New modifications set to delay Maya train

The Mexican government’s vision of what the estimated 161bn-peso (US$8bn) Maya train should be and how it should operate keeps on changing as obstacles emerge and new ideas arise.

While there have been many technical and administrative modifications made since the project was announced three years ago, two recent changes have significantly altered the scenario compared to the beginning of this year.

One involves the ownership of and possible operation of the rail line, while the other concerns a technical modification that will almost double costs on the northern section (Cancún-Playa del Carmen) of stretch five (Cancún-Tulum) in Quintana Roo state.

A train for the military?

In an unexpected turn of events, tourism board Fonatur’s director Rogelio Jiménez Pons told daily El Financiero that the government's new plan is to turn the rail project into a financial asset for the armed forces, granting it all monetary benefits from the service once it starts operating in two or three years.

So the passenger and freight revenues generated by the 1,500km rail line will not go to the country’s treasury, but rather to defense ministry Sedena and navy ministry Semar. Mexico’s armed forces will be the owner of the rail line, which is being financed by public funds, he implied. 

On the other hand, Jiménez said the ministries’ pensions and other expenses that are assigned yearly by the government will no longer come from the national treasury. 

The change could also mean that the defense and navy ministries will be in charge of operating all seven stretches that will connect Chiapas, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatán and Quintana Roo states. But confirmation of that has not been provided by authorities and Fonatur, which is overseeing the whole project, has yet to comment on the remarks. 

In December, the administration of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) said it was mulling the idea of allowing the army to operate stretches one, six and seven of the rail line (connecting Quintana Roo with Campeche), in addition to the airports of Palenque in Chiapas and Chetumal and Tulum in Quintana Roo. The last of those is yet to be built. 

The president said he supports military control because it would protect the rail line from privatization, generate revenues to finance pensions for retired personnel, and guarantee security in the region once the Maya train starts operating. 

About a year ago, the AMLO administration said it assigned construction of stretches six and seven to Sedena. These stretches run 254km from Tulum to Chetumal in Quintana Roo and 287km from Bacalar in Quintana Roo to Escárcega in Campeche. 

Then on March 5, Fonatur announced that the northern section of the fifth stretch, connecting Cancún’s international airport with Playa del Carmen, would also be built by Sedena. The board canceled a competitive tender process that had attracted 10 consortiums. 

It now means that Sedena will be in charge of constructing around 600km of the 1,500km line. 

Also read Is Mexico’s defense ministry taking away jobs from the private sector?

Another technical change

Following the decision to assign the northern section of the fifth stretch to Sedena, Jiménez said the line would no longer run between the two carriageways of the Cancún-Tulum highway, as originally specified in the now-canceled tender.  

Instead, a 9m high, 48km long elevated section over the highway would be built.

This will raise the cost of the northern section of stretch five to 30bn pesos, while the highest bid presented by the 10 consortiums to build the original proposal was 18.5bn pesos.  

According to the Fonatur head, hotel owners in the region raised concerns about the original design, and so the government opted to build the elevated section and assign it to Sedena to reduce costs, a proposal that was pitched by the armed forces, he said. 

Also read Maya train legal battle set to drag on