Tren Maya

The project aims to connect tourist destinations in the Caribbean with lesser-known sites inland, including historic Mayan sites from which it derives its name.^[10][11] By linking the main towns in the region, with 42 trains carrying up to three million passengers a year, the line is intended to redistribute tourist flows that are currently concentrated on the coast, and to encourage the development of a region that has historically been neglected by the state.^[12]

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.^[18][22]

The project, led by the National Fund for Tourism Development [es] (Fonatur), in December 2018 was estimated to cost 150 billion pesos (US$7.4 billion) and attract 8,000 daily riders.^[34] 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 commuter rail project.^[21] In October 2021 Fonatur revised the construction estimate to 200 billion pesos.^[35]

In October 2020 the estimated total cost of the project, including 30 years of operating and maintenance but not including electrification, was about 321 billion pesos.^[36]

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.^[37]

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.^[38] 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.^[39] According to the government, "the use of Sedena [Mexico's Ministry of Defense] guarantees good administration and prevents the risk of privatization", in a country known for corruption.^[12]

Pons stated in September 2021 that the cost of a single trip for locals, for the section that goes from Cancún Airport to Playa del Carmen, will be around 50 pesos. Tourists will be expected to pay between 800 and 1000 pesos for the same trip. When explaining the difference in price, he stated that tourists will have additional services available, such as restaurants.^[40]

On December 16, 2018, president López Obrador conducted a Maya ritual to commemorate the start of construction on the Maya Train project.^[10] The railway will also accommodate local passenger traffic and freight shipments in addition to tourist functions.^[22][41] 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.^[22][42]

The route consists of seven sections. Section I runs 228 km (142 mi) from Palenque to Escárcega; section II 235 km (146 mi) from Escárcega to Calkiní; section III 172 km (107 mi) from Calkiní to Izamal; section IV 257 km (160 mi) from Izamal to Cancún Airport; section V 121 km (75 mi) from Cancún Airport to Tulum; section VI 254 km (158 mi) from Tulum to Bacalar; and section VII 287 km (178 mi) from Bacalar to Escárcega.^[43]

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 Mérida. 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.^[44] Fonatur later announced that the train would initially not stop in Mérida, but near a hacienda 8 km (5.0 mi) away.^[45] They said that by 2025 the station will relocate to La Plancha Park in Mérida.^[46]

Construction began in June 2020.^[47] The construction companies are Mota-Engil México SAPI and China Communications Construction Company LTD for stretch one (Palenque-Escárcega), Operadora CICSA and FCC Construcción for stretch two (Escárcega-Calkiní), Construcciones Urales and GAMI Ingeniería e Instalaciones for stretch three (Calkiní-Izamal), and Grupo ICA for stretch four (Izamal–Cancún).^[48] In September 2020 Fonatur rejected a proposal of investment firm BlackRock for the 125 km (78 mi) fifth stretch of the project, including improvements to the Tulum–Cancún highway.^[49][50]

In February 2021 Fonatur awarded a contract to Acciona and Grupo México for 60.3 km (37.5 mi) of electrified double rail tracks for section five between Playa del Carmen and Tulum.^[51] 75% of the 121 km (75 mi) section five is elevated and built as viaduct to protect the ground water.^[52]

López Obrador has said the project will be completed prior to the end of his term in 2024. A market survey conducted by Fonatur, PricewaterhouseCoopers and other consultants in 2019 found that a majority of 21 construction companies consider this too fast, an unreasonable time to construct so much new rail, and others have expressed fear of a disaster caused by substandard work, such as the May 2021 Mexico City Metro overpass collapse.^[53][54] In January 2022, to speed up construction, the route was changed to no longer enter Playa del Carmen.^[55] As of June 2021^[update], 10% of the project had been completed.^[56] This had increased to 25% by February 2022,^[57][58] and 67% by June 2023.^[59] Operations officially began on December 15, 2023.^[60]

Operations on the line were suspended from December 28 to December 31, in preparation for the extension of service to Palenque.^[61][62] Service resumed on January 1, from Cancún Airport to Palenque.^[4] In addition, the Chichén Itzá railway station opened in February 2024^[63] and the Valladolid railway station was expected to open further on.^[64][65]

Original plans in 2019 called for electric locomotives on the trains.^[22][41] In June 2020 the government announced a switch to diesel to reduce costs,^[66] then in August 2020 they announced that half the route, from Mérida to Chetumal via Cancún, would be electrified.^[67]

