by Mia Taylor
Last updated: 3:02 PM ET, Tue August 14, 2018
Manuel Lopez Obrador has announced expanded plans for a train on Mexico's Yucatan peninsula.
The Associated Press reported that Mexico's president-elect has unveiled an ambitious proposal to link nearly all of the Yucatan peninsula's tourist attractions, a goal which would at least double the projected cost of the project.
The new price-tag of the project is expected to be between $6 billion and $8 billion. Previous estimates were around $3.2 billion.
The incoming president expects to finance what he called the "Mayan train" over six years via public and private funding. At least a portion of the funding is expected to come from tourism taxes.
The train was originally expected to be about 560 miles of track, but may now run 930 miles, according to Associated Press. Most of the project will be on land owned by Mexico's federal government.
"This will greatly stimulate tourism and will create jobs in the southeast, which is the most neglected region of the country," Lopez Obrador said.
There remains, however, much skepticism about the project. The proposed Yucatan train will run through areas that are dominated by jungle, wildlife reserves, pre-Hispanic archaeological sites, wetland and underground rivers.
In addition, some critics point out that the train will be built to reach sites such as Calakmul, which only attracts about 35,000 annually.
Lopez Obrador's latest plan would add Chichen Itza to the destinations reached, as well as well as Campeche and Merida. Supporters of the incoming president's plan say it will help get visitors off the beaten track.
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