On the Maya Train project on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico

The Maya Train is the federal government's flagship project, formally announced in December 2018. It is planned as a regional train for locals, tourists, and cargo, intended to generate regional economic benefits through tourism. According to the official project brochure, it "is based on a sustainable development model that drives economic growth without depleting the environment" and "promotes a tourism scheme in which visitors travel through local communities, preventing tourist concentration in a single destination," thereby "distributing wealth throughout the peninsula."

The route includes 17 stations: Palenque, Tenosique, Balancán, Escárcega, San Francisco de Campeche, Mérida, Izamal, Chichén Itzá, Valladolid, Cobá, Cancún, Puerto Morelos, Playa del Carmen, Tulum, Felipe Carrillo Puerto, Bacalar, and Calakmul, with construction of the first section scheduled to finish before 2024. A large portion of the tracks already exists, meaning they only require maintenance and upgrades. Another portion already has "right-of-way" along highways or power lines, which in theory should not cause any environmental conflicts or land disputes with the *ejidos* (communal lands). The remaining 10%, however, must be built from scratch, cutting through *ejidos* and Protected Natural Areas.