MEXICO CITY — Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador defended the sudden shutdown of Maya Train operations at a Friday press conference, saying the suspension of operation on the existing portion of the looping 965-mile route was necessary for ongoing tests of track and equipment.
Trains on the 298-mile segment between Cancún and Campeche, which had opened on Dec. 15 with a trip by López Obrador and other officials, were suddenly suspended on Thursday for four days on Thursday [see “Maya Train suspends operations …,” Trains News Wire, Dec. 29, 2023]. Company officials said the suspension was necessary to prepare for the Jan. 1 launch of the second part of the route, between Cancún and Palenque.
The Tribuna newspaper reports López Obrador said there are between four and six trainsets currently in operation of a fleet eventually expected to reach 31, and the suspension allows for more extensive testing of the trainset by Alstom technicians. Critics have noted the largely unfinished nature of the initial section; while trains are eventually supposed to operate at speeds up to 160 kilometers per hour (or 99 mph), the top speed initially was 89 kph (55 mph) with segments as slow as 29 kph (18 mph). As a result, a trip projected to take about 5½ took almost 9½.
López Obrador, who will make the initial trip on the new segment on Sunday, Dec. 31, said at the press conference that it will be at a similarly reduced speed. The news site Capital reports that López Obrador emphasized that until the end of February, when the entire route is complete, operations remain in a “soft opening” state.
