MEXICO CITY — Work to supply electric power to the Mérida-Cancún stretch of Mexico’s Maya Train will begin this month at an estimated cost of $73.7 million. Mexico’s Environment Ministry said the electrification project would require the construction of three substations from which all the electricity necessary to feed the line will be supplied. The substations are being developed in coordination with state-owned power utility CFE. The utility will conduct environmental studies and build the high-voltage electrical infrastructure necessary for the correct operation of the railroad.
The Tren Maya (Maya Train) is a 948-mile railroad now under construction that will traverse the Yucatan Peninsula. Construction work began in June 2020. The railroad will encircle the peninsula via two routes. The project aims to connect tourist destinations in the Yucatán, including historic Mayan sites. The railroad will also accommodate local passenger traffic and freight shipments in addition to tourist trains. The first phase of the project is anticipated to open in the late 2020s.
In mid-2020 the Ministry announced that 434 miles of the route would be electrified, including sections from Mérida to Cancún, and Cancún to Chetumal, though the agencies have yet to detail the electrification costs or timeline for the Cancún-Chetumal section.
The last electrification job Mexico did in the 1980’s was a dud !! The E60C locos GE built for them sat for years before being sold or cut up. Was supposed to be a 25kv line. This will happen here.
If you look at where this project serves it is clear that this line is for natural resource exploitation. The ‘cute’ name and claims that it is for tourism are a cover to make the project less controversial while it is being built. Many residents in the project area believe the project’s negative impacts outweigh its benefits for them, that’s why they are opposed to the project.
The U.S. railroads and envirokook agencies should take a lesson from this. If it benefits the citizens and the economy, just do it.
If you ever read a non-governmental review of the benefits of the Maya Train you might change your mind…everything I’ve read says it won’t benefit the local citizens as much as Mexico City claims it will, especially the descendants of the Maya themselves. It’s not very popular amongst the local populations.
How? The economics don’t justify electrification. Projected traffic density on this route is not going to recover cost… However gov’t has public money to waste on such negative return projects…