Mexico-Toluca rail line has a new deadline

The rail line that will connect Mexico City to Toluca, capital of neighboring Mexico state, is now due to be completed in November, according to transport minister Gerardo Ruiz Esparza.

During a visit to the project, Ruiz Esparza said that construction is 80% done. One side of a 4.7km tunnel has been completed, while the other is expected to be concluded within the next few days.

The minister also said that commercial operations are expected to begin in the first half of next year.

Work on the line began in 2015, with an original completion date of December 2017. The deadline was pushed back a number of times, while the estimated cost rose from 35bn pesos (US$1.69bn) to 44bn and then finally to 52bn pesos, the ministry said in a statement.

The government has blamed the delays and the rising cost on factors such as inflation, exchange rate fluctuations, and the fact that the line's original route was modified, as well as opposition from local farmers that led to the halting of works on a section of the line for some three months.

"Those are adjustments that have to be made to this type of project," Ruiz Esparza told reporters. "This is a reasonable cost based on what was planned."

The 58km line comprises three sections, of which two are the direct responsibility of the ministry. The third section, which is the responsibility of Mexico City's government, is reportedly about 52% complete.

The line will be served by 30 trains and is expected to handle 230,000 passengers a day.