San Francisco, Campeche — President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has inaugurated the first stage of the Maya Train. The President arrived at the San Francisco Campeche train station Friday from where the inauguration took place.
“We are very pleased to be here with you in Campeche on this truly historic day because we are inaugurating this stretch from Campeche to Cancun,” he said.
The Maya Train, he said, “is a project of the people of Mexico and that is why we are all going to take care of it. It is a project of all Mexicans to greatly help the development of the southeast,” he commented adding that it was financed with public investment so it is not a product of credits or additional debt.
The Maya Train will create opportunities for well-being and development in the five states it will pass through which are Tabasco, Chiapas, Campeche, Yucatán and Quintana Roo.
“For the first time in many years, poverty was reduced in Mexico and where poverty was reduced the most was in the southeast. That is why we should feel very proud, very happy and that is why I say that this is a very special day for the southeast, for Campeche, for Mexico,” he stated during the Friday inauguration.
The Maya Train is a unique project achieved in record time of less than five years thanks to the work of thousands of construction workers, the group of Military Engineers of the Secretariat of National Defense and the participating companies ICA, Grupo Carso, Azvindi Ferroviario, Mota-Engil and Alstom.
“In this project, nearly 100,000 construction workers from all over the country were hired, specialized workers, ironworkers, welders, some of the best in the world, that is a comparative advantage in relation to other countries, construction workers from Mexico are some of the best in the world,” he stated.
The company Grupo Airport, Railway, Auxiliary and Related Services Olmeca-Maya Mexica, a majority state company sectored to the Secretariat of National Defense, will offer tourist packages at affordable costs, prioritizing national tourism, he explained.
“We are going to ensure that there are no high costs, we have already agreed with General Águila that the fare on the train will always be less than the cost of the bus for Mexicans, for the people of Campeche, Tabasco, and Sonora,” he added.
During the December 1 inauguration, AMLO unveiled a plaque at the San Francisco de Campeche station before hopping aboard the train, which was bound for the city of Cancun.
Starting December 16, public passenger service began on the first stage of the Maya Train which includes sections 2, 3 and 4 in the states of Campeche, Yucatán and Quintana Roo.
There are 14 stations located along the route that include San Francisco Campeche, Tenabo, Hecelchakán, Calkiní, Maxcanú, Umán, Teya, Tixkokob, Izamal, Chichén Itzá, Valladolid, Nuevo Xcán, Leona Vicario and Cancún Airport.
Each one has lobbies, ticket offices, commercial premises, recreation spaces, bathrooms, administrative areas, large parking lots and platforms, harmonized with the landscapes.
According to the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), along the finished route there will be 12 archaeological zones Xcalumkín, Oxkintok, Uxmal, Kabah, Sayil simultaneously as well as five Visitor Service Centers (Catvis), which are nearing completion.
The completed route will also include Tren Maya hotels in Nuevo Uxmal and Chichén Itzá with the purpose of exalting cultural greatness and promoting tourism in the region, the INAH reported.
López Obrador said there will be family packages available to travel to the southeast by train and vacation in the region.
“There are going to be packages so that families can make their reservations in advance, buy their train tickets, book hotels and enjoy this paradise,” he remarked.
Tren Maya currently has 20 train drivers, 30 railway traffic managers and railway technicians, all certified by the Railway Transport Regulatory Agency.
The Campeche to Cancun route consists of 473 kilometers and takes around five-and-a-half hours to travel. On December 16, a second stage of Tren Maya will open for public transport and then on February 29, 2024, the entire Tren Maya route is scheduled to be complete for public travel.
