A new rail line connecting some of the most popular tourism destinations in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula could begin construction as early as next year.
According to senator-elect José Luis Pech Várguez of Quintana Roo, the new line, which is expected to cost 100 billion pesos ($5.2 billion U.S.), will begin construction in 2019 and should take about six years to fully complete.
The train line, which is being designed to bring visitors to the northern part of the peninsula further south, while also while giving them easy access to the most significant Mayan archaeological zones in Mexico, will connect three states: Quintana Roo, Campeche and Chiapas.
The new tourism train, which has been on and off the books in Mexico for at least six years, recently became a campaign promise for Mexico's newly elected president Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO).
After a meeting last week with his new cabinet, who begin their terms on December 1, 2018, AMLO prioritized his commitment to 35 campaign promises, including the tourism train. Further, Senator-elect Pech Varguez, a member of AMLO's own Morena party, said that the project is already under development, and will be run by Fonatur, the National Tourism fund.
The proposed line will commence in Cancun and run through Tulum, Carillo Puerto and Bacalar, Quintana Roo. It will then continue on to Calakmul in Campeche before terminating in Palenque, Chiapas.
The first phase, the stretch connecting Cancun with Tulum, is expected to be complete in two years. Although detailed routing is still being established, stops could include Playa del Carmen and Puerto Morelos.
Although the new project has frequently been called a bullet train, the proposed line will run at a half speed of 130 kilometers per hour (80 mph), which is slightly slower than comparable high-speed rail systems around the world. It is also a wholly separate project from a new cargo rail line, which has also been proposed by the federal government.
Officials from Quintana Roo have announced that developing the bullet train is one of the top priorities for the state. Other top initiatives include reforestation of the area's natural jungles and working with the federal government to move the nation's tourism promotion agency to Chetumal, Quintana Roo, another AMLO campaign promise, as he looks for ways de-centralize the federal government.
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