It’s time to re-draw the Mayan Train rail map. Again.
The giant rail system will stop in Quintana Roo’s capital city of Chetumal, said FONATUR’s general director, Rogelio Jiménez Pons. Construction will begin in the first half of 2020, he said.
It’s one of three new station stops announced in an expansion of the federal government’s planned interstate rail system on the Yucatan Peninsula.
An additional Cancun station, in the city center, and one in El Triunfo, Tabasco, will add up to 18 stops.
This means the line will be 24 kilometers longer than previously planned. It will run nearly 1,500 kilometers / 930 miles through Chiapas, Tabasco, Yucatan, Quintana Roo and Campeche.
While Chetumal and El Triunfo are not necessarily of interest to tourists, the stations will provide logistical support to the Mayan Train.
The Mayan Train could cross national borders, as well. Guatemala has expressed interest in being part of the system. A station there could be built at its Caribbean sea port, Puerto Barrios. Between the lines already planned and the port are miles of biosphere nature reserve.
Previously, the train project had been cut back slightly, when a direct link between the Cancun airport and Valladolid was edited out.
Jiménez Pons said that the Mayan Train will be in operation in 2023.
Sources: Sipse, La Jornada Maya
