Work has begun on the first segment of the northmost new rail project planned this year by the Mexican Government, the first 85 miles of the line between Nuevo Laredo and Saltillo. Government of Mexico
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Friday (Nov. 7) announced the start of the country’s latest major rail project, the Gulf of Mexico Train, a planned passenger route linking Nuevo Laredo at the U.S. border to the cities of Saltillo and Monterrey.
A groundbreaking ceremony was held on Friday, November 7th, in Nuevo Laredo for the first phase of the project, a 137-kilometer (85-mile) single-track route to Arroyo El Sauz. That segment, the first of five, will require the construction of 52 bridges and 42 grade crossings, according to a government press release.
The new passenger line will be built next to an existing freight line. The federal Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications, and Transportation, SICT, states that 71% of the right-of-way has already been cleared, and contracts have been put out to bid, according to a BNamericas report.
Hoy, desde Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, nos conectamos en la #MañaneraDelPueblo y vivimos un día verdaderamente histórico junto a nuestra presidenta @Claudiashein.
— Américo Villarreal (@Dr_AVillarreal) November 7, 2025
Dimos inicio a la construcción del Tren del Golfo de México, en la ruta Saltillo–Nuevo Laredo, una obra que… pic.twitter.com/3KP10TExpN
The full Nuevo Laredo-Saltillo route will cover 396 kilometers (246 miles) with operating speeds of 160 to 200 kilometers per hour (99-124 mph). The government projects that the complete Saltillo-Nuevo Laredo route will carry 7.5 million passengers annually.
It is one of four projects for which the Mexican government budgeted funds to begin construction this year [see “Mexico budgets $7.8 billion …,” Trains.com, Dec. 3, 2024]. Work began earlier on the other routes, part of a plan by Sheinbaum to have 3,000 kilometers of new passenger lines by the end of her six-year term.
With information from UNO TV
 single-track route to Arroyo El Sauz.){kind=link}