Mexico Inaugurates First Tourist Train on Yucatan Peninsula

by Mia Taylor
Last updated: 4:00 PM ET, Fri December 15, 2023

The Yucatan peninsula has welcomed the first part of a new tourist train that's being constructed to connect the region’s many resorts and archeological sites.

Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador attended opening ceremonies on Friday for what will ultimately be a 950-mile train line, which has been named the Maya Train.

The $20 billion project is expected to be complete by February, according to a report from Associated Press. Once finished, the train will operate a rough loop around the Yucatan peninsula.

The rail segment opened right now runs between the colonial Gulf coast city of Campeche and the popular tourist destination of Cancun. It's a stretch of train line that amounts to about one-third of the entire project.

The train journey between Campeche and Cancun will take about 5 1/2 hours. The train will travel at an average speed of 50 miles per hour, Associated Press reported.

There will be two trains per day in each direction on the new line, which will include a few stops along the way between Campeche and Cancun. The train will stop in the colonial city of Merida and at the popular archeological ruins of Chechen Itza, as well as at about 10 other towns.

Train tickets, which are currently available in first class and tourist class, go on sale tomorrow. There has also been discussion of charging lower fares for Mexicans using the line. But those fares were not listed as of today. A first-class ticket for the ride between Cancun to Merida will set you back about $68.

The new rail ine is ultimately expected to connect Cancun with other popular tourist destinations like Playa del Carmen and Tulum, as well as such ruins as Calakmul and Palenque.

“There are no public works projects like this in the world,” López Obrador said, according to Associated Press. “It was also done in record time.”

While the new mode of transportation on the peninsula is good news on many fronts, it’s not without controversy. Some parts of the line that are still to be built will cut through the jungle and constructed over sensitive, relic-filled cave systems. Environmentalists have objected the project. The project threatens many caves along the coastline, from which some of the oldest human remains have been discovered.