CANCÚN, Mexico — Completion of Mexico’s Maya Train, originally touted as coming in February and subsequently projected for April or May, has been pushed back to September after a decision to modify plans to avoid further damage to underground caverns along the incomplete section of the 950-mile tourist rail system.
The work in the 120-kilometer (75-mile) segment between Cancún and Tulum, known as Section 5, has been controversial because of environmental damage that occurred to limestone caverns, known as cenotes, when concrete pilings were driven to support the rail line. Some 50 miles of viaduct are required because of those caverns. During his Monday press conference, Mexican President Andrés Manual López Obardor said a cable-stayed bridge would replace additional pilings in one area to avoid further damage.
“We had a problem in a cave when putting up a column,” López Obrador said, as reported by La Silla Rota. “They made a scandal. We are already cleaning, repairing, and solving the problem.” But as a result, the decision has been made to build a 200-meter bridge in one location, “and that means delay,” he said.
“It could have been drilled and the piles put in, but we said, ‘No, we are going to take care of this area, and that is why this bridge.”
The outgoing president, whose term ends September 30, said he will be visiting to supervise the work every 15 days, El Universal reports, and that “by September, everything will be finished — all the stations, the depots to store trains, the facilities for workshops.”
Trainsets in short supply
Meanwhile, La Silla Rota also reports that 100 days after service began, the Maya Train is operating with only six of its planned 42 trainsets, although manufacturer Alstom had promised to have 25 delivered by April.
The available trains are operating at 84% of capacity, but are being pushed to their limits, being used for train service, to test new sections of track, and to transport López Obrador and his entourage during the various ceremonies to inaugurate new sections. Maite Ramos, director of Alstom Mexico, did not respond to several weeks of requests for information, La Silla Rota reports, and has not appeared at a López Obrador press conference for four months.
