Construction work on tourist railway threatening cenotes halted

A Mexican court has ordered a halt to the construction of a tourist railway whose construction threatens Mexican cenotes.

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Out of concern for caves and cenotes, a court has ordered a halt to work on the construction of a tourist railway to be built on the Yucatán Peninsula. Judge Adrián Novelo justified his decision on the lack of “environmental permits”.

The project to build a tourist railway is the flagship infrastructure programme of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. In many publications, authors have pointed out that the whole project is being done in great haste, with no respect for the environment. Anything to complete the project before the upcoming elections, when Obrador intends to run for re-election.

Fortunately, the whole matter is being publicised by very different circles, for which the natural landscape of the Yucatan is not indifferent. These are, of course, the wonderful dry caves and the famous flooded cenotes, the beauty of which every diver knows. It is to these that the construction of the tourist train posed the greatest threat.

Experts have argued that the railway line will harm the jungle in which it is located. Specifically, section 5, which measures 120 km and which was supposed to connect Cancún and Tulum. Judge Novelo cited in his reasoning that construction work on this should be halted because continuing it means cutting down trees, destroying flora and native species and perforating the ground.

Costly re-election

The project to build a tourist railway in the Yucatán Peninsula is a huge investment of almost US$10 billion. It is expected to result in a railway route totalling more than 1,500 km that will link the southeastern states of Chiapas, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatán and Quintana Roo.

All the project has aroused a huge wave of oppositionbecause of the serious threat it poses to the natural face of the Yucatán. However, the President seems unconcerned by these voices and announces that the project will be completed by December 2023. Will this happen? That is what the near future will show. On Friday, in turn, we will find out whether the suspension of work on section 5 will be permanent.

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