Carlos Slim Wins $1.7 Billion Contract for Mexico’s Northern Rail Line

Carlos Slim, Mexico’s richest man, has won the first major contract for the country’s new passenger railway linking Saltillo, Monterrey, and Nuevo Laredo on the U.S. border.

His companies Grupo Carso and FCC will design and build a 111-kilometre section between Saltillo and Santa Catarina, valued at 31.8 billion pesos (US$1.7 billion).

The Tren del Norte, nearly 400 kilometres in total, is one of President Claudia Sheinbaum’s flagship projects. Once complete, trains are expected to run at up to 200 km/h and carry about seven million passengers each year.

Construction on Slim’s segment begins at the end of September and is due to finish in mid-2028. For Mexico, this is more than a transport upgrade.

It is the first serious push in decades to restore passenger rail, long overshadowed by freight and highways. The corridor will connect fast-growing industrial hubs in Coahuila and Nuevo León with Nuevo Laredo, the busiest border crossing for U.S.–Mexico trade.

That means faster travel for workers, more efficient movement of goods, and a signal that the government wants to balance development beyond the capital.

The story behind the story is Slim himself. Best known worldwide for his telecom empire, he has become the federal government’s go-to builder for mega-projects, also taking major contracts on the Tren Maya in the south.

His involvement ensures technical know-how and financing, but also sparks debate: is Mexico’s future infrastructure too dependent on one tycoon?

If the Tren del Norte delivers on time and within budget, it could reshape mobility in northern Mexico and strengthen cross-border integration.

If it stumbles, it risks becoming another emblem of costly, delayed megaprojects. Either way, Slim’s role makes this railway not just a national investment, but a test of Mexico’s ability to modernize on its own terms.