TULUM, Mexico – In a landmark event, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador spearheaded the inauguration of the initial phase of his administration’s flagship megaproject. The stretch linking the cities of Campeche to Cancún marks the first 473 kilometers of the over 1,500 kilometers budgeted by the president, who has dismissed numerous criticisms of the train route as mere “politicking.”
Despite legal challenges, public demonstrations, environmental concerns, and international scrutiny, López Obrador officially opened the Tren Maya on December 15. Accompanied by Campeche Governor Layda Sansores and high-ranking military officials, the Mexican president announced the launch of the first six stations of the ambitious rail project.
López Obrador revealed that the next segment to be inaugurated will connect to Palenque in Chiapas on December 30, with the entire route expected to be completed by February 2024, as per government estimates.
Operating at an approximate speed of 120 kilometers per hour, the train will reduce travel time between Campeche and Cancún to six hours, according to General Óscar David Lozano, the project’s director.
Ticket prices range from $70 to $100 per journey, slightly less than the cost of bus transportation covering the same route, as highlighted by López Obrador.
The announcement also included the deployment of over 2,800 personnel from the Mexican National Guard to patrol the vicinity of the railway, supported by “drones, cameras, radios, patrol cars, and helicopters” aimed at safeguarding the Tren Maya infrastructure. AMLO took a firm stance against “pseudo-environmental defenders.”
The Tren Maya stands out as one of the most controversial public projects in Mexico’s contemporary history, facing more than 20 active legal injunctions and multiple ongoing lawsuits. These legal challenges are based on allegations of violations of the country’s environmental laws and the rights of indigenous communities in southeastern Mexico.
