TIXKOKOB, Mexico — Mexico’s Maya Train experienced its first known derailment today (Monday, March 25), a low-speed incident when the last car of a four-car trainset apparently split a switch entering the Tixkokob station on the route between Campeche and Cancún. The derailment occurred about 9:30 a.m. with the train moving at about 10 kilometers […]
Zone & Region: Mexico
Maya Train operation begins between Cancun and Playa del Carmen
CANCÚN, Mexico — The latest section of Mexico’s Maya Train has finally begun operation, more than two weeks after its inauguration ceremonies. The news site Noticaribe reports the first train from Playa del Carmen to Cancún departed at 10:30 a.m. today (Friday, March 15). Initial operations include three daily round trips on the 42-mile segment; […]
Despite inauguration, latest section of Maya Train not operating
CANCUN, Mexico — When is a route inauguration not really the start of service? With Mexico’s Maya Train, the answer, apparently, is when a political deadline is involved. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obardor was among the officials on board Feb. 29 for a trip to inaugurate a new section of the Maya Train, a […]
Newest section of Maya Train opens
CANCÚN, Mexico — A third section of Mexico’s tourist-focused Maya Train, a 68-kilometer (42-mile) segment between Cancún and Playa del Carmen, was inaugurated Thursday, Feb. 29, with a trip including President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, local officials, and media members. It was the final portion of the project to be launched before a March 1 […]
More British High Speed Trains head to Mexico
More former British High Speed Train, or HST, trainsets are now on their way to Mexico. An initial shipment of HST equipment arrived last year for passenger service on the Tehuantepec Isthmus Railway/Ferrocarril del Istmo de Tehuantepec rail line in the south of the country [see “Passenger equipment from Britain, US heads to Mexico,” Trains […]
CPKC announces schedule for 2816’s ‘Final Spike Anniversary Steam Tour’
CALGARY, Alberta — Canadian Pacific Kansas City will launch the “Final Spike Anniversary Steam Tour,” featuring 4-6-4 No. 2816 on a Canada-to-Mexico trip to celebrate last year’s Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger, on April 24 at its headquarters in Calgary. A total of 11 stops are planned for the tour, concluding June 4 in Mexico […]
Maya Train will not meet Feb. 29 target for completion
CANCÚN, Mexico — The launch of Mexico’s tourist-oriented Maya Train on the Yucatán Peninsula continues to run into problems, the latest being that the last portion of the looping 950-mile route will not be complete by the end of February, as President Andrés Manuel López Obrador had previously said. López Obrador — the project’s primary […]
Maya Train ticket sales suspended
CANCÚN, Mexico — Ticket sales for the Maya Train passenger rail operation have been halted barely three weeks after service was inaugurated between Cancun and Palenque on Jan. 1, the Cancún Sun reports, following “significant technical issues” on Friday, Jan. 19. Operations have been stopped indefinitely while workers perform inspections to determine the cause of […]
Mexico receive proposal from five companies to run passenger trains
MEXICO CITY – Mexico’s Transport Ministry this week said it has received five proposals from interested parties to participate in a project to boost passenger service on railroads being developed across the country, Reuters reported. The ministry did not identify which companies had expressed interest, but Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) told Reuters it had filed […]
Mexico planning new passenger route
TIJUANA, Mexico – With the Tren Maya (Maya Train) rail project in Mexico’s Quintana Roo and the Yucatan set for completion next month, Mexico is planning to build another passenger rail line. The Cabo Sun reports that the President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, has set his sights on a new project: building a passenger […]
Second section of Maya Train route opens; new fare structure announced
CANCÚN, Mexico — The second section of Mexico’s Maya Train was launched on the last day of 2023, with public, albeit it “soft-launch” service, beginning on Monday, Jan. 1. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador inaugurated the Cancun-Palenque segment on Dec. 31, accompanied by officials including Cancún’s mayor and the governor of the state of […]
Grupo Mexico Transportes takes stake in G&W’s CG Railway ferry service
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Genesee & Wyoming has a new partner in its CG Railway joint venture, which ferries freight cars across the Gulf of Mexico between Mobile, Ala., and Coatzacoalcos, Mexico. Grupo Mexico Transportes will purchase SEACOR Holdings’ 60% stake in CGR pending regulatory approval, G&W announced today. G&W initially formed a joint venture with […]