“We have projected that [el subsidio] gradually reduce,” said Lozano Águila, who has been leading the project since the middle of last year. “It has been an extremely painful project. The organization that is being formed has not been easy”.
It is expected that the stretch of cancun to Chetumal be the most active, with 40 trips, followed by the route Cancun-Merida with 24 trips and Cancun-Chichen Itzawith 16 trips.
The general added that, of the three types of trains -regular, restaurant and long-distance service-, 31 of the first category will be delivered between December 2023 and October 2024, while three long-distance services will operate between June and July of next year, and eight restaurants between November and December 2024.
Maité Ramos, general director of Alstom -company that builds the trains in Ciudad Sahagún, Hidalgo-, said that the first train will be delivered on July 8 in accordance with the contract signed with the federal government. From then on, a process of dynamic and static tests will begin.
“The train that will be tested is a four-car diesel. It is 15,000 kilometers from tests for six months. It will be ready for operation, by December 1st. Additionally, other trains will be received, ”he told Expansion.
How will the load be on the Mayan Train?
One of the main components of the Mayan Train will be cargo, which will be so important that, according to Lozano Águila, it is the business unit that will make the project profitable, but it will begin to operate from September 2024.
“Originally the Mayan Train was conceived only for passengers (…) But 1,554 kilometers [de vía] Without passengers it is a luxury that Mexico cannot afford”.
The director of the Mayan Train expects that mainly fuel will be transported, since he assures that Pemex represents 80% of the cargo in the Yucatan Peninsula. In addition, it expects to move other inputs such as cement, grains, perishables and even vehicles. Eventually he hopes to operate hand in hand with the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepecwhich has its own railway.
In a first phase, it is expected to capture 2 million tons per year –equivalent to what the Coahuila Durango Railway, from Peñoles, last year–; in a second phase, it is expected to reach 2.9 million tons, slightly less than what was transported railwayvalley in 2021, and, in a consolidation phase, it is expected to move 5.4 million tons per year, just under a third of what companies such as ferrosurfrom Grupo Mexico.
In the long term, with a vision towards 2053, Lozano Águila expects the Mayan Train to move 12.53 million tons per year. This is equivalent to 20.4% of what ferromex -the largest railway company in the country by net tons- moved in 2022.
The Mayan Train will have four multimodal terminals, in Campeche, Progreso, Cancun and Chetumal, with the intention of connecting to Central America in the future
Lozano Águila also reported that they are working on several Hotels that will be built by the Mayan Train company near the stations and bus stops, which will aim to position itself through the “shared prestige” of the project.
The hotels will be built in Palenque, Edzná, Nuevo Uxmal, Chichén Itzá, Tulum and Calakmul.