‘The Beast’ Train Upgrades to Alter Illegal Immigrant Activity

BREITBART — Central Americans headed for the U.S. may be looking to other modes of transport in the future, as Mexico’s “The Beast” train is slated to triple its speed in the next five years. Heavily used and a common source of injury to those catching a ride illegally, “La Bestia,” as it is known in Spanish, will receive a $150 million makeover courtesy of Ferrocarriles Chiapas-Mayab (FCCM). Improvements are reported to include increasing speed from 10 to 30 kilometers (18.6 mi) per hour to deter illegal riders, changes to metal plates intended to prevent tampering and derailments, and installing surveillance cameras to monitor activity around the tracks. Though FCCM acquired 370 miles of railway in 2013, the Mexican government has not yet approved transfer from the previous operator. Deputy director general for FCCM, Maria Isabel Pons, told the Mexican newspaper Reforma that some people will remove pieces of track in order to get the train to stop so they can hop on, but this then has the potential to cause train derailments. [Read More]