Guadalajara, Jalisco — President Claudia Sheinbaum said during a visit to the metro area that the Mexico City – Guadalajara passenger train is moving ahead, casting it as part of a broader national push to bring back intercity rail for travelers. Her remarks, delivered at a public event, quickly drew national pickup and search interest given the route’s scale and its cross-state impact.
Sheinbaum tied the Guadalajara link to segments already underway in the central corridor and to pending tenders in Bajío states, positioning the project as a flagship of her rail revival agenda. The Mexico–Querétaro and Mexico–Pachuca works were cited as advancing, with the remaining Mexico–Guadalajara sections to be bid in stages, all to ensure the success of the Mexico City Guadalajara passenger train.
The corridor taking shape
While the federal government has not released a full technical dossier for the Guadalajara service, public statements indicate a phased build that starts with Mexico–Querétaro before continuing northwest through Guanajuato and into Jalisco. In parallel coverage, regional outlets in the Bajío highlighted that the alignment would pass through Irapuato and León, reinforcing expectations that the Guadalajara train will be delivered as an extension of the central trunk. The development of the Mexico City Guadalajara passenger train is a significant milestone in this phased project.
In Jalisco media, officials and reporters have also pointed to target operating speeds around the 200 km/h range for intercity segments in the corridor—placing the project in a “fast” category rather than true high-speed rail. That speed band aligns with recent reporting on the Mexico–Querétaro phase, where planners are working to trim door-to-door times and shift mode share away from highways and domestic flights.
Why this matters in Jalisco and beyond
A rail link between the country’s capital and its second-largest metro would redraw intercity mobility in the “El Bajío–Occidente” arc. For Jalisco, that means more predictable travel windows to and from the capital and a potential rebalancing of passenger traffic currently funneled through the Guadalajara–CDMX shuttle by air or the long haul on Highway 15D. For the national rail program, it’s a keystone that tests whether the government can deliver medium-fast, multi-state service on existing rights-of-way while limiting construction risk. The success of the Mexico City Guadalajara passenger train is pivotal to achieving these goals.
The announcement follows earlier timetables set out for the Mexico–Querétaro segment, with planning targets pointing to a multi-year build and operations starting late this decade if works and procurement stay on schedule.
What’s next: tenders and technicals
Sheinbaum’s Jalisco remarks dovetail with signals that the final stretches toward Guadalajara will be put to tender after the Mexico–Querétaro and Querétaro–Irapuato phases. Local reporting in Guadalajara has framed the next administrative steps around bidding and detailed engineering, including how the line navigates dense urban approaches on both ends. The president’s team has also emphasized staging to keep early segments on track while later sections proceed through procurement.
A nod to history—with eyes on reliability
For Guadalajara, a restored rail link also carries symbolic weight: the corridor last saw regular long-distance passenger service in the 1990s, before the network’s pivot to freight. Policymakers now frame rail’s return as a practical alternative to crowded highways and short-haul flights rather than nostalgia. The Mexico City Guadalajara passenger train promises to redefine this journey with a focus on frequency, reliability, and total journey time from center to center.
As the project moves from statement to contracting and engineering, the key tests will be transparent tendering, realistic speed and headway targets, and credible integration with local transit on both ends of the line.