In May 2021 Fonatur contracted with a consortium headed by the French company Alstom to supply rolling stock and related equipment.^[51] The rolling stock of the Tren Maya was designed by Alstom, and its 219 cars were being built in Ciudad Sahagún.^[68][69] Of these trains, 32 of them will be electro-diesel multiple units, 10 will be standard diesel multiple units.^[70] The contract also includes European Train Control System signalling and control equipment.^[51]

Regular passenger service will be provided by the Xiinbal train, named for a Mayan term meaning "to walk", as the regular passenger service. They will have business class seats, standard seating, and a buffet car. This service will be offered to frequent local passengers, but also to occasional passengers and tourists.^[71]

The Janal trains (from a Mayan term meaning "to eat") will add a dining car to the previous services, which will have aquatic landscapes on the outside, and an interior inspired by the work of Luis Barragán. “The restaurant offers two layout options and various seating configurations to allow optimal use of space in a beautiful setting."^[71]

The P'atal trains (from a Mayan term meaning "to stay") will have reclining seats and sleeping cabins, designated especially for long-distance journeys.^[72][71][73]

In addition, several locomotives have been imported to Mexico to help construct the line, including eight ex-China Railway DF-4D locomotives owned by Chinese contractors, some Vossloh G2000 BB locomotives, and "older locomotives imported secondhand from Europe".^[70]

The Conexión Intermodal Tren Maya is a future set of 3 electric shuttle bus connections in Cancun, Puerto Morelos, and Playa del Carmen that will link to the Tren Maya. Two lines will connect Puerto Morelos and Playa del Carmen stations with different tourist attractions of the region, while a third will connect the Cancún Airport railway station with the 4 terminals of Cancun International Airport.^[76][77]

Work on the Cancun Airport shuttle began in July 2023, and it was hoped that it would begin operations on February 29, 2024.^[78]

The Cancun shuttle bus will use 7 electric buses, which have a top speed of 69 kilometres per hour (43 mph).^[79] Although it was originally announced that they will have a capacity of 47 passengers (32 seated and 15 standing),^[79] they only have 18 seats.^[80] These 7 buses, built by BYD Auto, arrived at the airport in March 2024.^[80]

Environmental and indigenous rights activists objected to construction of new tracks through the jungle.^[19][20]

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.^[81]

Groups close to the National Indigenous Congress (CNI) plan to seek injunctions against the train project and other construction in the region. The CNI is looking at three-pronged action: social awareness campaigns, media campaigns, and legal actions.^[82] On January 28, 2020, a judge in Campeche issued a temporary injunction against construction of the railway because it was approved in a "simulated consultation."^[83] 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.^[84]

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.^[85] Residents of Chocholá, Mérida, and Izamal, in Yucatán obtained a temporary delay in construction in January 2021 until Fonatur and SEMARNAT report on an environmental impact assessment.^[86]

On March 3, 2021, an injunction was filed by 80 people from Campeche who fear eviction from their homes. The First District Court in Campeche granted them the provisional suspension. Yucatán's fourth district court also ordered a stop to construction.^[87] The brought the total number of injunctions filed in the Yucatán Peninsula to 16 in March 2021,^[88] increasing to at least 25 by January 2022. Most of the injunctions have been filed by indigenous collectives who consider the project to be an environmental disaster.^[89] Court rulings are not binding on Tren Maya because it has been declared a national security project.^[90] The injunctions have had little effect, and construction continues.^[87] López Obrador has criticized the saliency in opposition to the train as a partisan attempt to halt his administration's infrastructure projects.^[91][92]

A group of celebrities, including comedian Eugenio Derbez, singers Rubén Albarrán and Natalia Lafourcade, and actress Kate del Castillo, as part of the Sélvame del Tren ("Save me from the Train", a play on words between Sálvame meaning Save Me, and Selva meaning jungle) campaign, has expressed opposition to the train.^[93]

In July 2022 residents of Chemax barricaded surrounding roads, bringing construction to a halt. They say the government has violated its agreement by clearing the jungle and failing to provide promised infrastructure.^[94]

However, according to Etienne von Bertrab, a specialist in political ecology at University College London (UCL) and co-founder of an interdisciplinary study group on the implications of the Maya Train, opposition to the project "is above all a media campaign, driven by a few collectives, but it is by no means a social movement. They have no popular support." The vast majority of the population of the states concerned seem to support the Mayan Train.^[12]

On 25 March 2024, a train derailed near Tixkokob railway station when en route toward Cancún Airport railway station. No injuries were reported.^[100] On 19 August 2025, a train derailed at the platforms of Izamal railway station.^[101]

• Rail transport in Mexico