 42 level crossings, and is expected to open in 2028.
The new Gulf of Mexico line will have five other sections:
- Diramadero – Ramos Arizpe (54.1 km)
- Ramos Arizpe – Santa Catarina (63.3 km)
- Monterrey – Goiás Anahuac (19.4 km)
- Goiás Anahuac – Union San Javier (23.8 km) and
- Union San Javier – Arroyo Suz (23.8 km).
The maximum speed of the new railway will be between 160 and 200 km/h to achieve a journey time of just under 2 hours from Monterrey to Nuevo Laredo and 3 hours and 30 minutes from Saltillo to Nuevo Laredo.
The Gulf of Mexico Train Project represents the first phase of Mexico’s National Railway plan to reintroduce long-distance passenger services on more than 3,400 kilometers of main lines across the country. Another project included in the first phase is the 107.8 km Queretaro-Irapuato line.
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