Tren Maya

The Tren Maya (sometimes also Mayan Train or Maya Train) is a proposed intercity railway in Mexico that would traverse the Yucatán Peninsula. The railroad would begin in Palenque in Chiapas and travel northeast towards Cancún in Quintana Roo via two routes that encircle the peninsula. The project aims to connect tourist destinations in the Yucatán, including historic Mayan sites from which it derives its name.
History.
The Mayan Train project was announced in September 2018 by Mexican president-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador, following earlier proposals to build a shorter line. Previous presidential administrations had also proposed their own high-speed rail projects, but were unsuccessful in attaining funding. It would use abandoned right of way from Ferrosur as well as new tracks constructed through the jungle. The Zapatista Army of National Liberation, announced that it would oppose the project. The project was also derided as a political stunt for López Obrador, who had also cancelled a major airport project in Mexico City favored by his predecessor. A public referendum on approving the project in November 2018 was passed by 89 percent of voters with a turnout of approximately one percent.
As of January 2021, plans call for diesel-electric trains running at up to 160 km/h.
Funding.
Funding for the project will come primarily from a tourism tax levied in the region, as well as funds diverted from other programs, including the Mexican Grand Prix.
The project, led by the National Fund for Tourism Development (Fonatur), in December 2018 was estimated to cost 150 billion pesos (US$7.4 billion) and attract 8,000 daily riders. An alternative study by a public policy think tank in 2019 estimated the cost of the project would be 480 billion pesos (US$25.3 billion), supported by the 90 percent cost overrun on the Toluca–Mexico City railway project. In October 2020 the estimated total cost of the project not including electrification was about 321 billion pesos.
The Secretariat of Tourism will receive a 647.1% increase in its budget for 2021 (MXN $38,613.4 million), of which 94% is destined for the Mayan Train.
In December 2020 president López Obrador announced that the armed forces would operate three sections of the route, and that profits would be used to strengthen finances for pensioners and retirees of the armed forces. In March 2021 Fonatur general director Rogelio Jiménez Pons said that the military would own the entire route, not just the three sections, and would receive all of the profits.
Construction.
On December 16, 2018, president López Obrador conducted a Mayan ritual to commemorate the start of construction on the Mayan Train project. The railway will also accommodate local passenger traffic and freight shipments in addition to tourist functions. The first phase of the project is anticipated to open in the late 2020s, but tourism officials in the region have proposed accelerating work for a 2023 opening.
The route consists of seven sections. Section I runs from Palenque to Escárcega (228 km); section II from Escárcega to Calkiní (235 km); section III from Calkiní to Izamal (172 km); section IV from Izamal to Cancún (257 km); section V from Cancún to Tulum (121 km); section VI from Tulum to Bacalar (254 km); and section VII from Bacalar to Escárcega (287 km).
Business leaders in Mérida, Yucatán, expressed their support on January 31, 2020, for building four kilometers of the railway underground as it passes through the city of Merida. In this way, the train will not threaten the city's historic center. They are also optimistic that the tourist train, in combination with improvements in energy, airports, and seaports, will make the region economically competitive with the North and the Bajío.
The construction companies are Mota-Engil México SAPI and China Communications Construction Company LTD for stretch one (Plenque-Escárcega), Operadora CICSA and FCC Construcción for stretch two (Escárcega-Calkiní), Construcciones Urales and GAMI Ingeniería e Instalaciones for stretch three (Calkiní-Izmal), and Grupo ICA for stretch four (Izmal–Cancún). The "Fondo Nacional de Fomento Turístico" (Fonatur) announced on September 8, 2020, that the proposal of investment firm BlackRock for the fifth stretch () of the project, including improvements to the Tulum–Cancún highway, had been rejected.
December 2019 consultation.
On November 15, 2019, President López Obrador declared that a referendum on the Mayan Train would be held on December 15, 2019 in Chiapas, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatán, and Quintana Roo.
The weekend of December 15–16, 2019, 92.3% of the people who participated in the consultation voted in favor, while 7.4% voted against the proposal. 100,940 people voted, 2.36% of the 3,536,000 registered voters in the 84 municipalities affected.
The United Nations Human Rights Council sharply criticized the vote. They pointed out that voters were provided with only the positive effects of the project (improved attention to water supplies, health, education, employment, housing, environmental protection, and culture) but were not informed of the negative effects. The Human Rights Commission also criticized the translations of the material used, the short period of time for the election, and low turnout, particularly among indigenous women. They noted that many potential voters did not have the financial resources to travel to the voting locations, and that the majority of voters were municipal employees. For its part, the government rejected the criticisms, saying that the consultation met international standards and attacked "“la descalificación ni la crítica simple, sin sustento, ligera y parcializada”". ("the light and biased disqualification or simple criticism, without support").
Opposition.
Environmental and indigenous rights activists objected to construction of new tracks through the jungle.
On the 26th anniversary of its armed uprising, January 1, 2020, the Zapatista Army of National Liberation expressed its opposition to the project and declared that the consultation provided only positive information to voters prior to voting.
Groups close to the National Indigenous Congress (CNI) plan to seek injunctions against the train project and other megaprojects in the region. The CNI is looking at three-pronged action: social awareness campaigns, media campaigns, and legal actions. On January 28, 2020, a judge in Campeche issued a temporary injunction against construction of the railway because was approved in a "simulated consultation." In a visit to the city of Campeche, President López Obrador defended the train and pointed out that not only had the train received its greatest support in the state of Campeche, but also that more than half the route would run through the state—worth MXN $60 billion of the $130 billion the government plans to invest in total. He said the section from Escárcega to Cancún should be open for tourist, passenger, and freight traffic in 2023, but that the route will not pass through the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve.
In November 2020 the Regional Indigenous Council of Xpujil delivered a petition with 268,000 signatures to the Campeche Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources asking that the project be suspended because of environmental concerns. Residents of Chocholá, Mérida, and Izamal, in Yucatán obtained a temporary delay in construction in January 2021 until the "Fondo Nacional de Fomento al Turismo" (National Fund for the Promotion of Tourism, FONATUR) and the SEMARNAT report on an environmental impact assessment.
Environmental concerns.
As of January 2021 crews had uncovered more than 8000 ancient artifacts and structures during construction.
The National Alliance for Conservation of the Jaguar has identified twelve wildlife corridors that could be constructed to mitigate the situation for the jaguars that live in the area.
Original plans called for electric locomotives on the trains. In June 2020 the government announced a switch to diesel to keep costs down, then in August 2020 they announced that half the route, from Mérida to Chetumal via Cancún, would be electrified.