After the incident, President Claudia Sheinbaum announced that the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) opened an investigation folder to determine the causes of the derailment, with information collected by the Rail Transport Regulatory Agency (ARTF).
But this is not the only incident recorded in the railway system nor is it an isolated event in emblematic projects of the “4T”. According to Pulso Ferroviario, the ARTF’s report on the operation of Mexican trains, from January to June of this year, 7,063 railway safety mishaps were recorded, including accidents, theft and vandalism.
In total, 592 accidents were recorded in the period, of which 356 were at level crossings, 119 during the provision of the service due to infrastructure in poor condition or equipment failures. 97 led to derailments, and 117 caused deaths, injuries and other consequences unrelated to railway operations.
The case of the Interoceanic
A few days before the fatal accident, on December 20, a convoy of the FA Line of the Interoceanic Train that goes from Coatzacoalcos in Veracruz to Pakal-Na, Chiapas, collided with a heavy vehicle at a railway crossing.
On that occasion there were no fatalities or serious injuries, although emergency services were mobilized.
These events occurred on routes built and operated as part of a strategy to modernize cargo and passenger transportation between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific, with supervision of the Secretary of the Navy.
Line Z was launched in 2023 and Line FA in September 2024, although with pending sections, mainly in its connection with the Olmeca Refinery, transfer yards (unloading), among other equipment.
The Mayan Train
The most controversial and popular project of former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the Mayan Train, has not been without accidents either.
On January 30, 2025, around the Limones station, in Quintana Roo, a freight car fell off the rails and was overturned next to the tracks. The accident left one person injured, who was taken to medical care.
Another incident was recorded on August 19, 2025 at the Izamal station, Yucatán, where one of the train cars registered another derailment with no injuries reported.
At that time, General Óscar David Lozano Águila recognized that track changes were carried out manually. After the accident, authorities warned that safety protocols were activated to serve passengers and review the affected section.
A year earlier, in March 2024, another car left the tracks, again without victims.
An accident was also recorded during works on the Mayan Train. On July 9, in a section near Chetumal, Quintana Roo, a metal structure that served as support for the construction of a bridge gave way and caused two workers to be injured.
Regarding this fact, Sergio González Ángel, director of Mexican Quality in Railway Development, said in an interview with Expansion in August 2025 that “the risk is latent on any railway for any incident.”
The specialist added that although security protocols and the use of technology on Mexican trains have improved and remain at the forefront, the focus is on anticipation. “The use of better systems that detect preventive failures before an accident is essential.”
Other works of the 4T: Interurban Train and Dos Bocas Refinery
In addition to the projects in the southeast and the Isthmus, other works promoted by the governments of López Obrador and Sheinbaum also recorded incidents during their construction.
The Mexico-Toluca Interurban Train is one of the projects with more than one mishap.
On January 16, 2026, in the construction site near Metro Observatorio, a concrete segment that was being transported by a crane detached and fell on parked vehicles, with no injuries, although there was material damage.
On February 15 of that same year, two workers working on a 15-meter-high platform in Álvaro Obregón fell to the ground. One of them died and three others were injured.
On April 3, an excavator crane overturned while drilling at the construction site. There were no injuries, but work was stopped momentarily. That same month, on the 17th, a segment launcher collapsed in the section near the Tacubaya Dam. There were no people hurt.
On July 31, 2024, other workers fell from a structure also in the Álvaro Obregón mayor’s office. The injured were taken to the hospital.
There have also been incidents at the Olmeca Refinery. In June 2023, a pipe that transported fuel inside the complex suffered a spill that caused a fire in its tires. There were no injuries.
Two months later, a worker died during a hydraulic test in a refinery unit at the UDA plant. Then, in July 2024, a gas leak forced the evacuation of workers and in May 2025, hydrocarbon leaks in an oil pipeline were addressed.
