High Speed Fail? The Premature Opening of the Tren Maya
Like many rail enthusiasts, I was excited for the launch of the Tren Maya. Having first opened in 2023, the ambitious 30 billion dollar project linking key tourist destinations such as Cancun, Tulum, Playa Del Carmen, and Chichen Itza was supposed to make it easier for tourists to experience the beauty of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. There was also hope that the Tren Maya would reduce the effects of over tourism in key areas and spread out tourists across the Yucatan. The project has unfortunately become a mismanaged catastrophe, with environmental degradation, incomplete stations, and infrequent service plaguing the new system.
Tren Maya was a controversial project from the beginning. Owned by the Mexican Armed Forces, it drew significant criticism during its construction. Concerns about deforestation, destruction of fragile ecosystems, and the project's proximity to fragile underwater caves were raised by environmental groups. The project was nonetheless built in record time, with over 1500 km worth of tracks being built from 2020 to 2024.
Since it first opened, the project has been significantly underutilized. Daily ridership figures from 2024 indicate that Tren Maya has only seen 1200 daily riders, far below the 22000 that the Mexican government projected ridership would be at minimum. The issue is simple, the system opened far too early. Many of the stations were opened with construction crews finishing up final touches on stations, and it’s not exactly ideal to open a new rail system while it’s still being built to say the least. Additionally, many of the trains themselves have yet to be delivered, leaving many routes with very infrequent service. For example, if you want to travel from Cancun Airport to the pristine lagoons of Bacalar for example, there’s currently only one train per day that departs at 9AM. Not exactly tourist friendly.
While Tren Maya's is theoretically poised for a bright future given its plan to revolutionize transportation in Yucatan, opening the system when it was not ready was a clear mistake by Mexican authorities. Coupled with high levels of poor publicity surrounding its negative impact on fragile ecosystems, it might take a hail mary for the Tren Maya to reach its true potential.
Written by Alex Cooke
Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/19/travel/mexico-maya-train.html