Mexico's Maya Train expansion raises alarm over ecological and archaeological harm

"A giant banner Greenpeace activists unfurled on the 341ft-tall Estela de la Luz tower in Mexico City in late September read: "The Mayan jungle cries out!" It was one of the most high-profile actions to date denouncing ecological damage caused by the Maya Train and other industries in Mexico's south east. The action followed years of protests over the train's growing ecological impacts as it expands into freight and is expected to be extended into Guatemala and Belize."

"Criticisms of the project are both ecological and cultural; experts have long denounced archaeological destruction along the 1,554km of rails across the Yucatán Peninsula. Debates about the safekeeping of the region's heritage reignited on 26 August, when Mexico's Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH) announced that some of the archaeological structures affected are being relocated to two sites in the states of Quintana Roo and Campeche."

"The Maya Train, a pet megaproject of the former Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador that has been continued by his successor Claudia Sheinbaum, has long been polarising. Supporters have framed the project as a means of development for marginalised communities. Critics say it poses a threat to heritage sites and the environment. The first trains started ferrying visitors between cities and Maya archaeological sites in the region in December 2023."

The Maya Train megaproject spans 1,554km across the Yucatán Peninsula and has sparked protests and high-profile activism denouncing ecological damage and cultural impacts. Greenpeace unfurled a banner reading "The Mayan jungle cries out!" on a 341ft tower to draw attention. Experts report archaeological destruction and the relocation of some affected structures to sites in Quintana Roo and Campeche after an INAH announcement on 26 August. The rail service began passenger operations in December 2023; freight construction started in April and plans announced on 15 August include extensions into Guatemala and Belize and the Great Mayan Jungle Biocultural Corridor.

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