Tamaulipas is among the states in which the passenger train could be reactivated in its tourist modality.
A video announcing the “Expreso Huasteco” passenger train and with it the possibility of the return of the passenger train went viral through social networks. The line is expected to communicate again San Luis Potosí (Capital) with the Port of Tampico.
Rodolfo Torres Sanchez, Social Welfare delegate of the Northeast Region of the Confederation of Railway Workers of the Mexican Republic shares that the possibilities are beyond 90 percent, after the Federal Government’s drive to recover the mobility spaces lost due to the sale of National Railways of Mexico (FERRONALES). “It’s very possible because Canadian Pacific merged with Kansas City.
It is a very big possibility that the passenger train will return. Canadian Pacific is interested in the movement of passengers and because Mexico handles a lot of cargo and Canadians are smart and they are going to put the train from Cancun to Canada.
From Cancun to Canada, Canadians are going to put tourist trains in,” he said. Through the railway confederation, he said that the possibility of cargo and passenger transport between the two destinations was requested. “We as railway men are recommending that the trains can be touristic, because they really like tourism.
But they can be mixed. What is mixed? A train that carries cargo and passengers and stops at all stations. For example, Tampico-San Luis and Tampico-Monterrey”.
In Mexico, the México Toluca is about to open, and it is very possible that operations of México-Querétaro will be ceded. “We are proposing to the president. Several leaders met in CDMX and Enrique Oropeza Vazquez, the general secretary of the Confederation of Railway men so that it becomes an opportunity for growth for the railway sector” The start-up could take place during the second half of 2024 if the concessionaire company so decide. This trend is part of a federal government initiative.
In addition, in 2022, Miguel Torruco Garza, federal deputy of MORENA, proposed before the Plenary of the San Lázaro Legislative Enclosure an initiative that seeks to reform the regulatory law of the rail service and reactivate the return of passenger trains to Mexico and that are still undefined.
The return of the passenger train opens the opportunity for more than 70 towns to once again have the possibility of establishing a commercial route with the capital San Luis and Tampico (southern area of Tamaulipas). According to the travel itinerary of the nineties, the main stations are Cárdenas, Tamasopo, Rayón, Tambaca, Ciudad Valles, El Abra, Tamuín, Las Palmas (cement company), Ébano and Chijol Mendez, El Coco and Tampico.
Daniel Galván, manager of the National Chamber of Commerce in Ciudad Madero, shares that the return of the passenger train brings with it the possibility of reactivating the economy and commercial exchange as in the past. “Yes, you just have to remember all the products and merchandise that traveled with the train daily from San Luis Potosí. I would return that positive exchange for the area.”
Touristically, he said that the possibility of generating a constant flow of visitors in both directions of the railway remains, both those who seek the attractions of what are now called “magical towns” and those who feel attracted by the destination beach.
Estimates warn that 3,500 people would directly have options to market everything that is produced in their agricultural, livestock and artisanal communities. And approximately 15,000 people would be indirectly affected by the economic benefits that trade brings. “A passenger train between San Luis Potosí and Tampico would bring life back to 70 communities that are settled next to the railroad tracks and that have a station (10 to 12 minutes) or official stop (3 minutes)”, says Rodolfo Sánchez Torres.
And he added: “On the one hand, and on the other hand, the trade that existed between one point and another, which was San Luis and Tampico, because there was a lot of legumes, tunas, corn, dried meat, jerky, tuna cheese, many products. Beans, Chorizo from Río Verde, ranch eggs, cheeses and even nopales, oranges, we think that the economy is going to be reactivated because the towns are going to resurface.
The government of the state of San Luis Potosí announced on July 4 that they are in talks with the transnational railway company to establish a tourist train. He toured the municipalities of Cárdenas, Río Verde and Tamasopo. Which is also complemented by a Railway Museum that will include a steam machine. However, this project is not related to the layout of a passenger train.
In Tamaulipas, various projects have been presented to rescue railway facilities with tourist intentions. This is the case of the old Ciudad Victoria Station, which has several plans to be enabled as a museum, although to date none have materialized.
Source: Expreso Press
