The Suburban Train branch to the Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA) has encountered difficulty in obtaining the right of way. This obstacle is preventing the start of tests and the scheduled opening in the third quarter of 2024. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has promised not to leave any work unfinished during the last stretch of his administration. Max Noria, director of Marketing of Suburban Railways, announced that by September, the authority reported that they were 80% clear of the road. However, the exact number of sections that remain to be released in the 15 kilometers where the company works is not known.
There are plans to begin the operation in the third quarter of the following year, which includes the development of the work and testing on all the trains, systems, and subsystems that make up this branch. According to Noria, this will be possible if work can be maintained without inconveniences, such as road occupations.
The new deadline already implies an extension of the date previously mentioned by the deputy director of Mobility at the AIFA, who stated that the train would be operational in June 2023. The 23-kilometer construction of the Suburban branch covers eight kilometers in the Santa Lucía air base polygon, which has already been delivered. The other 15 kilometers require work. Ferrocarriles Suburbanos is constructing three elevated viaducts between municipalities in Tultitlán and Tultepec. This work is necessary due to the impossibility of carrying out works at ground level. Additionally, the company is equipping the 23 kilometers of the branch line and installing the necessary systems.
The Secretariat of Infrastructure, Communications, and Transportation is responsible for acquiring trains, the maneuvering yard, and real estate for stations. As of September, the comprehensive project was 46% complete, according to Noria, and work is being conducted around the clock with 77 machines and over 2,000 people involved.