Mérida, Yucatán — After several years of litigation, the state government has finally won the rights to railway yards controlled by the Chiapas Mayab train company. The property has been seen as a last-chance opportunity to build a world-class “Central Park” in the Centro.
Guillermo Cortés González, secretary for planning and evaluation, told Diario de Yucatán that these eight hectares known as La Plancha can now be handed over to the state.
The state official said that there is no longer any legal risk for the government to take over the property once the Ministry of Communications and Transportation switches railway operations to a new site. The state and federal government is building new rail yards in Poxilá, Umán, closer to industrial sites that rely on freight trains. That project broke ground three weeks ago.
A 60-acre green space in place of the rail yards behind the defunct train station has been the dream of community groups for years.
The new rail yard is expected to be completed this year, diverting freight trains from the Centro and clearing the way for the park project.
Repair and maintenance operations would continue at La Plancha, however, until the Uman site is expanded next year, reports Diario. The new site is 15 km southwest of Mérida.
Source: Diario de Yucatán
