Mexico plans to complete massive elevated train in one year in Yucatan Peninsula

Mexico plans to build a 45-mile (72-kilometer) stretch of elevated train tracks through the jungle in one year as part of its Maya Train tourist project, Mexican President Andres Manual Lopez Obrador said on Monday. 

Lopez Obrador’s project, the 950-mile (1,5000- kilometer) Maya Train, intends to help transport tourists around the Yucatan peninsula by looping around several tourist hubs, hotels, and archeological sites in the state. 

“The Maya Train is a project that is not being done anywhere in the world today. It is a source of pride for our civil and military engineering,” said Lopez Obrador while supervising the construction of the project.

Originally, the train was supposed to run on elevated train tracks near the coastal highways, where several popular hotels are located. However, opposition from hotel owners made Lopez Obrador change the route of the train.

The elevated train will now run through the jungle for 68 miles (110 kilometers) between the resort towns of Cancun and Tulum. 

The project faces opposition from several environmental groups and activists because it will cut through several miles of jungle. Those opposing the project claim the train tracks will contaminate the network of caves and crystalline sinkhole lakes around its path, which are a main tourist destination for the area. 

It's stupid to build a train on this soil, build a train in the middle of the jungle, build a train that pollutes the water,” said Jose “Pepe” Urbina, a diver who has explored the caves in the Yucatan peninsula for decades. 

Additionally, engineers are concerned that the cave-ridden limestone soil might be too fragile to support the weight of a high-speed train. 

However, Lopez Obrador has claimed that almost two-thirds of the train line will not touch the ground. Instead, the train will be elevated on thousands of 80-foot (25-meter) pilings sunk into the soil. 

“This will have a minimal effect because where they sink the pilots is where there isn't anything," López Obrador said.