Given the increase in the number of migrants trying to reach the United States on cargo trains, which causes fatal accidents, the Mexican operator Ferromex announced this Tuesday that it will suspend the circulation of 60 trains.
Published on: 09/20/2023 – 03:33
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The operator of Mexico’s largest railway network, Ferromex, announced on Tuesday, September 19, that it suspended the circulation of 60 freight trains due to the influx of thousands of migrants who use them to reach the border with the United States.
Some 4,300 people are still on board trains or in Ferromex operating facilities in the cities of Torreón, Irapuato, San Francisco de los Romo and Chihuahua, where fatal accidents have been recorded in recent days, the company reported in a statement.
“Given the notable increase in the number of migrants concentrated in various regions of the country and the serious risk that the use of freight trains for transportation represents for their safety, Ferromex has temporarily immobilized 60 trains,” says Ferromex.
The company did not specify what proportion of its activity is affected by this measure, but indicates that the 60 trains have a loading capacity equivalent to that of 1,800 trucks.
For years, thousands of migrants from South and Central America have used Mexican freight trains – one of which is nicknamed “The Beast” or “Death Train” – to cross the country to the border with the United States. , in the north of the country. Many of them died or had to be amputated after accidentally falling from the roofs of trains.
Corridor to the asylum
The network operated by Ferromex covers 10,000 kilometers of roads in Mexico, internationally connecting “eight ports and six border crossings,” according to its website. Ferromex said it was waiting for measures from authorities to resolve the situation, which it warned should have an impact on production or supply chains.
Mexico is a corridor through which thousands of migrants pass on their way to its northern border to seek asylum in the United States or try to enter without a visa. Many of them travel clandestinely, crowded inside trains or trucks in inhumane conditions, subjected to mistreatment by smugglers.
On Monday, several people were injured when thousands of migrants, mostly Haitians, tried to force their way into the immigration office in Tapachula (south) to demand the issuance of transit permits.
With AFP
