Mexican president wants to force private freight rail companies to schedule passenger service

2024-12-24 00:12:57 source: category:News

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s president announced Wednesday that he will require private rail companies that mostly carry freight to offer passenger service or else have the government schedule its own trains on their tracks.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador denied any notion that his decree to be issued later this month amounted to expropriation of private property. He said existing law guarantees passenger trains priority.

“This is not an expropriation, it is in the Constitution and the law,” he said. ”According to the law, passenger trains have priority.”

Still, almost no regular passenger service remains in Mexico following a 1995 reform that gave concessions to two private railway companies: Mexico’s Ferromex and a subsidiary of U.S. railway Kansas City Southern.

Other news ‘Extraterrestrials’ return to Mexico’s congress as journalist presses case for ‘non-human beings’ Biden administration warns of major disruption at border if judges halt asylum rule Mexico’s hurricane reconstruction plans prioritize military barracks, owners left to rebuild hotels

A few tourist trains run on relatively short, unconnected routes to tourist attractions like northern Mexico’s Copper Canyon and the western tequila-producing region around Jalisco.

López Obrador is known for his nostalgic love of passenger trains, and for state-owned companies in general. In September he announced the creation of a government airline to be run by the army.

In May, the government sent in marines to seize one of Grupo Mexico’s southern rail lines on national security grounds. López Obrador said the company has since reached an agreement to cede the tracks.

The pet project of his administration is the construction of a $20 billion, 950-mile (1,500-kilometer) line, called the Maya Train, which is meant to run in a rough loop around the Yucatán Peninsula, connecting beach resorts and archaeological sites.

The railway companies did not immediate respond to requests for comment on the president’s plan, in which the firms would be offered first chance to implement passenger trains.

The president did not mention whether the companies would be offered any government subsidy for passenger service.

Almost all passenger railway services in the world are subsidized to some extent; few make enough money to run on their own, and many lose money.

López Obrador also said the railway network would have to be electrified for passenger service; most freight trains have diesel or diesel-electric locomotives.

Moreover, issues of conflicting schedules, train speeds, stations and rolling stock are likely to arise if passenger and freight trains run on the same tracks.

In most parts of Mexico there are few inner-city train tracks or stations left. Mexico’s old government national railway company offered poor, slow service and lost huge amounts of money before the private concessionary operators took over the lines.

More:News

Recommend

Disney Store's Black Friday Sale Just Started: Save an Extra 20% When You Shop Early

E! may get a commission if you purchase something through our links. Learn more.The Disney Store's e

Gerard Piqué Gets Cozy With Girlfriend Clara Chia Marti After Shakira Breakup

Gerard Piqué kicked off the week with girlfriend Clara Chia Marti.The former pro soccer player—who a

Here Are Martha Stewart's Top Wellness Tips to Live Your Best Life

Landing the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit's 2023 issue at the age of 81 isn't a good thing, i