Mexican president opens first section of Mayan Train

THE president of Mexico, Mr Andrés López Obrador, officially opened the first 473km section of the Mayan Train project from San Francisco de Campeche to Cancún Airport on December 15, just five years since work on the project commenced and three-and-a-half since the start of construction.

Passenger journeys on the line, which serves 14 stations in the provinces of Campeche, Yucatán and Quintana Roo, commenced the following day with two services departing at 07.00 and 11.00 from San Francisco de Campeche and Cancún Airport. It was originally hoped to operate six return trains from the start of service.

Obrador described the project as a “magnum opus,” and said: “We are not exaggerating if we say that there is no such work in the world today,” he said.

Work comprised restoring railway infrastructure to the existing right of way from San Francisco Campeche to Izamal, and new line construction from Izamal to Cancún, much of which is located in the median of the six-lane highway from Valladolid to Cancún.

The initial stretch comprises sections 2, 3 and 4 of the project. Work on section 2 from Escárega to San Francisco Campeche and Calkiní has been led by Mexican group, Grupo Carso; section 3 from Calkiní to Izamal has been delivered by a consortium of Construcciones Urales and Grupo Indi; and section 4 from Izamal to Cancún has been led by ICA. The Mexican Army has delivered section 5 North from Cancún to Cancún Airport, which remains under construction from the airport to Playa de Carmen.

Operation on the southern portion of section 2 from San Francisco de Campeche to Escárcega and on section 1 from Escárcega to Palenque is due to commence on December 31. Work on section 1, which also involved restoring the former freight line, has been conducted by Motal-Engil Mexico and China Construction CC.

Work on the initial section has included the installation of 1846km of rail, 1.6 million sleepers, and required the movement of more than 69 million m³ of land in Campeche, Yucatan and Quintana Roo. There are 362 vehicle, general, pedestrian and wildlife crossings. In addition, 12 archaeological zones located along the site of the railway have recovered thousands of artefacts.

Depots are located in Teya and Hampolol, along with two maintenance facilities in Teya and Valladolid, and a further workshop and yard in Cancún.

More than 80% of the professionals working on the project are between 21 and 30 years of age, with 211 from the Yucatan peninsula and 310 from the rest of Mexico. There are currently 20 train drivers, three trainers and 30 railway traffic managers and railway technical personnel available to work on the railway, with all of them certified by Mexico’s Railway Transport Regulatory Agency.

Operation is initially taking place with diesel trains. However, work is continuing to electrify the inaugural section of the line with more than 75% of the catenary masts required now in place.

Olmeca-Maya-Mexica, a state-owned company under army control is operating the service. The company also operates hotels, national parks, an airline and a dozen airports. Obrador said that one of the key objectives of the project is to boost domestic and international tourism and economic development in the southeast of the country. He said that the operator would offer affordable tourist packages, prioritising national tourists, and that train tickets would be kept below the cost of buses.

The cost of a ticket from Campeche to Cancún is Pesos 1166 ($US 67.59) in standard class and Pesos 1862 in first class for the six-hour trip, which is equivalent to the same journey by car. Around 6600 passengers per day are expected to use the train during the pre-operation stage.

The cost of the overall project is now estimated at more than Pesos 515bn. The Mexican Ministry of Finance has already disbursed Pesos 400bn and another Pesos 74bn will be allocated before the end of next year. Obrador stated during the opening that the costs would be confirmed in “due course” and that the project has not placed any debt burden on the state, adding that it will “break even” in three or four years.

“It wasn't credit, it was public investment,” Obrador says. “Nothing is owed to the Mayan Train, nothing. This is a work of the people of Mexico and that is why we are all going to take care of it. It is a work of all Mexicans to greatly help the development of the southeast.”

Alstom has so far delivered six 160km/h Xinbal standard four-car trains for the project, the most recent of which was delivered on December 10. The manufacturer is supplying 42 trains comprising 219 cars of three different configurations as part of €1.3bn contract for railway systems signed in May 2021. It confirmed in July that it will complete delivery of the fleet by the end of the fourth quarter of 2024. Alstom has also been responsible for installing ETCS Level 1 across the line.

Each train is equipped with air-conditioning, ergonomic and reclining seats, video surveillance systems and passenger information screens, with dedicated spaces for luggage storage. The trains are fully accessible for disabled passengers.

“This service may undergo variations during the pre-opening stage and, naturally, train functionalities and speeds will be adjusted,” says General Óscar David Lozano Águila, general director of Mayan Train.

Concerns

The project has been criticised for environmental damage, soaring costs and a lack of transparency. Obrador instructed the army to take over leadership of the project from the National Tourism Development Fund (Fonatur). He also issued a presidential decree to make the project a national security priority after it ran into legal obstacles, including over environmental issues, which had forced the suspension of work and changes to the route.

Concerns have since been raised over pushing ahead with construction without completing full environmental surveys due to the condition of the ground on the Yucatan peninsula, which mostly consists of porous limestone and is structurally fragile.

The president is attempting to complete various infrastructure projects ahead of the Mexican general election next June. Local media reports suggest that many of the 14 stations to open are noticeably incomplete, and train speeds are currently limited to a maximum of 110km/h, compared with a design speed of 160km/h.

The next step

The remainder of section 5 as well as sections 6 and 7 of the project, the 621.3km stretch from Cancún Airport to Tulum, Chetumal Airport and Escárcega, are scheduled to open on February 29, Aguilar confirmed on December 11.

Section 5 South runs from Puerto Aventuras to Playa del Carmen and is being delivered by Mota-Engil Mexico (subsection A); Azvindi Ferroviario (subsection B); and ICA (subsection C). The army is responsible for sections 6 and 7.

Section 6 comprises 255km of electrified double-track and five stations from Tulum to Chetumal, including an 8km elevated section. Section 7 runs for 254km from Bacalar to Escárcega.

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