CABEI and SIECA present diagnostic study to regulate and develop railway projects in Central America

28/09/2022

With a consultancy financed by the multilateral, it is planned to create regulations and mechanisms to enable the implementation of train projects in the region.

Tegucigalpa, September 28, 2022.- This Tuesday, the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) and the Secretariat for Central American Economic Integration (SIECA) presented the main findings of the Diagnosis of the Regulation on Harmonized General Technical Specifications for Railways in Central America.

The document defines the general specifications regarding the design, technical characteristics, operation and maintenance for common rail transport projects for the region, and is a basis of application for the construction and modernization of future rail networks that will allow the harmonized development of this type of transport, its interoperability and regional connectivity in a clear manner.

"With this cooperation, we hope to support regional policy actions and encourage countries in their efforts to reduce logistics costs, as well as migrate to more efficient and environmentally friendly modes of transportation. This document will also complement the regional regulations and technical manuals developed by the Sectoral Council of Ministers of Transportation of Central America (COMITRAN) in the area of transportation," said CABEI Executive President, Dr. Dante Mossi.

The regulation also describes the areas of opportunity for the region, such as promoting coordination between national and regional actors in order to optimize resources, aligning national planning with the regional planning vision to interconnect the countries of Central America, promoting the implementation of the standard gauge to ensure proper connectivity and interoperability in the region, and coordinating and harmonizing technical aspects between countries.

CABEI, through its Regional Integration axis contributes to accelerate the transformation and development of the railway sector in the region by building actions and mechanisms for an integrated system that facilitates interoperability and interconnectivity, while supporting the preparation of robust and sustainable projects that respond to the development potential of investor countries.

The Bank's Regional Projects Department, in coordination with SIECA's Transportation, Infrastructure and Logistics Directorate (DITIL) and the railroad liaisons in each of the COMITRAN member countries, was responsible for the execution of the consultancy for the preparation of the Regulations.

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