Mexico-Queretaro Train Project
Phase One
Progress update: "Mañanera del Pueblo", Feb. 19, 2026.
The construction of the Mexico City-Querétaro railway is 9.80% complete.
Last revision: February 2026
Sector: Transportation
Subsector: Railways
Stage: Execution
Press Releases: Queretaro will regain its vocation as the country’s hub for passenger trains: President Claudia Sheinbaum Framework Agreement on the Coordination - Release of the Right of Way On Track, AIFA–Pachuca and Mexico City–Queretaro Railway Routes; Agreement Signed to Free Right-of-Way Public Tender LA-09-D00-009D00999-I-53-2025 | Procurement of 15 passenger trains DMU equipped with ERTMS Right-of-way clearance progresses to meet the goals of the 2025–2030 National Railway Plan: Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation
The Mexico–Querétaro Passenger Train project is part of the Government of Mexico’s national priority strategy to reactivate and modernize public passenger rail transport. Its main objective is to improve urban and interurban mobility by connecting Mexico City, Querétaro, and the main cities of the Bajío and the north-central region of the country. The project will benefit more than 30,000 people from 22 municipalities who commute daily between Mexico City and Querétaro, as well as a total beneficiary population of 5.6 million people.
This information is preliminary and subject to review and continuous updates as the project progresses.
General Information
Key Characteristics
- States covered: Mexico City, State of Mexico, Hidalgo, Querétaro
- Service type: Passenger
- Route length: 226 kilometers of double track, using existing right of way
- Fleet: Diesel-electric trains
- Maximum speed: The geometric design of the track will allow speeds of up to 200 km/h (maximum design speed) or 160 km/h (maximum operating speed)
- Passenger capacity: 450 passengers per train and up to 6 million passengers per year
- Travel time: The end-to-end journey is projected at approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes (90 to 120 minutes), representing a significant reduction compared with current highway travel times
- Estimated investment: 144 billion MXN
- Connectivity: The line will eventually be extended toward Guadalajara, branching into routes to Nuevo Laredo and Nogales
- Start of works: Preliminary works and studies began in October 2024; construction officially commenced in April 2025
- Execution period and start of operations: 2 years and 6 months, with operations beginning in 2027
- Project owner: Construction is led by the Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional (SEDENA) through the Felipe Ángeles Engineers Corps
Stations
Stations and stops: The project includes a combination of main stations and intermediate stops to meet regional demand (subject to final studies).
- Stations: Buenavista (CDMX), Huehuetoca (State of Mexico); Tula de Allende (Hidalgo); San Juan del Río; El Marqué; y La Corregidora (Querétaro)
Progress and Benefits
Works in Progress
Works in Progress
- Overall progress: 9.80%
- Formation of passenger-track embankments
- Construction of a railway overpass at the entrance to Querétaro City
- Construction of pier-columns for a passenger viaduct in the La Trinidad area
- Box cuts for track platforms near San Juan del Río
- Formation of rock embankments and placement of geotextiles over the right of way
- Formation of service roads for train operations
- 14 construction fronts (work (12 for civil works and 2 for technical support studies) to carry out 366 cross drainage works and 22 vehicle bridges)
- 14,346 jobs created
Benefits
This project is conceived as the first segment of a trunk passenger rail line that will extend toward the Bajío and western Mexico, later connecting with the Querétaro–Irapuato line.
- Time savings: Travel time between Mexico City and Querétaro will be reduced to under two hours, compared with 4 to 6 hours by road due to congestion
- Reduced daily travel time frees up productive or rest time for citizens
- Strengthens connectivity between the Bajío’s major industrial and manufacturing hub (Querétaro, Guanajuato) and the country’s main economic center (Mexico City)
- Promotes commercial and tourism exchange by facilitating faster and more accessible business and personal travel
- Construction and operation generate thousands of direct and indirect jobs and attract investment to areas surrounding the stations
- By offering a mass-transit alternative, a reduction is expected in the use of private vehicles and buses on Highway 57D (Mexico–Querétaro), one of the country’s most congested corridors
- Rail transport is generally more energy-efficient and produces a lower carbon footprint per passenger-kilometer than road transport
- Provides a safer mode of transportation compared with highway travel
PRESS RELEASES
2025
- July 30, 2025 – Progress on the Construction of the Mexico–Pachuca and Mexico–Querétaro Trains; 260,000 Jobs to Be Created This Year
- May 21, 2025 – The President highlighted the start of train construction projects to Pachuca, Querétaro, and the freight line of the Tren Maya within the first 7 months of her administration
- May 5, 2025 – Mexico City–Querétaro Train Will Connect with Public Transit Systems in Four States
- April 27, 2025 – Construction begins on the Mexico–Querétaro train; it will serve an estimated annual demand of six million users: ARTF
- April 27, 2025 – President Claudia Sheinbaum Launches Construction of Mexico City–Querétaro Train; It Will Be Inaugurated in 2027
- March 1, 2025 – SICT announces investment of MXN 144 billion to build the Mexico–Querétaro passenger train
- February 27, 2025 – The Government of Mexico will have built 13 new passenger train routes by the end of the current administration
- January 29, 2025 – Mexico–Querétaro and Mexico–Pachuca trains to begin passenger service in 2027
Documents
- Public Tender: Services for the preparation of studies to assess demand, social and urban impact, and legal and economic conditions for the Mexico–Querétaro line (Mexico–Nuevo Laredo railway corridor) LO-09-311-009000988-N-2-2025
- Environmental Impact Statement – Regional, Mexico City–Querétaro Railway (Project ID or Key: 22QE2025V0007)
- Registration in the Investment Portfolio of the Investment Unit – SHCP (ID or Portfolio Key: 2509D000002)
- Framework Agreement for the Coordination of Right-of-Way Clearance Actions (Federal Official Gazette)
Archives
- November 28, 2024 – Government of Mexico announces MXN 157 billion investment in 2025 for passenger train construction
- November 28, 2024 – Government of Mexico to begin construction on four passenger train projects in 2025
- October 30, 2024 – Government of Mexico to strengthen cargo and passenger trains: Lajous Loaeza
- October 13, 2024 – President Claudia Sheinbaum leads the start of preliminary work on the Mexico-Querétaro train.
- October 13, 2024 – Official Transcript: Start of preliminary work on the Mexico-Querétaro Train Project.
- October 13, 2024 – New Mexico-Querétaro passenger train will benefit nearly six million people: SICT.
- October 13, 2024 – The Mexico-Querétaro train will ensure environmental benefits: Alicia Bárcena.
VIDEOS
RELATED PROJECTS – MEXICO PROJECTS HUB
Mexico Projects Hub provides information on initiatives associated with the Mexico-Querétaro Train, focusing on connectivity projects:
