Is it feasible for the Mayan Train from Mexico to reach Guatemala?

The Mayan Train, promoted by former Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador to connect important archaeological sites in the country, will continue its expansion under the government of his successor Claudia Sheinbaum. Guatemala, also with a rich pre-Columbian tradition, wants to be part of the project, which would then have to go through a third country: Belize.

Currently, the train runs more than 1,500 kilometers through 34 stations, in the Mexican states of Chiapas, Campeche, Tabasco, Yucatán and Quintana Roo in Mexico, and interconnects the main archaeological centers of that country such as Chichén Itzá and Calakmul.

In addition to carrying passengers, Scheinbaum also plans to include freight transportation to the train’s purposes. To achieve this, the president ordered the construction of the spaces that will be used for this purpose to begin next year.

Given the possibilities of both a tourist and logistical route, the president of Guatemala, Bernardo Arévalo, has sought to join since mid-2024. Arévalo wants to expand the route through the northern part of the country to bring tourists closer to important Mayan sites such as Tikal, in Petén.

“We are going to build a line that will connect the Petén with the Mayan Train, which is in the Yucatan Peninsula. We are already in talks with the Mexican government that will support us,” Arévalo said at a press conference.

El Petén, in the north of Guatemala, was for more than a thousand years the seat of Mayan culture in the region, with important archaeological sites such as Tikal, declared a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. and Culture (UNESCO), in 1979.

Additionally, Tikal is considered the largest excavated site in the Americas, with 576 square kilometers of jungle around the ceremonial center. Freeing the great Mayan city from the jungle that covered it for decades took 13 years, according to the site’s administration.

Arévalo sees it viable to extend the Mayan Train to that area, and to do so he considers two possible routes: from Chetumal to Flores, crossing Belize, or from Tenosique to Flores.

“We are thinking that there could be a line that goes down from Chetumal to Belize, which would allow Guatemala to connect from Flores, Petén, to Belize, following the road already laid out,” added the Guatemalan president.

In this way, the railway line on the Guatemalan side could cover about 90 kilometers.

Furthermore, it would not harm nearby archaeological sites or protected areas among the Mayan jungle, considered the lungs of the region.

If Belize does not join the project, the Mayan Train stop that is closest to the El Ceibo border, between Mexico and Guatemala, is Tenosique, located about 60 kilometers from Guatemala. But getting to Flores, where Petén’s main archaeological sites converge, would take about 250 kilometers.

After a meeting between former President Obrador and the Prime Minister of Belize, Juan Antonio Briceño, in the middle of the year, cooperation projects were agreed on various aspects, including the Mayan Train. However, to date no firm steps have been taken in this regard.

President Sheinbaum assured on October 3 that the Mayan Train project will continue in her government, in addition that more trains will be received to benefit the southeast of the country.

The Mayan Train project has been highly criticized for its environmental impact and its profitability, which has involved an investment of more than 30 billion dollars.

Also because its construction, as well as that of nearby stations and hotels, is in charge of the Army.

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