Mexico-Querétaro Train to Connect Capital with Querétaro by 2029

Trains. Glorious, magnificent, utterly impractical trains. The Mexico-Querétaro railway, cancelled a decade ago, has found itself back in the spotlight, resurrected from the abyss of bureaucratic despair. You see, trains, unlike politicians, always have a way of bouncing back. And in Mexico, they bounce back with a particular kind of flair. After the scandal involving the "White House" (not that White House, mind you) derailed the original plans under former President Enrique Peña Nieto, Claudia Sheinbaum has stepped up to the plate, determined to prove that her government can lay down some serious tracks.

Sheinbaum, Mexico's newest train enthusiast-in-chief, has decided that the nation's army, the Ministry of National Defense, or Sedena if you're feeling bureaucratically frisky, will be her primary ally. This makes sense, doesn't it? Nothing quite screams efficient public transport like putting the army in charge. Just imagine, military precision applied to a train schedule. Will the train leave at 9:00 AM sharp? Absolutely. Will there be tanks on board? Possibly.

Now, before we all get too excited about our shiny new locomotive future, let's remember: this project isn't a sprint, it's a marathon. The government has announced that the technical analysis phase — that's bureaucratic speak for “let’s think about it really hard for a few months” — will take five months, just to get the ball rolling. No need to rush into things, right? After all, it’s only been ten years since they first thought of it. Why not take five more months to ponder?

Once the paperwork has been shuffled and all the appropriate engineers have nodded sagely over their blueprints, the actual construction will begin. And, if all goes according to plan (and when has a government project ever deviated from the plan?), this magnificent train will be completed in three years, just in time to serve the good people of Mexico sometime in the distant future of 2029.

Now, for those of you unfamiliar with the geopolitical intricacies of Mexican transport, let me paint a picture. The Mexico-Querétaro train will connect the bustling urban heart of Buenavista with Querétaro, a place with just enough historical charm to make the journey worthwhile. But, it's not just any old train. No, no. This one will have two independent tracks — because apparently one track just wouldn't do — and three stations: Buenavista, San Juan del Río, and Querétaro center. Yes, the train will have a destination, and then, as all great things do, it will stop.

Not content with a simple A to B journey, Sheinbaum has grand plans. There will be branches. One will snake its way to Nuevo Laredo, while the other will veer off towards Guadalajara, because why not? And if that’s not enough, there’s even talk of extending this railway marvel all the way to Nogales, Sonora. It's like Sheinbaum thought, "How far can we push this thing?" And the answer, apparently, is the U.S. border.

Of course, the speed demons among you will be pleased to know that this marvel of Mexican engineering will be able to reach a top speed of 160 kilometers per hour. That’s a respectable clip, though probably not fast enough to satisfy anyone who's grown up watching futuristic bullet trains fly across Asian megacities. But for Mexico, it’ll do. A leisurely hour and forty minutes to get from the capital to Querétaro sounds rather nice, actually. Time enough to enjoy a coffee, read a novel, and wonder if that guy across from you is actually a military officer in disguise.

And the trains themselves! Capable of carrying a respectable 450 passengers, these mechanical beasts are sure to evoke the romantic imagery of travel — or at least the kind of travel that comes with a lot of legroom, which is rare enough to be considered romantic these days. It all sounds rather splendid, doesn't it? Trains, chugging along through the Mexican landscape, connecting cities and people, all with the precision of a military operation.

Now, this is where things get serious. The cost. Trains, as we all know, don’t come cheap, and Sheinbaum’s railway dreams are no exception. The government has earmarked a modest 150 billion pesos just for the first year of construction. That’s about the same amount it costs to buy a small island or build a not-so-small football stadium. But here’s the kicker: the experts — those delightful cynics who live to predict budget overruns — are warning that the real cost could balloon to 2 trillion pesos. That’s trillion, with a “T.” In other words, by the time this thing is done, it could cost more than a good chunk of Mexico’s GDP.

But you know what? It's worth it. Why? Because trains. There’s something about a train that just gets under your skin, isn’t there? They represent freedom, adventure, progress. When you step onto a train, you’re not just going somewhere; you’re making a statement. You’re saying, “Yes, I am a sophisticated individual who prefers the gentle rocking of a railway carriage to the indignity of air travel.”

And, while it may be a decade late, mired in scandal, and running on the fumes of political ambition, the Mexico-Querétaro train is more than just a mode of transportation. It’s a symbol of a nation's willpower, a testament to the idea that sometimes, just sometimes, a project that was dead in the water can come back, bigger, better, and with military backing.

So, here’s to the future. Here’s to 2029, when this train, in all its steel glory, will finally rumble across Mexico’s landscape. Will it be on time? Unlikely. Will it be worth the 2 trillion pesos? Who knows? But it will be a train. And really, isn’t that enough?