Tren Maya Freight Project Targets 4.7 Million Tons by 2030

Cancún, Quintana Roo — Mexico’s Tren Maya freight network is projected to move 4.7 million tons of cargo by 2030 and reach financial break-even in 2032, according to plans outlined by the Mexican Army’s Defense Ministry (Sedena). Freight service is scheduled to begin before the end of the first half of 2027.

Manuel Jaime Ramírez Camacho, general director of the Tren Maya, said the project remains in its construction phase and will include four stations, a branch line and a bypass. The strategy is divided into three stages — integrating operational capacity, maturing the system and consolidating it — built on four pillars: operational efficiency and safety, profitability, regulation and sustainability.

The freight network now under construction is 67 percent complete overall and is still on track for delivery in December 2026, said Gen. Gustavo Ricardo Vallejo Suárez, commander of the Felipe Ángeles Group.

Cancún Terminal Leads Investment

The Cancún terminal is the largest on the entire freight circuit, with an investment of 7.8 billion pesos. That compares with 5.158 billion pesos for Progreso, 4.812 billion for Poxilá, 4.934 billion for Palenque and 5.047 billion for Chetumal.

Each terminal will operate as a full logistics complex rather than a simple rail yard, featuring receiving and dispatch tracks, classification areas, a transfer platform, warehouses, a customs-bonded enclosure, workshops and National Guard detachments.

In Cancún, work is focused on rail infrastructure, marshaling yards and a 9.6-kilometer, four-lane bypass south of the city that will link Federal Highway 180 toward Mérida with Highway 307 toward Chetumal. Beyond moving freight out of the complex, the bypass is designed to ease traffic congestion in southern Cancún.

Construction Phases

The first stage covers four complexes — Cancún, Palenque, Poxilá and Progreso — along with 48.7 kilometers of new track between Poxilá and Progreso, 18.9 kilometers of rehabilitated track between Poxilá and Mérida, and 100 kilometers of track in interior yards.

The second stage will begin in 2027 with the Chetumal multimodal terminal and operations yards in Valladolid, Escárcega, Xpujil, Pomuch and Tulum.

According to Sedena, the project has generated more than 13,793 direct jobs across eight work fronts, with women operating 20 percent of the machinery.

Timeline Through 2032

• 2023: Passenger operations begin
• 2025: Construction of freight infrastructure starts under the Felipe Ángeles Group
• 2027: Freight operations begin
• 2028: Dual freight-passenger operation is consolidated
• 2029: Commercial partnerships expand and technological innovation is strengthened
• 2030: 4.7 million tons transported
• 2031: High-demand operations stabilize and intermodal connectivity expands
• 2032: Financial break-even reached

Ramírez Camacho said the Tren Maya has carried 2,944,000 passengers since Dec. 16, 2023, using 1,554 kilometers of track, 34 stations and 42 trains. Accumulated revenue from January to date this year totals 364 million pesos.