Temporary occupation of 112 properties for the Querétaro-Irapuato train

The President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, signed a decree declaring as public utility and ordering the temporary occupation of 326,930.902 m² of private property, corresponding to 112 properties, for the construction of the Querétaro-Irapuato passenger railway. The measure was published in the Official Gazette of the Federation (DOF) on Friday, August 21, 2026, as a second publication, and entered into force on that same day.

The decree, signed on August 17, 2026, at the residence of the Federal Executive Power, is based on articles 27 and 28 of the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States, the Expropriation Law, and the Regulatory Law of the Railway Service. It is countersigned by the Secretary of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation, Jesús Antonio Esteva Medina, and the Secretary of Agrarian, Territorial and Urban Development, Edna Elena Vega Rangel.

Territorial scope of the project

The affected properties are located in eight municipalities across two states, all along the route of the passenger train that will connect the city of Querétaro with Irapuato:

• Querétaro (state of Querétaro): municipality of Querétaro.
• Guanajuato: municipalities of Apaseo el Grande, Celaya, Villagrán, Santa Cruz de Juventino Rosas, Salamanca, and Irapuato.

The total area amounts to 326,930.902 m², distributed across 112 plots identified with technical nomenclatures (QI-QRO, QI-AEG, QI-CYA, QI-VLN, QI-SJR, QI-SLM, and QI-IRA) and real estate registry folios. The project is part of the priority train “Mexico–Querétaro–León–Aguascalientes”, provided for in the National Development Plan 2025-2030 and in the decree of priority areas published in the DOF on November 20, 2023.

Compensation and owners’ rights

The temporary occupation is granted in favor of the Agency for Trains and Integrated Public Transport, a decentralized body created by a decree published on January 13, 2026, which must cover the market-value compensation using its budget, in accordance with the appraisals of the Institute of Administration and Appraisals of National Assets.

• Interested parties will have ten business days from notification to contest the amount of compensation through the judicial procedure established in article 11 of the Expropriation Law.
• If the properties are not used for the purpose that motivated the declaration, at the end of five years, the owners may request total or partial reversion, the termination of the occupation, or the payment of damages.
• The occupation shall cease if expropriation is decreed or if the plots are acquired through any act of transfer of ownership.

The temporary occupation file, identified as SEDATU.1S.13.I110.UAJ.005.2026, and the topographic plans are available to interested parties at the Legal Affairs Unit of the Secretariat of Agrarian, Territorial and Urban Development (Sedatu), in Mexico City.

Regional Impact

The decree seeks to reduce travel times and increase connectivity between cities in the Bajío region, with a mixed passenger and freight railway system that, according to the Executive, will generate travel time savings, lower vehicle operating costs, a reduction in accidents, and increased value for land adjacent to the stations. The measure affects hundreds of private owners, who will be notified personally or, if their address is unknown, through a second publication in the DOF.

Source: Official Gazette of the Federation, August 21, 2026, Executive Branch, Presidency of the Republic, p. 4 (official reference: Decree declaring public utility and ordering the temporary occupation of 326,930.902 m² of 112 properties, second publication).