The original Mayan Train route didn’t go anywhere near Merida.
Merida’s power brokers convinced the federal government to fix that.
Now, will state officials succeed in getting two station stops in Merida? And one in Progreso? And also Maxcanú?
Yucatán state officials have petitioned for seven stations instead of the four already proposed. The current plan puts one station each in Merida, Tizimin and Izamal.
Train stations are seen as an effective way to trigger economic activity, explained the head of the Planning Technical Secretariat, Rafael Hernández Kotasek.
This project is one of the major projects initiated by the federal government, funded by both public and private investment.
State governments are working with Mexico City to locate appropriate sites for station stops, and to handle right-of-ways.
Since the Mayan Train will handle freight, authorities are particularly keen to see a train stop in Progreso, a commercialized port city that receives cargo ships on the Gulf of Mexico. The train will carry goods at night and tourists during the day.
And Maxcanú is a mid-point with Campeche. It would be a good site to place maintenance workshops, said Hernández Kotasek.
The Valladolid station would tie in with Chichen Itza and its local airport.
The Mayan Train is not crossing through the center of Merida to La Plancha, as the city’s original railway did. The current design has it passing through the southern region.
Hernández Kotasek said that the number and location of train stations will be settled in the first quarter of the year.
