Merida, Yucatan — The city of Merida has begun construction to lay tracks for a tram that will connect with the Maya Train. On Tuesday, Governor Mauricio Vila announced the start of the building of the city’s new Ie-tram.
The tram, the new route of the “Va y Ven” Transportation System, will be the only one of its kind in Latin America and the first 100 percent electric in the southeast of the country, he said.
Once complete, the tram will connect Kanasín and Umán with Mérida and more than 137 colonies, offering Yucatan residents a faster, more modern and sustainable mode of transportation.
“The tram will consist of 100 kilometers through five routes of high demand. The tram units will be 100 electric, zero emissions, reduce noise pollution and equivalent to more than 170,000 trees planted in terms of CO2 reduction in 10 years,” Vila reported.
The units will also have state-of-the-art technology, innovative security systems for speed control, USB chargers, WiFi, Braille buttons, real-time geolocator, passenger information and have wheelchair accessibly.
Vila said that they are using old abandoned train tracks, transforming them into rails for public transportation and sustainable urban mobility that will connect with the Poxilá station of the Maya Train .
Governor Vila Dosal reported that entire project will cost around $2.8 billion peso of which 61 percent will be provided by the state government, 23 percent by the federal government, and the rest by the private sector.