Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec

Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec Corredor Interoceánico del Istmo de Tehuantepec
Map of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec showing the location of the ports of Salina Cruz and Coatzacoalcos, and the area's roads (as of September 2006), including railways
Coordinates	17°18′00″N 94°59′24″W / 17.30000°N 94.99000°W / 17.30000; -94.99000
Specifications
Length	303 km (188 miles)
Status	Main railway line open, two more lines planned for March and July 2024. Salina Cruz port still under construction
Navigation authority	Secretariat of the Navy
History
Date approved	14 June 2019
Construction began	7 June 2020
Date of first use	28 August 2023 (freight) 17 September 2023 (passenger)
Date completed	22 December 2023 (railway)
Geography
Start point	Salina Cruz, Oaxaca
End point	Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz
Connects to	Pacific Ocean from Atlantic Ocean and vice versa

The Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (Spanish: Corredor Interoceánico del Istmo de Tehuantepec), abbreviated as CIIT, is a trade and transit route in Southern Mexico, under the control of the Mexican Secretariat of the Navy, which connects the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans through a railway system, the Ferrocarril del Istmo de Tehuantepec, for both cargo and passengers, crossing through the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. This project also consists on the modernization and growth of local seaports, particularly the ports of Salina Cruz (Oaxaca) and Coatzacoalcos (Veracruz), and of the Minatitlán oil refinery [es] and the Salina Cruz oil refinery [es]. In addition, it plans to attract private investors through the creation of 10 industrial parks in the Isthmus area, as well as two other parks in Chiapas. The project has the goal of developing the economy and industry of the Mexican South through encouraging economic investment, both national and international, and facilitate commerce and transportation of goods internationally.^[1]

Initiated under the presidency of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, it has been widely regarded by analysts as his most important project, as it has the potential to offer a long-term boost to the Mexican economy and develop the industry and economy of the South, which has notoriously been one of the poorest regions of the country for decades. It has the potential to be an alternative "cheaper and faster than the Panama Canal."^[2]

The project consists on the rehabilitation of the Tehuantepec Railway, which finished construction during the presidency of Porfirio Díaz in 1907, which was built with similar goals, but started to fall out of use upon the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution and the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914. It also will modernize the ports of Salina Cruz, which opens to the Pacific Ocean, and Coatzacoalcos, to the Atlantic. As part of the project, 10 industrial parks will be built in the area surrounding the railway to encourage economic investment and industrial development in the region.

On 18 September 2023, the current director of the CIIT, Raymundo Morales Ángeles, announced that the Corridor's freight services on the Coatzacoalcos-Salina Cruz line (Line Z) officially began "from this very moment", and that the Coatzacoalcos-Palenque line (Line FA) began that same month. Line Z was officially opened for passengers on December 22, but cargo operations have been delayed.