Shipping goods from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic, or from the Atlantic to the Pacific has historically been quite challenging. The reason being, there are the two massive continents of North and South America that are in the way. This used to mean that to transfer cargo, you had to ship all the way around the southern tip of South America, an extremely long and dangerous route. Or the far more expensive, and time consuming overland route.

A US overland route from Corpus Christi Texas to San Diego California is 1,419 miles. That is a very long distance and on early 20th century roads this could take quite a few weeks.

This was the situation until 1914 when the United States teamed up with Panama to create a new Maritime route. That solution is the Panama Canal that traverses the two continents at the narrowest point resulting in a canal system only 50 miles long. This solution cut thousands of miles off the traditional sea route, and weeks off the overland route.

For decades the United States defended the Panama Canal as a national security concern, and whether right or wrong, defended the canal with a significant military presence.

Then in 2016, the United States mostly withdrew its military presence from Panama and allowed them to manage the entire process autonomously.

Things have gone pretty well for Panama without the aid of the United States, but in recent years, a significant problem has emerged in Panama.

They have been suffering from a major drought which has caused National turmoil, and drastically limited the throughput of the Canal. Among other things, this has caused a significant backlog. Sea captains have been forced to make a very difficult choice. Either make the voyage around South America, or wait in line for their turn. A delay of unknown duration, but in some cases has been weeks long.

Exploring The Problem

Drought and its fallout in Panama has also caused a significant problem for international commerce. In the world of “Just In Time” Supply Chain management, it is critical that shipping times are known. An unknown duration that could last between days and weeks is just not acceptable to the modern economy.

It’s possible shipping could return to more traditional solutions. For example, a container ship could dock on the west coast to unload, and have the cargo transferred overland again.

In modern America, cargo would likely be moved via semi truck, but it would still take several days. And of course, the expense in doing so would be significantly more than keeping the cargo on the ship.

What the world truly needs, is a new and clever solution to this age old problem. One that would be faster and more efficient than a traditional overland route.

But who should facilitate such a thing, and what form could it possibly take?

Tren Maya

The solution... an amazing and creative infrastructural network of high-speed rail, and modern ports. Enter the Tren Maya (the Mayan Train). A concept championed by President Adrian Manuel Lopez Obador and his administration.

The President and his team realized the magnitude of this emerging problem in Panama. As well as the tremendous impact this could have on the region. So they put some of their greatest minds to developing an idea, and making it into a reality.

Mexico has already put tremendous development efforts into building out a railroad system throughout the Yucatan Peninsula in phase one. Many believed it to be impossible, but phase one of this ambitious project actually finished ahead of schedule and as if 2024, is currently operational.

They plan on continuing this rail system from the peninsula, and connect it through the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, the thinnest part of the country. This adds tremendous capacity to the Interior Oceanic Corridor and will connect to both the Pacific Ocean and the gulf or Mexico.

This system consists of deep water ports of Salina Cruz, Koatsukuokos, and Varacruz. They will be connected by high-speed rail system to create an extremely efficient transportation of cargo the 125 miles across the Isthmus.

This allows a container ship to simply dock at one side and unload their cargo. High speed rail will transfer cargo by this high speed rail and deliver it to a waiting container ship at the other port.

In addition to giving the world a third Transportation option, it also has the advantage of being able to accommodate the larger, sea container ships of today. Yet another limitation of the Panama Canal was that it was built in 1914 and not designed for the massive ships that traverse the modern ocean.

Not only does the Tren Maya solution solve the Panama Canal limitations, but it is also projected to be even faster and more cost-effective.

Even though this project has its detractors, it is another example of Mexico investing in its future and its plans to be a real player in the evolving world economy. Tren Maya is an impressive investment on Mexico's part to build an infrastructure that will pay dividends for decades to come.