It wasn’t until I stepped aboard Mexico’s shiny new #Tren #Maya that I truly believed it was real
If there was any hope it existed, it was from the bad news:
the train had already attracted headlines for #injuries to workers, #rushed construction and #damage to the fragile #jungle of the Yucatán Peninsula and #archaeological sites, despite promises from the Mexican government to avoid any harm.
The new train opened its first section in December 2023 and was scheduled to be fully complete in February, but that’s since been pushed to June.
When finished, it will span about 970 miles and link five states in southeastern Mexico in a Q-shaped loop — Campeche, Yucatán, Quintana Roo, Chiapas and Tabasco.
Construction is still underway on tracks covering most of that distance, including a line running about 26 miles south from the Cancún airport to the popular beach town of Playa del Carmen.
The inaugural train rolled through that section Thursday.
During my early February visit to the region, only one segment of the total route was in reality complete — a line connecting the busy tourist hub of Cancún to Campeche via the busy midsize city of Mérida.
At the time, the train was making just a couple of runs per day, which is a fraction of its promised frequency.
It’s ostensibly geared toward visitors, so being a lover of train travel, I eagerly incorporated it into my travel plans. That, it turned out, was easier said than done
Up until that point, between a confusing booking process and reports of stranded passengers and construction problems, I felt that it was possible the entire project was nothing but a Potemkin train.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/tips/mexico-train-tren-maya/