The Mexico-Querétaro Train will capture up to 20 percent of the traffic on Highway 57, making it efficient and reducing the number of accidents, according to the Mexican Transportation Institute.
“It (the Mexico-Querétaro Train) is expected to capture between 15 percent to 20 percent of road traffic, significantly reducing pressures on road infrastructure,” indicates a study by the organization’s Coordination of Economic and Social Transportation Studies.
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Highway 57 operates in critical saturation conditions, the sections of Jorobas, Tepeji del Río San Juan del Río and Querétaro are congested and with a progressive decrease in their operational reliability, according to the agency dependent on the Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation.
The section between Palmillas and Querétaro concentrates the highest traffic volumes in the corridor, exceeding 200,000 vehicles per day, which generates critical congestion conditions for Highway 57, according to researchers Jonatan Omar González Moreno, Gabriela Cruz González, Danae Alejandra Vilchis Hernández and Salvador Hernández García.
“The deterioration is visible in the road segments close to urban areas, where the interurban flow is combined with local trips that are incorporated into the road as a result of the process of conurbation and urban expansion of the metropolitan area of Querétaro,” said the IMT.
The government’s plan is to build the Mexico-Nuevo Laredo Railway System, the AIFA-Pachuca train, the Naucalpan-Buenavista Light Rail and a passenger train from Mexico City to Nogales.
The passenger rail service between the cities of Mexico and Querétaro began at the end of the 19th century, derived from a concession granted in 1880 to the Boston company Ferrocarril Central Mexicano.
for the construction of a line between Mexico City and Paso del Norte (current Ciudad Juárez) passing through Querétaro.
The IMT added that the expansion of the urban Querétaro area has absorbed several sections of federal highway 57, which caused road congestion and accidents.
“Delays are observed in the vicinity of the toll booths, especially at the Palmillas toll booth, where capacity restrictions and the accumulation of vehicles cause substantial increases in crossing times and traffic variability,” he said.
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He considered that without the capacity expansions to the Mexico City-Querétaro highway, about 80 percent of the corridor would fall into deficient service levels.
If it falls to deficient levels, Highway 57 “evidences the insufficiency of traditional highway solutions in the face of sustained growth in demand” for cargo and passenger transportation in Mexico.
The introduction of the Mexico-Querétaro Passenger Train is emerging as the intervention with the greatest structural impact, registering advantages in travel time, cost per kilometer and operational certainty.
According to the IMT, the train would reduce traffic congestion and improve the fluidity of freight and private transportation on Highway 57 Mexico-Querétaro, which is one of the busiest in Latin America.
With speeds of 200 kilometers per hour, the passenger train will reduce the trip between Buenavista, in Mexico City, to Querétaro to less than two hours, and other estimates indicate one hour 40 minutes
It is expected that the mass transportation system will leave considerable savings for 6 million inhabitants.
According to the project, the Mexico-Querétaro passenger train will boost the economy of the Bajío region by facilitating transportation and commerce, and will offer a more comfortable and modern travel alternative.
It is expected that the mode of transportation will boost domestic tourism and economic development in connected communities, and will expand the labor market of the regions it connects.
The construction of the Mexico to Querétaro train project will generate 200 thousand direct and indirect jobs on the 12 construction fronts.
“The historic investment injected into the project (around 167 billion pesos) generates a significant economic impact throughout the Bajío region, benefiting suppliers of materials, services and local businesses,” he concluded.
