Ten people were killed and 61 injured on Monday morning when a cargo train crashed into a double-decker passenger bus in central Mexico, the authorities said, one of the latest and most lethal accidents as the country expands its railroad network.
The accident occurred in the industrial zone of the Atlacomulco municipality, which is roughly a two-hour drive northwest of Mexico City. The bus was headed from a small town in Mexico State to Mexico City, according to local reports.
The state attorney general’s office was investigating the accident. It said that seven women and three men had died at the scene.
“We join in the grief of the families and friends of the victims and extend our sincere condolences,” a statement by the local municipality said.
Though the authorities did not provide further details about the crash, videos on social media appeared to show the bus stuck in traffic and then moving slowly onto the tracks when the train smashed into its right side. The bus was torn apart and shoved down the tracks. There were no visible crossing gates or signals.
Other images appeared to show the bus essentially cut into pieces and passengers climbing out of the wreckage.
The number of collisions involving trains and vehicles has increased in recent years, to 784 in 2024 from 673 in 2021, according to the Mexican federal agency that oversees transportation.
In the first three months of this year, the agency reported 35 injuries and three deaths in train collisions with vehicles.
The agency said in a report in March that train collisions with vehicles were the most common type of railway accident, particularly in urban areas, with the main cause “driver violation of traffic laws regulating intersections between lines and highways.”
Many of the accidents occurred in the state of Mexico, the country’s most populous, and the states of Nuevo León and Guanajuato, two industrial hubs.
President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico, building on the work of her predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, has made expanding the country’s railway infrastructure a significant goal.
Mr. López Obrador once declared passenger trains a “national development priority” and made the Tren Maya passenger railway, a nearly 1,000-mile project through five states in southern Mexico, one of the signature projects of his tenure.
The train line, which debuted in December 2023, was plagued by concerns about its budget and impact on the environment and local Indigenous communities. More recently it has experienced derailments and low usage.
The government of Ms. Sheinbaum, who took office last fall, pledged $8 billion for railway projects throughout Mexico, including new passenger lines in the northern and central regions of the country. She has said her goal is to build nearly 1,800 miles of passenger train lines — double the amount built under her predecessor — during her six-year term.
Increasing the passenger and freight rail network, she has said, will create jobs, streamline supply chains and increase tourism.
“We believe that the train will be a great alternative for passenger transportation,” Ms. Sheinbaum said in February when talking about a line connecting Mexico City to Querétaro, another industrial city. “Traveling by train will be faster, much more agile and safer than traveling by road.”
James Wagner covers Latin America, including sports, and is based in Mexico City. A Nicaraguan American from the Washington area, he is a native Spanish speaker.
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