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US backs $10bn autonomous rail corridor between Texas and Mexico
27 June 2025
A proposed US$10 billion cross-border freight infrastructure project has received a US presidential permit from the US State Department, clearing the way for further planning of a 165-mile autonomous freight rail corridor between Laredo, Texas, and Monterrey, Mexico.
A freight train navigates desert terrain. (Image: Adobe Stock)
The privately backed initiative is led by Green Corridors, a Texas-based firm said to specialise in reducing congestion along rail routes.
The Laredo-Monterrey system would use autonomous, electric-diesel shuttle vehicles operating on elevated guideways above existing highways.
It is expected to handle up to 10,000 trailer movements per day in each direction.
The project includes new inland freight terminals in both Laredo and Monterrey, featuring automated transfer systems to load and unload standard 53-ft shipping trailers from trucks onto the autonomous rail vehicles.
Construction timelines have not yet been confirmed, and the project still requires additional permitting and land acquisition on both sides of the border.
If approvals proceed, initial operations could begin in the early 2030s.
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