Mexican president again says Maya Train will be completed by September

CANCÚN, Mexico — Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has again promised the Maya Train project will be completed by mid-September, before he leaves office, while President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum has endorsed the controversial project on the Yucatan Peninsula.

Mexico News Daily reports that López Obrador and Sheinbaum traveled on two segments of the Maya Train route on Friday and Saturday, appearing at the opening Friday of a new museum at Edzná, one of the many archaeological sites served by the rail route. After the ceremony at the museum, López Obrador said the entire looping 1,540-kilometer (957-mile) route would be completed by the end of August or the middle of September.

The train is arguably the signature infrastructure project of López Obrador’s term in office, and the outgoing president has often been optimistic in his estimates of its completion. He also clearly pushed to open segments prematurely prior to the June balloting that saw election of Sheinbaum, his preferred successor. At its groundbreaking in June 2020, he pledged the project would be finished by October 2020. When the first segment opened last December, most stations and much of the main line trackage were incomplete [see “Long delays, late trains mark start …,” Trains News Wire, Dec. 17, 2023].

López Obrador then projected Feb. 29 — the last day an opening ceremony could have been held ahead of a pre-election moratorium — would be the new completion date, then conceded it could be another two or three months [see “Maya Train will not meet Feb. 29 target …,” News Wire, Jan. 29, 2024]. In April, the target was pushed back to September after a decision was made to modify construction plans to avoid further construction damage to underground caverns that has been decried by environmentalists [see “Completion of Maya Train pushed back …,” News Wire, April 25, 2024]. The most of the eastern and southern portions of the project’s main loop, between Playa Del Carmen and Escáraga, remain unopened.

President-elect considering expansion proposal

Sheinbaum told reporters that members of her incoming government team, as well as those in the current government, were working to determine funding the Maya Train would require in 2025 to expand passenger operations and begin freight service. She said she was also considering a proposal from the governor-elect of Yucatan, Joaquin Diaz, for an extension of the rail line from Merida to the port city of Progreso on the Gulf of Mexico. That would require about a 25-mile branch line.

In a post on X.com, Sheinbaum called the Maya Train “a historic feat,” praising it for creating accessibility to archaeological sites and Protected Natural Areas, as well as the “investment in the well-being of dozens of communities.” She congratulated those involved in the project: “what has been achieved is something impressive.”