The Maya Train in Mexico, a large-scale project covering 1,554 kilometers across the Yucatán Peninsula, is encountering notable financial difficulties merely five months after its official inauguration. As reported by Óscar David Lozano, the train’s general director, passenger service alone cannot drive the railway to profitability.
In 2024, the Maya Train recorded a significant loss with a financial deficit approximating US $133 million. Income from passenger fares and souvenir sales contributed only 275 million pesos (US $14 million), which is a mere 9.6% of what is required to reach a break-even point.
Ridership and Foreign Tourist Challenges
Despite reaching a milestone of one million passengers in April, ridership numbers are still falling short of governmental expectations. Particularly concerning is the low attraction among foreign tourists, who constitute only 6% of overall passengers since operations began in December 2023. Of these 77,000 international visitors, nearly half were from the United States, amounting to an average of just 149 foreign tourists each day.
The limited interest from international tourists is troubling, especially given that Cancún alone received an estimated 20 million foreign visitors last year. Compounding this issue is that a significant portion of international riders used the train only for the Mérida-Cancún route, which accounts for less than 20% of the entire rail system.
Financial Strategies and Future Plans
The Maya Train, constructed at around 500 billion pesos (US $24.8 billion) – nearly quadruple the initial projection, was fully inaugurated by President Claudia Sheinbaum on December 15, 2024. To combat the financial deficit, the Mexican government has proposed adjusting the railway for cargo transport. This would involve extending the tracks by approximately 700 kilometers to connect the Gulf of Mexico ports of Progreso and Coatzacoalcos to the Maya Train by 2026. An initial budget of 38 billion pesos (US $1.98 billion) has been allocated to this expansion, with the objective of achieving financial sustainability by 2030.
Experts in the industry highlight that one of the challenges inhibiting passenger ridership is the lack of connections between train stations and the tourist attractions that the railway was intended to service.
For more detailed information, please visit the full article on the Mexico News Daily website.
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