THE Mexican federal government has acquired full ownership of the 27km Mexico City - Cuautitlán commuter line. It purchased the remaining private stakes from Spanish manufacturer CAF (43.4%) and Omnitren (7.6%) in a transaction valued at around Pesos 6bn ($US 350m).
The line, from the Buenavista terminus in Mexico City to Cuautitlán in the state of Mexico, is one of only two commuter lines in the Mexico City metropolitan area. Services began running in 2008 following work to upgrade infrastructure under a public-private partnership (PPP) concession, operated with a fleet of CAF EMUs and has become an important alternative to congested road transport, carrying over 45 million passengers each year.
Under the new structure, the railway will be operated by national infrastructure fund Fonadin, which already held a 49% stake in the concession. Fonadin aims to introduce new services, including a 23km extension to Felipe Ángeles International Airport and future inter-city services to Pachuca and Querétaro, with Buenavista expected to resume its historic role s Mexico City’s main station.
The transaction brings to a close a nearly two-decade-long PPP model for the concession and signals a clear policy shift towards state-controlled, vertically-integrated passenger rail operations in Mexico.
For detailed data on rail projects across North America, subscribe to IRJ Pro.
