MEXICO, (August 19, 2021).- The federal government wants to build a new passenger train in Colima, on tracks whose concession belongs to Ferromex, a Grupo México company owned by Germán Larrea (one of AMLO’s allies in the private sector).
The Ministry of Communications and Transportation (SCT) requested 40 million pesos from the Public Treasury to prepare the pre-investment studies for the Colima-Manzanillo regional train.
According to the project published in the Investment Portfolio of the Ministry of Finance, the concession of the railway infrastructure in the state of Colima belongs to Ferromex, under a five-decade operating scheme, with 13 years remaining.
In this regard, the SCT does not rule out expanding the concession granted to Larrea to operate a mixed rail scheme, that is, of passengers and cargo. “Due to the short remaining period, a broader and more equitable concession participation can be seen,” the document indicates.
On December 11, 1997, the SCT published in the Official Gazette of the Federation (DOF) the concession title for the General Railroad Communication Road corresponding to the Pacific-North trunk road, which integrates the section of the Laguna de Cuyutlán to Manzanillo municipalities, which is laid out within the new project.
The title has a 50-year period that can be extended at the request of Ferromex, a company owned by Germán Larrea, the third richest man in Mexico in 2020, with a fortune of 11 billion dollars, according to Forbes. In addition to the rail sector, Larrea has businesses in mining and infrastructure.
The SCT said that the preparation of the pre-investment studies consists of determining the feasibility of implementing a passenger rail service in the light rail modality in the disused railway infrastructure and taking advantage of the rights of way of the old National Railways.
The preliminary layout of the line, which will be confirmed once the studies are completed, is just over 100 kilometers long and will have eight stations: Colima, Coquimatlán, Madrid, Caleras, Tecomán, Armería, Cuyutlán, and Manzanillo. “The location and number of stations can generate new poles of urban regeneration, which under a polycentric model will enhance the non-motorized mode of transport, appropriately positioning pedestrians and bicycles”, highlights the project.
According to the SCT, one of the main problems in Colima is the deficient public transport system, which, it indicated, is disjointed, operates with different groups, its units exceed their useful life and lack formalization of stops and stops.
The president asserted in his morning conference on Wednesday that when he finishes his administration, more than two thousand kilometers of railways will be enabled for passenger trains. “When I finish the government I will have the happiness, if of course the people decide, that I continue after the revocation of the mandate, that I am going to deliver about two thousand kilometers of railways, with modern passenger trains”, he said.
The SCT pointed out that in the region where the train is planning, 233 thousand 384 daily trips have been registered, of which the railway project could serve 16 percent in the first year, that is, 37 thousand 342 passengers per day at least . Public transportation is the second means of mobility in the state, only behind the private car, most of it covered by passenger buses, the document indicates.
The Sectorial Communications and Transport Program 2020-2024 establishes among its actions to promote the construction of railway infrastructure for passenger transport to meet the demand in order to contribute to mobility, access to employment, and well-being of the population. Under this premise, the SCT plans to carry out 11 studies between January and July of next year to determine the viability of the project.
Source: El sol de Mexico
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