Migrant crisis: lack of safety and fatal accidents lead Ferromex to suspend operations

Ferromex, the largest railway company in Mexico, reported that it has suspended cargo operations on several routes that go to the north of the country due to the increased number of migrants seeking to reach the U.S. border. The company detailed how in recent days, nearly half a dozen cases of injuries or deaths of immigrants have been recorded.:

The company explained that the resumption of activities will depend on the actions taken by the Government to control the situation. "Given the notable increase in migrants concentrated in various regions of the country and the severe risk that the use of freight trains to transport represents to their integrity."Ferromex has temporarily stopped 60 trains so far," the company explained in a statement published on X (formerly Twitter).

"On the railway cars and in the railway operations yard in Torreón, Coahuila, for example, there are more than 1,500 people; in Irapuato, Guanajuato, more than 800; in San Francisco de los Romo, Aguascalientes, around a thousand; and on the route between Chihuahua and Ciudad Juárez, more than a thousand people are occupying the loading gondolas," the company added.

"The company informed its customers about the effects"

Likewise, Ferromex explained that its clients are informed about the situation. "The company has informed its customers about the temporary effects that the freight rail service will have on production chains, supply and international trade," the company said.

The company's decision is made at a time when there is an immigration crisis in the United States. Hundreds of undocumented people are attempting to reach US territory. Last month it emerged that nationwide encounters of illegal immigrants with Customs and Border Protection has increased at least 300% since 2020, which was the last fiscal year recorded by President Donald Trump's Administration.