TRANSPORT
Spoorweg Mexico, rivaal van Panamakanaal, gaat open
November 17, 2023 - Mexico’s Tehuantepec isthmus corridor, a railway between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean, is set to open. The $2.8bn project aims to provide an alternative to the congested Panama Canal.
The Isthmus of Tehuantepec Interoceanic Corridor (CIIT) comprises a 308km railway line between renovated ports at Salina Cruz in Oaxaca state and Coatzacoalcos in Veracruz.
Service is expected to start in December with two daily round trips for passengers, and three for cargo.
The project seeks to capitalise on the periods of low water levels affecting the Panama Canal as the region suffers increasingly frequent droughts.
For President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, it forms part of a gambit to draw investment to the poorer south.