the Tren Maya, a hugely controversial infrastructure project, needs to be mentioned, at least
We cannot spend time in Yucatan in 2024, without commenting on the Tren Maya, the train that connects the various tourist sites in Yucatan along a more than 1500 km track through virgin jungle, over pristine cenotes and past priceless archaeological locations. For some the greatest engineering project in the world, for other a megalomaniac waste of money.
the brand new station outside Campeche
there is nobody
The project’s main advocate is no one less than Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, and because he is the president of Mexico, he also has pushed it through. Construction begun in early 2020, and the first train ride was logged on 15 December 2023, from Campeche to Cancun. But there is still a lot of work to do, and it is doubtful whether the project will be completed by the end of the year, before the end of the last term of Lopez Obrador. Everywhere construction is in full swing, as we have seen in various parts of the Yucatan, and the stations we visit, to get an idea, are equally teeming with workers – and nobody else, there are no ticket sales persons, no food stalls, no shops, just sterile station halls.
To call the project controversial is an understatement. Protests have come from every side, and not just the environmentalists, who are concerned about the large tracks of forest that have to be cleared, the cenotes that may be polluted and the unique fauna that no doubt will be affected, but also indigenous people who claim ancient rights to the land, and religious rights to the cenotes. That said, there are, of course, also people who see the benefits from better connectivity for the local people, potential for economic development, the jobs, and the boost in tourism.
A lot has been written about the Tren Maya already. I think the claim for connectivity is a bit hollow: local people are never going to afford the ticket prices I have seen quoted (Palenque – Cancun, from one end of the loop to the other, costs some US$ 165, and takes more than 12 hours). Even tourists may think twice, especially because the stations have somehow been constructed far from town centres, so you are always dependent on taxis, or on the local tourist bus, almost as expensive, but less unpredictable that the whims of taxi drivers. But as with all these things, we’ll only find out the true value of the Tren Maya in ten, twenty years’ time. By then the costs have been absorbed: the environmental damages as well as the 20 billion US$, or so, that the construction has cost.
except for workers, looking away from the new tracks
yet, construction is by no means finished
like this viaduct, so far single track only
