Mexico has inaugurated a coast-to-coast rail link. The country hopes to generate income from transporting goods by rail and wants to compete with the Panama Canal.
A train connection from the Pacific to the Atlantic has been put into operation in Mexico. The government wants it to become an alternative to the Panama Canal for the movement of goods.
The train line, built more than a century ago, privatized in the 1990s and later closed, was recently modernized and runs from Coatzacoalcos on the Atlantic Gulf of Mexico to Salina Cruz on the Pacific.
The railway line runs 227 kilometers between Coatzacoalcos and Salina Cruz.
hope on economic Development
The train line, built more than a century ago, privatized in the 1990s and later closed, was recently modernized and runs from Coatzacoalcos on the Atlantic Gulf of Mexico to Salina Cruz on the Pacific. Around 300,000 containers are expected to be transported via the railway line every year. The journey should take three hours and passengers will also be transported in addition to goods.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said “all Asian countries” had shown interest in the connection because the Panama Canal was at capacity. However, critics have said the train route can only transport a fraction of the amount of freight carried by water. The train connection is also intended to promote economic development in the poorer southern part of Mexico.
Six train stations were also put into operation along the 227-kilometer route, as the daily newspaper “La Jornada” reported. Indigenous communities had protested against the major project because they feared negative impacts on the environment.
Water shortage in the Panama Canal
The approximately 80 kilometer long Panama Canal connects the Atlantic with the Pacific in Central America. In normal times, around 14,000 ships pass through the waterway every year. Around six percent of world trade is carried out through it. Since the expansion of the canal, large tankers and freighters with up to 14,000 containers can also be channeled through the waterway.
Large amounts of water are required to operate the canal’s locks. For each passage, around 200 million liters are taken from a water catchment area fed by two lakes. In recent months, a lack of rain and higher temperatures have caused water levels to fall, which has impacted operations.
In November, the canal authority announced that the number of bookable ship passages would be gradually reduced from 30 to 18 per day by February.
Christina Fee Moebus, ARD Mexico City, tagesschau, December 23rd, 2023 5:26 p.m