The 100-year-old railway Mexico hopes will rival the Panama Canal
The route will run across Mexico's narrowest point, connecting the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean
The Mexican government is reviving a century-old railway line between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean, in the hope that the route can one day rival the Panama Canal.
The restoration is part of a "bold bid to steal container traffic" away from the waterway, said the Financial Times.
The project "seeks to capitalise on multinationals' desire to be closer to the US" as well as the periods of low water levels in the Panama Canal as the region suffers "increasingly frequent droughts", said the paper.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Part of the development of The Tehuantepec Interoceanic Corridor (CIIT), a signature project of President Andres Manuel López Obrador, the interoceanic railway will run for 303km across Mexico's narrowest point, with the main line running between the port cities of Salina Cruz, Oaxaca, and Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz.
A new route for international freight
The revival of the railway line means that a ship could "unload its cargo from one side, send it by rail across the Isthmus, and reload it back onto another ship on the other side", thereby providing a new route through which international freight could flow, explained Mexico News Daily.
Originally part of the Tehuantepec line, the railway was first built for the government of dictator Porfirio Diaz and was inaugurated in 1907, before the Mexican Revolution and the opening of the Panama Canal "devastated business", said the FT.
The $2.8 billion project has been "buoyed" by Mexico's increasingly important trading relationship with the US; the country "surpassed China this year to become the US's top trading partner", said The Daily Upside. Given that America's relationship with China remains "decidedly frosty", Mexico can "feel secure in its new position for a while longer".
Droughts are also putting pressure on the canal. Last year the major shipping route, which relies on fresh water for its operation, faced its worst drought on record, causing significant delays.
Operators were forced to reduce the number of ships which passed through the canal from an average of 40 to 32 in order to save water, with each shipping vessel requiring some "200 million litres of freshwater to move through the canal's locks", said Euronews.
It is here that Mexico has spied its most significant opportunity; the government is "bullish" about the new rail route's prospects, as it will offer "proximity to the US and a transit time of 6.5 hours excluding loading time – less than the eight to 10 hours it takes on the 80km canal", said the FT.
Mexico's Secretary of Economy Raquel Buenrostro told the paper that Mexico's investment in railway infrastructure was "a real and increasingly important alternative", as the world faces increasing changes due to the climate crisis. In July, the minister said the trade corridor could account for as much as 5% of Mexico's GDP, reported Mexico News Daily.
A true alternative to Panama Canal?
There are doubts.
In a news conference the canal's director, Ricaurte Vásquez Morales, said: "Definitely the Mexican solution could be a potential threat to the Panamanian operation," but he added a replacement route would only be needed "if we were in a situation where there is no water at all, and we do not anticipate that".
Another major problem is the train route's capacity. Its maximum annual cargo capacity would be about 10.5% of the total amount of goods carried through the Panama Canal in 2022, according to calculations from the FT.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Sorcha Bradley is a writer at The Week and a regular on “The Week Unwrapped” podcast. She worked at The Week magazine for a year and a half before taking up her current role with the digital team, where she mostly covers UK current affairs and politics. Before joining The Week, Sorcha worked at slow-news start-up Tortoise Media. She has also written for Sky News, The Sunday Times, the London Evening Standard and Grazia magazine, among other publications. She has a master’s in newspaper journalism from City, University of London, where she specialised in political journalism.
-
5 generously funny cartoons on the $60 billion foreign aid package
Cartoons Artists take on Republican opposition, aid to Ukraine, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Knife: Salman Rushdie's 'mesmeric memoir' of brutal attack
The Week Recommends The author's account of ordeal which cost him his eye is both 'scary and heartwarming'
By The Week Staff Published
-
Crossword: April 27, 2024
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
6 presumed dead in Baltimore bridge collapse
Speed Read A massive cargo ship hit a support pillar of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing it to crumple
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
SUVs: the scourge of the streets?
Talking Point 'Hulking vehicles' are more dangerous and polluting than smaller cars but offer a sense of safety
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
HS2: a runaway train
Talking Point PM may cut Manchester to Birmingham line of beleaguered rail project due to spiralling costs
By The Week Staff Published
-
Pros and cons of e-scooters
Pros and Cons Enthusiasts praise their convenience but sceptics say they are dangerous and environmentally damaging
By Chas Newkey-Burden Published
-
China Eastern Airlines plane crash: how did disaster occur at 29,000 feet?
feature Piecing together a full picture of events ‘could take years’
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Suez Canal blockage investigators shine spotlight on Ever Given crew
feature Billions of dollars at stake as experts try to explain who or what is to blame for the cargo ship’s grounding
By Joe Evans Last updated
-
New evidence points to final resting place of missing MH370
Speed Read Findings of ocean study fuels call for reopening of search for lost Malaysia Airlines jet
By Joe Evans Last updated
-
Pakistan train fire: what we know so far
In Depth At least 70 people have been killed after a blaze ripped through a train
By Gabriel Power Published