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The Panama Canal Railway [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2023-12-29  

Time for a Train article: The Panama Canal Railway was finished in 1855 and I had never heard of it til this year! But alas it closed in the 1990’s. Then reopened with a passenger train in 2001. (Closed again in 2021 from regular runs due to Covid, and only available for special events) How could I have missed this - Wiki Leak – so the link is for more history on the railway than I want to copy, but its is so cool…. But now why am I hearing about it? Because of climate change. The Panama Canal normally sees roughly 3% of the worlds shipping cargo go through it, but last year the Canal Authority had to reduce traffic by 25 ships a day due to water shortages, and it is predicted to get worse.

How will cargo get from one ocean to another, if the Panama Canal needs to continue reducing passage through it, at a time where cargo demands are increasing?

Mexico is hoping to improve the Panama Canal Railway with new developments. The project involves reviving 300km of defunct railway lines(See above Wiki Article on the original Panama Canal Railway) straddling Mexico’s narrowest land point, extending from the Pacific port of Salina Cruz to Coatzacoalcos on the isthmus’ Atlantic side with trains capable of taking 300,000 cargo containers a year, to lighten the load in the canal. With improved passenger trains to encourage tourism and economic development in some of its more rural states. The full project is predicted to be done by 2028, but by the middle of 2024 the newer passenger trains should be running, and more cargo trains. The project also includes upgrades to the Atlantic and Pacific Sea Ports to link the trains.

The ride from coast to coast takes about 7 hours, and its something I’d love to do, but the news is not 100% cheery, even through the project is being built on the location of the original rails, it includes more than just the trains, and upgrades – so there are multiple native groups that are worried that there will be land grabs for industrial parks, and the building through or near their homes might be harmful to them. The Mexican government has a poor track record with these groups.

However service is already partially running http://www.panarail.com/en/passenger/index.html - to look at the current trains. And this will never replace the Panama Canal, but the hope is it can take over some of the cargo that the Canal is having to limit due to water issues. Do look at the above link – they brought back the old feel of train travel “ Passenger cars are reminiscent of the golden age of railway travel, with luxurious wood paneling, tables, carpeted floors, soft lamp lighting, wooden blinds, air conditioning, bathrooms, large windows to appreciate the picturesque journey and open-air viewing decks that allow passengers to step outside and “smell” the tropical rainforest.”

I don’t know enough about the politics to know how bad it might be for native groups in these Mexican States.. And I did note that the initial articles on this project pre- 2020 didn’t think it was an economically great investment — but due to the water shortage last year, and the predictions for this years water shortage in the canal — what little cargo they are already shipping (especially time sensitive cargoes) since delays for ships (that are scheduled to the day/hour up to a year in advance) have reached over 8 days for ships to get through due to the reduction of ships per day. The railway is already starting to make money, and probably will be a financial positive. The worse the climate the better it will do, now that might sound negative, but it is helping the current Mexican government justify the cost of the upgrades. And damn it I just wanted a happy train story!

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/12/29/2214480/-The-Panama-Canal-Railway?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=latest_community&pm_medium=web

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