The Mexican federal government has fully acquired the Mexico City – Cuautitlán suburban rail line. In doing so, it purchased the remaining 43.4% stake held by Spanish rail technology supplier CAF and the 7.6% stake held by Omnitren for around EUR 294 million (MXN 6 billion). The 27 km line connects the Buenavista station in Mexico City with Cuautitlán in the federal state of Mexico. Services began in 2008 following an expansion project carried out as part of a public-private partnership (PPP) and is operated with electric multiple units (EMU) from CAF. The line is one of only two suburban rail lines in the metropolitan area and carries more than 45 million passengers per year as an alternative to road transport. Going forward, the national infrastructure fund Fonadin, in which it already held a 49% stake, will operate the concession. Plans include a 23 km extension to Felipe Ángeles Airport and later regional services to Pachuca and Querétaro. With this acquisition, the almost 20-year-long PPP model comes to an end, as the government will henceforth focus passenger transport more strongly on state-integrated structures.
