The Ministry of Finance proposed to the Congress of the Union an item of 36,288 million pesos for the Mayan Train project for fiscal year 2021.
The Mayan Train is aimed at increasing the economic benefit of tourism in the Yucatan peninsula, creating jobs, promoting sustainable development and promoting land use planning in the region, according to the federal government.
Likewise, the «National Tourism Strategy 2019-2024» contemplates connecting more than 190 sites of tourist interest, such as beaches, archaeological sites, museums, magical towns and world heritage cities of humanity, among others.
During 2021, the development of the executive project, Construction of the Railroad, Technical Supervision, Quality Control Verification, as well as technical studies for Sections 5 «Cancun-Tulum» and Section 6 «Tulum-Bacalar» of the Mayan Train will continue. .
Also, according to the proposal of the Ministry of Finance, the acquisition of rolling stock is contemplated, including 30 locomotives and 180 passenger cars; stations and workshops, and the acquisition of the width of the 40-meter strip for the right of way, given that there are irregular settlements along the route of the aforementioned sections, together with the purchase of rail that allows guaranteeing the interoperability of the material vehicle that currently operates the rest of the Mexican rail infrastructure system.
The work constitutes one of the priorities of the Mexican government and represents the most important proposal for tourism and transportation infrastructure for the south-southeast region of the country.
Mayan Train
With this project, the federal government intends to reverse the backlog caused by the limited mobility of people and goods, as well as the scant interest in developing investment projects by the productive sectors.
The project includes the construction of 1,502 kilometers of railroad, 30 stations throughout the states of Campeche, Chiapas, Quintana Roo, Tabasco and Yucatán and will connect the main cities and tourist circuits of the Mayan zone.
Its objective is to significantly reduce the costs of passenger and freight transport in the region, create new development poles and promote the establishment of industries that take advantage of the new connectivity advantages of the area.
Spending
With the allocation of resources in fiscal year 2020 for the Mayan Train project, work began on sections 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the established route, 12 collaboration agreements were signed with government agencies and entities, as well as with public educational institutions and private organizations to support the development of the project in the most diverse fields.
The bidding and contracting processes were also carried out for the preparation of the executive projects, supply of materials and construction of the platform and track of the Mayan Train corresponding to Section 1 Palenque-Escárcega, Section 2 Escárcega-Calkiní, Section 3 Calkiní-Izamal and Section 4 Izamal-Cancun.
At the same time, work was carried out to identify, from the Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) photogrammetry products, the vestiges of pre-Hispanic homes and buildings, as well as their diagnosis in the field, to prepare the corresponding archaeological salvage proposals.
