Network — Central America

Central America — the land bridge between the continents.

Eleven national corridors across Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama, about 2,500 km measured city to city in straight lines (about 3,000 km built, at a route factor of 1.2). The corridors join along the Pan-American line from Tapachula in Mexico to Yaviza in Panama, and cross the Darién Gap to Turbo in Colombia.

The Network Concept

Seven nations on one line.

Each nation’s corridors serve its own capital and ports; the cross-border links join them into one continuous line between North and South America. The Darién Gap, about 100 km of jungle and swamp between Panama and Colombia, is the one break in the line today.

Schematic map of the MMC Central American network: eleven corridors across Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama, joined by cross-border links, with the Darién Gap link from Yaviza to Turbo in Colombia. — MMC Central America, schematic. Dark lines are national corridors; gold lines are cross-border links. Routes are indicative.

Routes are indicative. Corridors are drawn city to city, through the cities on the existing railway wherever a line exists: MMC corridors follow those lines, upgrading the line or running above it on viaduct. Where no line exists, the corridor is new build. Final alignments are set at detailed design by terrain survey, geotechnical analysis, environmental and cultural heritage assessment, and agreement between the nations they connect.

Nation	Corridors	Straight-line km	Built km (×1.2)
Guatemala	2	504	605
Belize	1	67	80
El Salvador	1	112	134
Honduras	1	312	375
Nicaragua	2	359	431
Costa Rica	2	491	589
Panama	2	632	758
Central America	11	2,477	2,973

Cross-border links are counted separately. Built km = straight-line km × 1.2 (stated assumption).

Engagement

To join the Central American network.

The MMC platform is available to any nation building to the standard. If your government, agency, or capital partner could initiate a project in Central America: Make contact.