The Mayan Train will be the main infrastructure, socioeconomic development, and sustainable tourism project of the current president Andrés Manuel López Obrador. This rail transport system will connect the main cities and tourist areas of the Yucatan Peninsula.
The project will be based on a sustainable development model that promotes economic growth without damaging or deteriorating the environment, on the contrary, seeking mitigation, compensation, and protection measures.
The Mayan Train, which is a priority project of the Government of Mexico for the transport of passengers and merchandise, will connect the main regions of the Yucatan Peninsula: Campeche, Chiapas, Tabasco, Quintana Roo, and Yucatan.
The Mayan Train will connect in Phase 1, the stations from Palenque to Cancún (sections 1–4), and will be completed in Phase 2 connecting the stations from Cancún to Escárcega (sections 5-7).
The length of the phase 1 sections is 892 km. and the sections of phase 2 represent 662 km, for a total of 1,550 km. approx. The total cost of the project for that route will be around 6,500 million euros. FONATUR’s commitment is to have the first section of the project running by 2023.
The importance of this project is twofold because it proposes: first, to detonate the economy and improve the quality of life of the inhabitants of the region. And second, to protect the environment from the ravages caused by the human invasion and activities derived from economic precariousness, such as illegal logging or species trafficking.
Currently, Mexico ranks sixth in the world ranking of tourism. The archaeological zones of the Mayan region are some of the most important destinations: together they receive 6.8 million tourists a year, Chichen Itzá and Tulum occupy the second and third place of the most visited archaeological sites in the country, only after Teotihuacán.
The train will take advantage of this tourism potential to generate economic benefits in the states involved. The tour intends to lengthen the stay of view in the region, which translates into greater tourist spending and revenue collection in the communities. It also implies an important growth in the infrastructure of services for the inhabitants.
At the end of the next administration, it is planned to improve the reception capacity of tourists and urban services. The goal is to serve 8,000 tourists daily in the southern part of the Yucatan peninsula, particularly in the Selva section, which goes from Palenque to Calakmul.
