A MEXICAN railway operator announced on Tuesday that it is temporarily suspending train runs in the northern part of the country because so many migrants are climbing aboard freight cars and getting hurt in the process.

Ferromex said that it has temporarily ordered a halt to 60 trains carrying cargo that would fill 1,800 tractor trailers. It said some international trade would be affected by the stoppage.

In recent days, there have been about a “half-dozen regrettable cases of injuries or deaths” among migrants hopping freight cars, the company said in a statement.

The company said that some migrants even hopped on moving freight cars “despite the grave danger that represents.”

“There has been a significant increase in the number of migrants in recent days,” Ferromex said in the statement, saying that it was stopping the trains “to protect the physical safety of the migrants,” while it awaited action by authorities to solve the problem.

Pavel Aguilar Flores, a migrant from Venezuela said: “We are going to continue on our journey, and in fact we’re waiting for a train.”

Andres Ramirez Silva, the director of Mexico’s refugee agency, said last week that the number of asylum applications his agency receives this year could reach 150,000, well above the 129,000 record set in 2021.