The Pharaonic Project that Promises to Connect Seas (and Other Promises)
It seems that the wet dream of any ruler, connecting two oceans with a railway, is closer than ever in Mexico. Or at least, that is what the always reliable and very exact percentages of progress that are announced with the precision of a Swiss watch tell us… if the Swiss watch were manufactured with optimism and desires. The Secretary of the Navy, because who better to build trains than those who drive ships?, solemnly reports that Line K of the Interoceanic Train has an overall progress of 87.68 percent. A figure so specific that it can only inspire absolute confidence, or a deep suspicion that someone has too much free time to calculate decimals.
President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, in her morning good news space, highlighted – a favorite word in official statements – that the first section will be inaugurated in November. Of course, he did not specify whether it will be November of this year, next year or next decade, but the hope is served. And like any great national project worth its salt, it is already thinking about expanding to Guatemala, because what better than solving the logistics problems of another country before finishing its own?
Party Numbers: Where Percentages Are King
The director of the Corridor, Vice Admiral Octavio Sánchez Guillén, delighted us with a shower of data that would make any accountant cry with emotion. It turns out that Line K is like a three-body snake: one section at 99.44% (practically ready, only missing the bow), another at 79.23% and a third at 84.36%. And the seasons? Those are going more smoothly, with 47.67% progress. In other words, the road moves forward, but if you don’t build a place to stop, passengers will have to jump while moving, adding a touch of extreme adventure to the trip.
And the jewel in the crown could not be missing: the Huixtla Viaduct has a 99.95 percent progress. One wonders what the hell that remaining 0.05% is. Is there a nut missing? Paint a stripe? Find the employee who has the bathroom key? Meanwhile, the Suburban Train “El Tehuanito” sounds like the name of a regional music band, but promises to establish two passenger routes. Let’s hope their schedule is more reliable than the lottery.
To sweeten our ears, they tell us that the lines that already operate have transported 134,903 passengers and 889,920 tons of cargo. Round and impressive figures, although one cannot help but wonder how many of those trips were for a walk and how many were absolutely necessary to justify the billion-dollar investment. But hey, who are we to question comprehensive development?
The official speech insists that this railway megaproject generates development, improves the quality of life and promotes investment in the south-southeast, an area that, they insistently remind us, was “forgotten for so many years.” At last, oblivion has ended… and has been replaced by mountains of concrete, steel and statistics. The famous 14 Development Poles for Well-being (PODECOBI, because a long acronym always sounds more serious) are the icing on the cake: nine concessioned, three in award and two in process. It sounds like progress itself, packaged and ready for the photo.
As a gesture of magnanimity, 150 community projects have also been financed and thousands of homes have been delivered. Because nothing says “world-class transportation project” like having to sweeten local communities with housing improvements so they’ll accept train traffic outside their windows. Coordination is key, or at least the distribution of compensation is.
So there you have it: an interoceanic corridor that promises to be the envy of Panama, linking the Atlantic with the Pacific, while mornings are filled with percentages, vice admirals become construction managers and south-southeast Mexico hopes, with a mixture of hope and skepticism, that this time the prosperity train will not pass by.
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